Benefits
Every career at the CIA is a rewarding one. In addition to serving your country with the certainty that your work makes a difference, the Agency offers a comprehensive benefits package to reflect the dedication and contributions of our employees.
Salary
Paid Time Off
• Annual Leave
• Sick Leave
• Home Leave
Moving Expenses
Federal Health and Life Insurance
Supplemental Insurance
Retirement
Thrift Savings Plan
Voluntary Investment Plan
Education and Training
The Center for Career Transition
Work-Life Programs
• The Family Advisory Board
• Medical Leave Bank
• Family Friendly Leave
• Alternative Work Schedules and Hours
Salary
The CIA offers competitive salaries. In addition to basic pay, in certain circumstances, employees can receive overtime compensation, holiday pay, night differential, Sunday premium pay, bonuses, and allowances.
Paid Time Off
Annual Leave
Annual leave accrual rates are determined by an individual's total years of federal service. This includes both civilian and most military service. However, the majority of retired military members are not eligible to receive annual leave accrual credit for their military service.
| Years of Service |
Hours/Pay Period |
Days/Year |
| Less than 3 |
4 |
13 |
| 3 but less than 15 |
6 |
20 |
| 15 or more |
8 |
26 |
Employees typically are allowed to carry a maximum of 30 workdays (240 hours) of annual leave from one year to the next. Employees with overseas service can carry up to 360 hours, and Senior Intelligence Service Officers, up to 720 hours.
Sick Leave
Full-time employees accrue four hours of sick leave per pay period, or 13 workdays per year. Unlimited hours of sick leave can be accumulated and carried over to succeeding years. Sick leave can be used for personal illness, care of sick family members, adoption, and medical appointments.
Home Leave
Full-time employees accrue 15 days (1.25 days/month) of home leave for each year of overseas service.
Moving Expenses
The CIA will reimburse new appointees certain costs for personal and dependent travel expenses and shipment of household goods, not to exceed 18,000 pounds. For more information about apartments and housing in the Washington Metropolitan Area, visit Apartment or Home Search.
Federal Health and Life Insurance
Employees can choose from a number of fee-for-service and HMO health insurance plans that vary in costs and benefits. Through the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program, the CIA offers group term life insurance at reasonable rates via payroll deductions. The CIA pays a percentage of the premium for federal health and life insurance programs, which offer coverage for eligible employees and their family members.
Supplemental Insurance
The Government Employees Health Association offers payroll deducted commercial insurance plans to include UBLIC term life insurance, Income Replacement, Group Accident, and Long Term Care.
Retirement
New employees with no prior federal service are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) three-tier system. Under this system, employees contribute 6.2% of their salary to Social Security, 1.45% to Medicare, and .8% to the Retirement Fund for a combined total of 8.45% of gross annual salary. Minimum retirement age under FERS is dependent on date of birth, but ranges from age 55 to 57. After completing five years of qualifying overseas service, FERS participants may be eligible to participate in the FERS CIA Special Category retirement system. FERS Special allows an employee to retire at age 50 with 20 or more years of service. New employees with at least five years' federal civilian service prior to 1 January 1987, may be covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or FERS.
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
The TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees. It is one element of the FERS three-part retirement package — TSP, Social Security, and FERS basic benefit — and consists of five investment funds including stocks, bonds, and government securities. TSP participants can also borrow from their own TSP contributions and earnings.
The employee contribution limits for employees covered by FERS, including FERS Special, the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), and the CIA Retirement and Disability System (CIARDS), will increase by one percent each year for a period of five years beginning in 2001.
| Year |
FERS/FERS SPECIAL Limit |
CSRS/CIARDS Limit |
| 2001 |
11% |
6% |
| 2002 |
12% |
7% |
| 2003 |
13% |
8% |
| 2004 |
14% |
9% |
| 2005 |
15% |
10% |
In 2006, contribution limits will be lifted entirely and employee contributions will be subject only to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) elective deferral limit. For 2001, the IRS elective deferral limit is $10,500 and will increase to $11,000 in 2002. The Government will automatically contribute 1% and match FERS and FERS Special employee contributions up to 5% of basic salary per pay period. There are no matching Government contributions for CSRS and CIARDS employees.
Voluntary Investment Plan
This IRS-qualified pension plan (401A) is designed to offer employees an opportunity to supplement their Social Security, retirement annuity, and Thrift Plan contributions. Participants pool their contributions to invest regularly in a tax-deferred program consisting of four investment options. There are no employer contributions.
Education and Training
Education and training should be part of every CIA employee's career development. Employees have access to a variety of training programs. All new employees attend a basic orientation, and most receive on-the-job and formal classroom training through a wide variety of internal courses. Employees may also be sponsored for external university and professional training, both full-time and part-time, in programs that are relevant to their jobs.
The Agency has a complete library with an excellent reference service and an extensive collection of national and international newspapers and periodicals. There is a self-study center and a language school. Monetary awards are available for gaining and maintaining competence in select foreign languages.
The Center for Career Transition
The Center for Career Transition offers an array of services to assist employees with career and transition planning, and also assists employees in making a successful transition into retirement or a second career. The Center's services include career counseling for employees seeking a career change within or outside the Agency, resume review and distribution via an area-wide network of corporate recruiters, job leads with numerous area employers in a variety of industries and functions, as well as a retirement workshop called Horizons. The workshop gives employees an opportunity to identify their skills and interests, get information on financial planning, and make post-retirement decisions. The Center's resources are available to spouses of new and relocating employees through the LEADS job search resource and counseling program.
Work-Life Programs
Finding the right balance between career and family is an important issue to employees and managers within the Agency. Our policies and programs are designed to help you cope with the dynamic complexities of work and life. We can provide information, make referrals, and answer questions about work concerns or family situations, including child and elder care resources, emergency assistance, and counseling on alternative work schedules and overseas life.
The Family Advisory Board (FAB)
This volunteer board is open to spouses who are not employed by the Agency. The FAB provides a unique opportunity for spouses to learn more about the Agency and to play an active role in helping family members and single employees adjust to relocation. FAB stays in close contact with the members it represents through regularly scheduled informational activities and its Neighborhood Network relocation assistance program. The FAB meets with Agency management to discuss employee and family issues. The board grants five scholarships annually based on academic achievement and financial need to qualified dependents of Agency employees.
Medical Leave Bank
Voluntary membership in this program allows employees to maintain a paid leave status during periods of extended personal or family medical emergencies and incapacitation preceding or following childbirth.
Family Friendly Leave
This program allows an employee to use up to five days of their available sick leave per year to provide health care for a family member or to plan or attend a funeral of a family member. Employees may use up to 13 days per year, if they maintain a sick leave balance of at least 80 hours.
Alternative Work Schedules and Hours
The Agency allows for flexibility in scheduling working hours and tours of duty for its employees including, but not limited to, gliding schedule, compressed week, variable day and week, flextime, part-time, and job sharing as office needs permit.
