The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) protects the retirement incomes of approximately 42 million American workers in about 45,000 defined benefit pension plans. A defined benefit plan provides a specified monthly benefit at retirement, often based on a combination of salary and years of service. PBGC is a federal agency of about 750 employees, located in Washington, DC.

Salaried positions for students are available in two types of programs: the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) and the Student Career Experience Program (SCEP).

STEP positions include Clerk or Office Automation Clerk positions, consisting of a broad range of clerical duties, such as typing, filing, and answering routine customer questions. You may work a part-time schedule of 20 hours or less when school is in session, and work up to 40 hours per week at any other time with supervisory approval.

SCEP includes the Student Trainee (Actuary) position. This is a cooperative work-study program, and students will assist actuaries in reviewing termination cases, in producing benefit statements for selected plan participants, and in testing in-house software by calculating sample data. PBGC is seeking students who are pursuing a degree in mathematics or actuarial science and are 2-3 years from graduation. You must also be enrolled in your institution's cooperative education program and maintain a 3.0 GPA. You may work full-time or part-time schedules during the year. Work will be scheduled so that by graduation, you will complete at least 1200 hours of work. Upon receipt of your bachelor's degree, PBGC may noncompetitively convert you to a career or career conditional appointment within 120 days of graduation.

Benefits of student employment include: annual and sick leave, and eligibility for paid holidays. STEP employees are eligible for health benefits coverage after one year by paying the full premium. SCEP employees whose employment is scheduled for over a year and work one-third of the time from the date of appointment are eligible to elect Federal life insurance and health benefits plans.

To be eligible for all student positions, you must be a U.S. Citizen, at least 16 years old, and not have relatives employed at PBGC. Student positions are at the GS-2, 3 and 4 grade levels depending on your level of education and experience. For a link to federal salaries, visit: www.opm.gov/oca/payrates. To apply, please submit a resume, OF-306 (Declaration of Federal Employment), a current class schedule, and a transcript which shows that you have maintained a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above for the STEP (or if enrolled in high school, a letter from an official documenting that you are in good standing), or a 3.0 or above for the SCEP. For the SCEP, you must also submit proof that you are enrolled in an institution's cooperative education program.

Applications are accepted at any time and should be mailed to Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Human Resources Department, 1200 K St. NW, Suite 120, Washington, DC 20005, or faxed to 202-326-4249. For additional information about the student programs, please call David Barash at (202) 326-4110 x3177, or e-mail barash.david@pbgc.gov.

AS OF: 02-06-01

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