The Benefits of Working for Department of the Navy

Set your sails in OUR direction for an exciting civilian career with the Department of the Navy. Whether you are looking for a challenging career or career advancement, you have come to the right place. We currently employ 190,000 civilians in a wide variety of occupations in support of our Department's mission.

Competitive Salaries

We offer salaries that are competitive. Employees are normally paid every two weeks. In certain circumstances, employees may also receive overtime compensation, holiday pay, night differential, Sunday premium pay, bonuses and allowances. Federal employees receive annual cost of living pay adjustments and also receive other pay increases based on time in position and performance.

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Paid 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 will not be eligible to receive annual leave accrual credit for their military service.

Employees typically are allowed to carry a maximum of 30 workdays (240 hours) of annual leave from one leave year to the next.

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Sick Leave

Full-time employees accrue 4 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.

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Support of Work and Family

Comfortably balancing career and family requirements is an important issue to employees and managers within the Agency. The Department of the Navy's foundation of policies and programs is designed to help its employees cope with balancing the dynamic complexities of today's work and family life.

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Friendly Working Environment

The Department of the Navy is an equal employment opportunity employer and fosters an environment where employees are valued for their individual contribution to the accomplishment of the Department's mission. Employees have an opportunity to reach their fullest potential in a professional and challenging work environment.

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On-the-Job and Formal Education and Training

Education and training is encouraged. Navy employees have access to many excellent training programs and classes. All new employees attend a basic orientation and most receive on-the-job and formal classroom training through a wide variety of courses.

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Retirement Plan

New employees with no prior Federal service are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) three-tier system. Under this system, employees contribute to Social Security and Medicare, a Retirement fund and a Thrift Savings Plan. Its features are "portable" so that employees who leave Federal employment may still qualify for the benefits. Minimum retirement age under FERS is dependent on date of birth, but ranges from age 55 to 57.

Click here for more information on the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS)

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401K - Type Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

The TSP is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees, similar to the same type of savings and tax plan offered under most private corporation 401(k) plans and is one element of the FERS three part retirement system.

The TSP is a defined contribution plan. The retirement income you receive from your TSP account will depend on how much you have contributed to your account during your working life and the earnings on these contributions. FERS participants may contribute up to 14% of their salary under any of five investment funds offered. The Government automatically contributes 1% to your TSP account and will further match participant contributions up to 4% of basic salary, bringing the maximum government contribution to 5%. Employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) can contribute up to 9% of their salary and TSP. There is no matching government contributions to TSP for CSRS employees.

Two of the main features of TSP are "tax savings" and "tax deferred earnings". This means the contributions you make come out of your pay before taxes, and the earnings made on your TSP account are not taxed until you receive the money.

Further features include a choice of investment options, interfund transfers, loans from your own contributions and earnings, in-service withdrawals and portable benefits if you leave Federal service.

Click here for more information on the Thrift Savings Plan

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Group Health and Life Insurance

Under the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program, employees can choose from a number of health insurance plans that vary in costs and benefits. The Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) Program offers term life insurance at reasonable rates via payroll deductions. The Navy pays a percentage of the employee's premiums under both the Federal Health Benefits and Life Insurance programs.

Click here for more information on Federal Health and Life Insurance Programs.

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Recreation Activities and Programs

Generally, civilian employees may also use Department of the Navy recreational facilities that are open to active duty military personnel on a space available basis. This includes libraries, restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and other facilities. Discount entertainment tickets (theaters, movies, sporting events, and theme parks), vacation packages and cruises, and personal travel (air, train, ship) are also available to employees.