A. NDAA 2010 requires the transition of NSPS employees, with no loss of or decrease in pay upon conversion out, to non-NSPS personnel systems by not later than by January 1, 2012.

A. It is the Department’s intent to complete the transition process as soon as possible.

A. The specific process for transitioning organizations and employees from NSPS is still under development. The Department will not begin the process until it has a comprehensive plan of action and processes in place.

A. Employees will experience no loss of or decrease in pay upon conversion out of NSPS. The grade of the position will be determined using the same procedures and criteria currently in use for GS employees.

A. NDAA 2010 requires the Secretary of Defense to terminate NSPS and transition employees and positions from NSPS not later than January 1, 2012. The Department is developing a plan of action to accomplish the transition. Our goal is to execute an orderly transition with the least disruption to organizations, mission and workforce.

A. It is necessary to establish guidance and procedures for a major transition effort to protect employees and ensure that actions are performed accurately. Leadership and human resources practitioners will work to ensure a smooth process with minimal disruption.

A. Transition timelines will be determined based on organizational readiness, evidenced by:

• Avoidance of undue interruption to mission and hardship to employees
• Established processes to classify NSPS positions into the appropriate non-NSPS personnel system
• Existence of an appropriate legacy performance management system
• Information technology capability

A. The human resources practitioners servicing your organization will transition NSPS employees to appropriate non-NSPS personnel systems.

A. No. The majority of the NSPS workforce will return to GS. However, the Department’s leadership is assessing what is required for organizations previously covered under personnel systems other than GS, such as the Navy alternative personnel system, Acquisition Demonstration Projects or organizations that, by law, must be converted to Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratory Demonstration Projects. It is important to note that employees will experience no loss of or decrease in current pay upon conversion out of NSPS.

A. Information is available on the Office of Personnel Management Web Site (http://www.opm.gov). Your servicing human resources office can provide additional information. The web-based GS 101 training course is accessible from the NSPS Web Site and provides an overview of the GS system.

A. Yes. While organizations have been instructed to begin appointing individuals to non-NSPS pay systems, there will be some exceptions to avoid undue disruption to mission. After March 1, 2010, the majority of positions within NSPS organizations will be announced under GS.

A. Federal employees are expected to have annual performance plans and appraisals. One of the key features of NSPS was the alignment of mission and individual job objectives. This is a positive aspect of any performance appraisal system. Regardless of an employee’s personnel system, it is important to understand how work aligns with mission and organizational priorities so expectations for where and how employees should focus efforts are clear. The Department encourages all employees to continue to have mission-aligned objectives.

A. The NSPS Transition Office is the successor organization to the Program Executive Office, NSPS. The office title was changed to reflect its new mission which is to effectively and efficiently transition NSPS employees to appropriate non-NSPS personnel systems.

A. Yes. In addition to managing the transition, the NSPSTO will also be responsible for the design and implementation of an enterprise-wide performance management system, redesigned hiring processes and procedures, and the DoD Civilian Workforce Incentive Fund under authorities granted to the Secretary of Defense in NDAA 2010.

A. NSPS is the Department of Defense's (DoD) flexible and responsive civilian management system that:

• Values contribution and performance
• Encourages communication
• Supports broader skill development
• Promotes excellence in the workplace

A. The key components of NSPS are:

• Classification system
• Compensation structure
• Performance management system
• Staffing and employment

A. Pay bands incorporate a salary range that represents the scope and difficulty of work. Many of the factors used to classify positions under NSPS, such as complexity and level of work, are the same as those under GS. The pay system sets minimum and maximum pay rates for each pay band.

Typically, pay bands are structured as follows:

• Pay Band 1 includes entry/intern/developmental positions
• Pay Band 2 includes full-performance/journey level positions
• Pay Band 3 includes subject matter expert/program manager level positions

A. You may receive a pay increase in several ways including:

• General pay increase (GPI)
• Local market supplement (LMS) adjustments
• Performance-based increases Promotions
• Reassignments or other placement actions Accelerated Compensation for Developmental Positions (ACDP)

A. Yes. If you have a final rating of record of Level 2 (Fair) or higher, you will receive the GPI.

A. No. The GPI is comprised of two components: (1) an across the board base salary increase based on the change in private sector pay as measured by the Employment Cost Index (ECI); and (2) an increase based on locality. Generally, these are adjusted annually by an Executive Order following an appropriation bill from the Congress.

A non-foreign Cost of Living Allowance, or COLA, is an allowance paid by the government to white collar civilian Federal employees in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additional information on COLAs may be found on the OPM web page at https://www.opm.gov/oca/cola/index.asp.

A. An adjusted salary includes your base salary plus a local market supplement (if applicable).

A. Under NSPS, there are no "steps" similar to the GS system, therefore WGIs no longer exist. Money that was used for WGIs is used to help fund pay pools. Employees who receive ratings of record of 3 (Valued Performers) or higher are eligible for performance-based payouts.

A. LMS is a geographic and occupation based supplement paid in addition to your base salary. Your entitlement to LMS is based on whether your official worksite is located in a particular local market area and/or occupation.

A. The standard LMS is the same as GS locality pay.

A. With the exception of certain physicians and dentists, if you have a final rating of record of Level 2 (Fair) or higher, you will receive a local market supplement adjustment equivalent to locality pay under GS.

A. If you are in a developmental position, you are eligible for performance-based pay in recognition of your performance and contributions.

• Your performance must be rated at Level 3 (Valued Performer) or higher.
• Your performance payout may be in the form of a base salary increase, bonus or combination of both.

If you are assigned to Pay Band 1 of a non-supervisory pay schedule and have a rating of record of Level 3 (Valued Performer) or higher, you may be eligible for pay increases under the Accelerated Compensation for Developmental Positions (ACDP). ACDP:

• Recognizes growth and development in acquiring job related competencies and successful performance of job objectives.
• Offers an increase to base salary, bonus or combination of both based on performance.
• May increase your base salary within Pay Band 1 by up to 20 percent.

Another type of pay increase is promotion from Pay Band 1 to Pay Band 2 of a Professional, Analytical, or Investigative pay schedule.

• Employees are eligible for this noncompetitive promotion because they have already competed for the next higher level.
• When management promotes employees from Pay Band 1 to Pay Band 2, employees are eligible to receive a significant base salary increase (from 6 percent to 12 percent and sometimes higher, subject to higher management approval, or as necessary to meet the minimum rate of the pay band to which promoted).

During the first 12 months after conversion, employees who are not eligible for the ACDP provision are eligible to receive a base salary increase equivalent to a noncompetitive promotion when:

• The grade level of the promotion is encompassed within the same pay band;
• The employee's performance warrants the pay increase; and
• A promotion would have otherwise occurred during that period.

A. You are eligible to receive the equivalent of the government-wide pay increase (GPI) and a local market supplement adjustment.

A. Yes, you can based on performance and the opportunities you seek for reassignments including:

• Employee-initiated reassignment: You may receive up to a cumulative 5 percent in base salary increase in a 12-month period no matter how many times you voluntarily move during that period. An exception to the 12-month limitation may be approved by an authorized management official.
• Management-directed reassignment: You may receive up to 5 percent in base salary increase for each reassignment. There is no limit to the number of times you may receive a management-directed reassignment and you are eligible for a base salary increase of up to 5 percent with each reassignment.
• Voluntary movement to a lower pay band: Your base salary must be set within the assigned pay band. Management may increase your base salary by up to 5 percent (not to exceed the maximum of the rate range).

A. A promotion is a temporary or permanent move to a position in a higher pay band. When you receive a promotion, your base salary increases by a minimum of 6 percent and a maximum of 12 percent. However, increases greater than 12 percent may occur if higher level management has approved a greater increase in accordance with NSPS regulations and Component policy or as necessary to meet the minimum rate of the higher pay band. If the promotion is temporary, your base salary reverts to that of your permanent position upon termination of temporary promotion.

A. The law requires that the aggregate amount of money allocated for civilian compensation for organizations under NSPS may not be less than the amount that would have been allocated under the GS system. There is a requirement that Components must certify that they have spent no less than what they would have spent on compensation of civilian employees if the employees had not converted to NSPS.

A. In most cases, the answer is no. NSPS employees are generally covered by the GS premium pay limitations established under 5 U.S.C. 5547 and related regulations. There are special cases that allow for exceptions to the annual premium pay limit (i.e. employees assigned to the CENTCOM area of responsibility). However, barring a special circumstance, you may not receive premium pay when your salary exceeds the GS-15, step 10 cap. NSPS generally follows the GS limitations that govern the amount of premium pay that employees receive with some slight modifications. The categories of premium pay covered by these limitations include:

• Overtime pay (except overtime pay earned by nonexempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act)
• Compensatory time off (except compensatory time off for travel)
• Premium pay for regularly scheduled standby duty (applies to certain firefighters and emergency medical technicians)
• Availability pay for criminal investigators
• Holiday pay
• Night pay
• Sunday pay

A. Supervisors have the flexibility to align individual work with organizational goals and provide employees with increased opportunity to expand skill sets and develop new competencies. With management-directed reassignments, a supervisor may exercise this flexibility and offer you up to a 5 percent base salary increase when local or Component-level policies permit.

A. Supervisors consider the following factors:

• Critical mission or business requirements
• Employee’s past and anticipated performance and contribution
• Employee’s specialized skills or knowledge
• Labor market conditions, including availability of candidates and rates paid for similar types of work
• Base salary paid to other employees in similar positions in the higher pay band
• Location of the position

A. Supervisors and managers are trained and evaluated on how well they exercise their performance management responsibilities. Their effectiveness is an important factor in determining their own evaluations and pay increases.

NSPS is designed to use pay pool panels (groups of management officials) to evaluate and reconcile an organization’s performance ratings. The pay pool process is a means of checks and balances for employee performance ratings and rewards.

A. You are entitled to a reconsideration if you do not agree with your final rating of record. Within 10 calendar days of receipt of the rating of record, you must submit a written request for reconsideration to the pay pool manager and provide a copy to your rating official and the servicing human resources office (HRO). For further details on the reconsideration process, please contact your servicing HR Office.

A. No. NSPS regulations prohibit forced distribution of performance ratings.

A. Forced distribution occurs when managers assign performance ratings based on a pre-determined rating distribution by percent of the population or number of employees. In forced distribution rating systems, employees are ranked relative to one another, rather than the evaluation of individual employee job performance assessed against rating criteria.

The NSPS regulations (5 CFR §9901.412(a)) expressly prohibit the use of forced or pre-determined distribution of ratings.