The Foreign Service Journal, October 2005

OCTOBER 2005 • AFSA NEWS 5 with creditable service between 1989 and 1998 to buy back retirement coverage for that period. On Aug. 29, the Office of PersonnelManagement, the implement- ing agency, finally issued interim regu- lations to implement the PITbuyout pro- vision. There is a 60-day comment peri- od, which ends Oct. 28. Applicants, including annuitants, will be required to demonstrate that theymeet the criteria for the buyback and to doc- ument their creditable service during the years 1989-1998. AFSA encourages applicants to begin this process now. According to the proposed regula- tions, applicants must meet eligibility requirements for family-member limit- ed non-career appointments (in effect on Sept. 30, 2002). In addition, the service must have been performed at a U.S. mis- sion abroad, been of a temporary nature (one year or less), lasted for periods of 90 days or more andwould have been cred- itable under the Federal Employees Retirement System if it had been per- formed before 1989. Applications for a buyback must be made within 36 months of the effective date of the final regulations. Applicants who were enrolled under the Federal Employment Retirement System must submit Form 3108, called “Application toMake Service Credit Payment,” which is available at www.opm.gov.forms/ pdf_fill/SF3108.pdf. Applicants enrolled under the Foreign Service Pension System must submit a DS 5001, called “Application for Service Credit,” which is available online at www.rnet.state.gov under forms. In support applicants should gather notices of personnel actions (Form SF-50), pay adjustments and leave statements for submission to the Retirement Office (HR/RET). Once HR/RET verifies creditable periods of employment, the department will calculate and informapplicants of the deposit needed to purchase service cred- it. Applicantsmust thenmake one lump- sum deposit within 180 days of being notified of the required amount. o PIT • Continued from page 1 V.P. VOICE: FCS n BY DONALD BUSINGER Plus ca Change A s I write my first column as the new AFSA FCS Vice President, we have yet to have our first meeting with management on the fall 2005 midterm proposals (which is scheduled for Sept. 1). AFSA FCS Representative Will Center and I posted both the results of recent agree- ments, as well as topics for future consideration, on the AFSA Web site (www.afsa.org/fcs) un der “current issues.” There have been a host of other problems requiring significant attention— from domestic relocation allowance to time-in-class issues and Personnel Audit Reports. As one who personally benefited from the domestic relocation allowance 10 years ago, I was more familiar thanmost with 14 FAM630 and FTR 302-11. But I remain seriously concerned about recent changes both to the regulations and their appli- cation by our agency in times of tightening budgets. Consult with me or your Office of Foreign Service Human Resources man- ager if you need to know more about this allowance. Time-in-class regulations affect all Foreign Service agencies and FCS officers in a fundamental way, and I thought we had a set policy, but I discovered that there are — surprise — some major issues lurking here as well, which we are currently revis- iting. For the 2005 Selection and Promotion Boards, all of you were asked to certify your Personnel Audit Report. The PAR is meant to be a brief but accurate snap- shot of each officer’s record in FCS, including assignments, promotion record, lan- guage proficiency and awards. I personally spent over an hour poring through my official personnel file, finding a number of minor errors in addition to issues I “dis- puted.” While I had nothing major to change, other officers remain upset that in some cases their assignment historymerely refers to “training complement” and does not reflect their actual jobs. To some extent this relates to “programming deficien- cies” — the computer does not let us be fully accurate! I amproud to report that I just completed an unofficial count of our AFSA active- duty members —168 out of 255 FCS officers (66 percent). Of these, 134 are over- seas and 34 are in theUnited States at headquarters, in training or at Export Assistance Centers around the country. In closing, we all know the really big issues surrounding “strategic disbursement” (aka “supersized”right-sizing ), involving significant cutbacks both overseas (post closings) and inHQ and the domestic field (the latter two including Foreign Service but mostly affecting the Civil Service). As our Civil Service colleagues in the International Trade Administration move back to the old five-level performance system (anyone remember merit pay?) and the administration pushes for system- atic Civil Service reform with unknown consequences for the Foreign Service sys- tem, we all may experience “back to the future” in these times of increasingly rapid change. Your AFSA VP and representative will make every effort to ensure that the changes represent progress. o We all know the really big issues surrounding “strategic disbursement,” involving significant cutbacks both overseas and in HQ and the domestic field.