Benefits

Leave can fall under many different categories, the most common being annual leave and sick leave. As a new employee to the Federal government, you are entitled to both annual and sick leave beginning the first day of your new job.

New full-time employees earn 4 hours of annual leave and 4 hours of sick leave per pay period, for the first three years on the job. After three years you will begin to earn 6 hours of annual leave for each pay period. You are allowed to carry over 240 hours of annual leave over at the end of each leave year.

For more information on leave please review the fact sheets on the various leave programs on OPM's website.

Disabled Veteran Leave (Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015)

Under the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-75, November 5, 2015), an employee hired on or after November 5, 2016, who is a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 30 percent or more from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs is entitled to up to 104 hours of disabled veteran leave for the purposes of undergoing medical treatment for such disability.

An eligible employee will receive the appropriate amount of disabled veteran leave as of the employee’s “first day of employment,” as defined below. Disabled veteran leave is a one-time benefit provided to an eligible employee. The employee will have a single, continuous 12-month eligibility period, beginning on the “first day of employment” in which to use the leave or it will be forfeited with no opportunity to carry over the leave into subsequent years. An employee may not receive a lump-sum payment for any unused or forfeited leave under any circumstance.

For complete details about the new Disabled Veteran Leave entitlement, see the Disabled Veteran Leave Fact Sheet on OPM’s website.

Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the public holidays listed in these pages for Federal employees. Please note that most Federal employees work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these employees, when a holiday falls on a non-workday -- Saturday or Sunday -- the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).

2023 Holiday Schedule

CBP Backup Care

CBP Backup Care helps employees find safe, temporary care for children, adults, pets and self-care when their regular care plans are disrupted due to:

• Planned events (holidays, caregiver vacations, travel)
• Unplanned events (overtime, caregiver / self-illness, illness, school closures, child is mildly ill and can’t go to school, business travel)
• Injury (You need help recovering from a personal illness or injury in order to return to work)

Employees can choose from the following care options:

• In-Network Center Based or in-home care providers nationwide
• Out of Network Providers of the members choice
• Friend and Family

Employees are eligible for (no income requirements):

• 5 visits per employee per fiscal year for a co-pay of $20.00 per visit
• $75.00 reimbursement for Friends and Family care – per family, per day

Childcare Subsidy Program

The Child Care Subsidy Program applies to full and part-time employees whose children are under the age 13, or disabled under the age of 18, and are enrolled, or will be enrolled in licensed family child care homes or center-based child care. The child care must be licensed and regulated by State and/or local authorities. Before/After school care and camps may qualify too.

​At CBP, we believe in supporting employees' efforts to improve their physical health by conducting fitness events such as walking challenges, by providing health information, and by offering support for healthy lifestyle choices.

Staff health is of the utmost importance to CBP. CBP staff are eligible to choose from a variety of premium federal health insurance programs. Programs available include:

• Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program
• Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP)
• Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS)
• Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP)

Note that you may be eligible to keep your health insurance in retirement and pay the same subsidized premium as you did as an employee. Learn more about the continued health insurance benefits for you and your family in retirement.

Flexible Spending Accounts allows eligible employees to pay for certain health and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars. You may choose to make a voluntary allotment from your salary to your FSA account(s). You will not pay taxes on your allotments.

You have 60 days from your entry on duty date to sign-up for FSA accounts, or until October 1, whichever comes first. If you wish to enroll after October 1, you will need to do so during the open season, which is mid-November to mid-December, with an effective date of January 1 of the following year. For further FSA information and/or to enroll, please visit the FSAFEDS website or call 1-877-FSA-FEDS.

A keystone of financial planning is making sure that your family and loved ones are taken care of financially, even after your death. CBP offers several federal life insurance programs to help you achieve your financial planning goals. Federal Life Insurance Programs available to employees include:

• Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI)
• Basic Employee Death Benefit (BEDB) for FERS Employees
• Special Agents Mutual Benefit Association (SAMBA) Employee Benevolent Fund

Employees that retire from CBP can count on the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) to enjoy life after working. FERS includes the following three streams of income:

1. Thrift Savings Plan: Similar to a 401(k) plan, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a defined contribution plan designed to give federal employees the same retirement savings related benefits that workers in the private sector enjoy with 401(k) plans. Contributions to the plan are automatically deducted from each paycheck, the amount which is chosen by employees, and is transferable if you change employers. An additional benefit to the TSP is employer matching contributions; up to 5% of your base salary.
2. FERS Basic Annuity: CBP employees may be eligible for the generous FERS basic annuity. This guaranteed lifetime pension, paid to retirees is a percentage of your highest average basic pay you earned during any 3 consecutive years of service. Learn more.
3. Social Security: You receive social security retirement payments, the benefits of which are transferable when you change employers. Learn more about Social Security retirement benefits.

Your salary varies based on your GS level and the locality that you work in. Navigate the OPM pay tables to learn how much you are eligible to make in your locality.

When a position is determined to be hard to fill, the Student Loan Repayment Program authorizes CBP to repay federal student loans of employees as a recruitment and retention tool. Upon the signing of a service agreement, up to $60,000 may be repaid on behalf of a CBP employee.

CBP full-time employees are eligible to apply for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, a federal program designed to encourage college graduates to enter into public service. It offers tax-free forgiveness of student loan debts for government and non-profit organization employees after 10 years of public service and 120 qualifying payments.

The TSP is the Federal government's version of the public sector's 401K plan. It is a retirement savings and investment plan in which you do not pay taxes on your contributions and earnings until they are withdrawn from your account. Because TSP contributions are a major portion of the total retirement package of FERS, participation is especially encouraged for employees who are covered by that retirement plan.

New employees covered by either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) may contribute up to $18,500 (in calendar year 2018) to the TSP via payroll deductions. The TSP maximum contribution level for Federal employees each calendar year is equal to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Annual Elective Deferral Limit.

Beginning August 1, 2010, all newly hired or rehired employees covered by either FERS or CSRS who are eligible to participate in the TSP have automatic enrollment in the TSP. This means the Agency automatically withdraws a set percentage from the new/rehired employee's basic pay as a contribution to the TSP unless the employee declines to contribute (opt out).  In 2020, the percentage amount increased from 3% to 5% for automatic enrollments.  All employees can amend contribution amounts by completing a new election via the Employee Personal Page (EPP).  New employees can only receive a refund of all their employee contributions and earnings from the automatic enrollment if they opt out within 90 days of their first pay period. The TSP does not refund the Agency matching contributions; those contributions are forfeited to the TSP. TSP will provide information about the refund process in the "Welcome to TSP" letter sent to all new employees.

FERS employees immediately receive Agency contributions comprised of an Agency Automatic Contribution (1%) and Agency Matching Contributions on the first 5% contributed by the employee. The match is dollar for dollar for the first 3% and 50 cents on the dollar for the remaining 2%, meaning the 5% automatic enrollment entitles the employee to a 4% match by the Agency.  The Agency Automatic Contribution and Agency Matching Contributions total 5% for FERS employees, allowing the employee to invest 10% in the TSP while contributing only 5% of their own money.

CSRS employees who are rehires and eligible for TSP receive the automatic enrollment. However, CSRS employees do not receive Agency contributions. See the summary of the Thrift Saving Plan on the TSP website.

Education and training should be part of every CBP 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.