Issue^
Miscellaneous Expense Allowance
|ag§J: Miscellaneous
Expense Allowance
The Department of S t a t e Standardized Regulations (DSSR) and t h e J o i n t
Travel Regulations ( J T R ) , Volume 2, authorizes a miscellaneous expense allow-
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ance ( M E A ) to reimburse various costs in connection with a permanent change
of station (PCS) residence relocation. Section 240 of t h e D S S R authorizes
M E A f o r new appointees performing f i r s t duty station travel to a foreign
post. Chapter 5 , Part G, of t h e J T R authorizes reimbursement f o r M E A f o r
f 3 S £ l & 4 : Understands
«erv,ce Computation Dates
employees t r a n s f e r r i n g on permanent change of station (PCS) or Temporary Change of Station
(TCS) travel. The M E A f o r employees t r a n s f e r r i n g are claimed on t h e "Travel Voucher or Subvoucher," DD Form 1351-2. Reimbursement f o r M E A f o r new appointees on f i r s t duty station travel to a
foreign post are claimed on t h e "Foreign Allowances Application, Grant and Report," SF-1190.
Employees may elect to claim a f l a t amount at t h e current rate of either $ 6 5 0 (without dependents)
or $1,300 (with dependents) f o r allowable miscellaneous expenses without receipts or itemized
statements. The authorizing o f f i c i a l may approve a higher amount in excess of t h e f l a t r a t e if t h e
claim is supported by evidence o f expenses incurred and t h e total amount does not exceed:
> 1 week's salary if the employee is without
dependents or 1 week's salary for an employee at GS-13,
step 10, whichever is the lesser amount, or
> 2 weeks' salary if the employee is with dependents or 2 weeks' salary for an employee at GS-13,
step 10, whichever is the lesser
amount.
Examples of reimbursable costs include:
> Disconnecting/connecting appliances, equipment and utilities involved in relocation, and converting
appliances f o r operation on available utilities (this does not include purchasing appliances or equipment in lieu of conversion);
> Cutting and f i t t i n g rugs, draperies and curtains moved f r o m one residence to another;
> Non-refundable utility f e e s / d e p o s i t s ;
> Automobile registration and driver's license;
> Shipment a n d / o r required quarantine of pet(s); and
> Rental agent's f e e incurred f o r living quarters in a foreign area t h a t are not o f f s e t by an eventual
refund provided t h e f e e s were not authorized as an allowable living quarters allowance expense.
For more information, contact t h e HQ HR Travel and Allowance
Branch at (571) 372-0581.
Dependent Parents of the Employee, Employee's Spouse or Same S e x Domestic
Partner For Purposes of Travel and Overseas Allowances
P a r e n t s o f t h e e m p l o y e e , employee's s p o u s e o r same s e x d o m e s t i c p a r t n e r may b e c o n s i d e r e d
d e p e n d e n t s f o r p e r m a n e n t d u t y t r a v e l e l i g i b i l i t y if t h e y a r e r e s i d i n g as m e m b e r s o f t h e e m ployee's h o u s e h o l d when t h e e m p l o y e e r e p o r t s f o r d u t y a t t h e new d u t y s t a t i o n o r p e r f o r m s
a u t h o r i z e d renewal a g r e e m e n t o r s e p a r a t i o n t r a v e l . I n a d d i t i o n , t h e p a r e n t m u s t r e c e i v e 51
p e r c e n t o f t h e i r s u p p o r t f r o m t h e e m p l o y e e , employee's s p o u s e , o r s a m e s e x d o m e s t i c p a r t n e r .
T h e y may also b e c o n s i d e r e d d e p e n d e n t s if t h e y a r e m e m b e r s o f t h e employee's h o u s e h o l d
a n d , in a d d i t i o n t o t h e i r own i n c o m e , r e c e i v e s u p p o r t (less t h a n 51 p e r c e n t ) f r o m t h e e m p l o y e e ,
e m p l o y e e ' s s p o u s e o r s a m e s e x d o m e s t i c p a r t n e r w i t h o u t w h i c h t h e y would b e unable t o m a i n t a i n a r e a s o n a b l e s t a n d a r d o f living.
F o r o v e r s e a s a l l o w a n c e s , p a r e n t s o f t h e e m p l o y e e , employee's s p o u s e o r s a m e s e x d o m e s t i c
p a r t n e r must b e r e s i d i n g w i t h t h e e m p l o y e e a t h i s / h e r o v e r s e a s p o s t and b e a t l e a s t 51
p e r c e n t d e p e n d e n t on t h e e m p l o y e e f o r s u p p o r t . F o r p u r p o s e s o f t r a v e l and o v e r s e a s allowa n c e s , t h e d e p e n d e n c y c r i t e r i a f o r a p a r e n t a r e not b a s e d on m e d i c a l n e e d s o f t h e p a r e n t .
R a t h e r it is b a s e d on m o n e t a r y s u p p o r t a n d t h e f a c t t h a t t h e p a r e n t r e s i d e s w i t h t h e
e m p l o y e e as a m e m b e r o f t h e employee's h o u s e h o l d .
A n e m p l o y e e ' s r e q u e s t t o e s t a b l i s h a p a r e n t as a d e p e n d e n t f o r t r a v e l and a l l o w a n c e s m u s t b e
a c c o m p a n i e d by d o c u m e n t a t i o n t o s u p p o r t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p and d o c u m e n t a t i o n t o s u p p o r t t h e
r e s i d e n c e of t h e p a r e n t . I n a d d i t i o n , a s e p a r a t e s i g n e d s t a t e m e n t is r e q u i r e d f r o m t h e
e m p l o y e e outlining t h e p a r e n t ' s annual income f r o m all s o u r c e s ; t h e p a r e n t ' s annual personal
and h o u s e h o l d e x p e n s e s and w h a t p o r t i o n o f t h o s e e x p e n s e s a r e paid by t h e e m p l o y e e .
F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , c o n t a c t t h e HQ
HR Travel
and Allowance
Branch
a t (571) 3 7 2 - 0 5 8 1 .
Withdrawal f r o m Non-Temporary Storage ( N T S )
E m p l o y e e s should i m m e d i a t e l y n o t i f y D L A Human R e s o u r c e s
D o D E A T e a m of t h e i r w i t h d r a w a l o f h o u s e h o l d ( H H G ) f r o m
N T S t o e n s u r e t h e i r g o v e r n m e n t expense
^KKSBtKKUs^BM
c i t a t i o n is t e r m i n a t -
e d in a t i m e l y f a s h i o n . Human R e s o u r c e s n e e d s t o c o m p l e t e a t e r m i n a t i o n l e t t e r t o s e n d t o t h e
a p p r o p r i a t e s t o r a g e company w h e n e m p l o y e e s r e m o v e t h e i r h o u s e h o l d g o o d s f r o m N T S . T h i s
e n s u r e s t h a t t h e g o v e r n m e n t is not paying f o r s t o r a g e t h a t is no longer n e e d e d by an
employee.
N o t i f i c a t i o n can b e a c c o m p l i s h e d by e i t h e r c a l l i n g , f a x i n g , o r emailing H u m a n R e s o u r c e s a t t h e
f o l l o w i n g n u m b e r s : Phone: (614) 6 9 2 - 2 2 2 5 , D S N : 8 5 0 - 2 2 2 5 ; F a x : (614) 6 9 3 - 1 6 7 7 ,
DSN:
8 6 9 - 1 6 7 7 ; a n d / o r e-mail:
Volume 2, Issue 2
[email protected]
Page 2
Understanding Service Computation bates
A Service
Computation Date, or S C D , is a date, either actual or constructed, used to determine
how much service is creditable toward eligibility f o r a specific benefit or entitlement. T h e SCD is
based on amounts of Federal service or how long an individual has been in Federal service. Service
that counts in the construction of an S C D is called "creditable service" and is based on amounts of
Federal service or how long an individual has been in Federal Service.
SCDs do not necessarily r e f l e c t a specific date when something happened. I n s t e a d , SCDs establish a "virtual" starting date f o r continuous creditable service. Creditable service is Federal
Government employment (civilian or uniformed service) that meets specific requirements f o r a
particular type of benefit. I f t h e r e are several separate periods of previous service, they are
added together. The total y e a r s , months, and days of previous service are then used in t h e SCD
calculation. Knowing that an employee has continuous creditable service since a specific date
makes eligibility determinations much simpler.
M o s t employees are familiar with the S C D shown on t h e i r S F 5 0 , Notification of Personnel Action.
Currently found in block 31, so the S F - 5 0 , this is your SCD (Leave), which r e f l e c t s service t h a t is
creditable f o r leave accrual purposes only. However, this is not the only SCD an individual has but
it is oftentimes confused as being the same SCD used f o r determining retirement eligibility.
SCDs can all be the same f o r one person, but they could also be completely d i f f e r e n t .
You could have service that is creditable f o r leave and T S P , but not f o r retirement, so your SCDs
f o r those purposes would be d i f f e r e n t .
O t h e r SCDs used by the government include:
> S C D Leave - This SCD determines an employee's rate f o r leave accrual purposes.
> S C D Retirement - This S C D r e f l e c t s service t h a t is creditable toward your eligibility to
retire.
> S C D T S P - I f you are covered by the Federal Employees' Retirement System ( F E R S ) , you have
an S C D T S P . I t r e f l e c t s the service t h a t counts toward entitlement to keep the government's
automatic 1 percent contribution to your T h r i f t Savings Plan (TSP) account.
> S C D R I F - This SCD r e f l e c t s service t h a t is creditable toward your standing on reduction-inf o r c e (RIF) lists. A R I F might be conducted if your agency needed to reduce the number of
employees on its rolls.
> S C D Civilian - this SCD contains all Federal civilian service
I t is important f o r employees to be aware t h a t when it comes to calculating a service computation
date, not all Federal service is t r e a t e d the same. H e r e are some examples of d i f f e r e n t types of
Federal service t h a t may be creditable d i f f e r e n t l y depending on which SCD calculation is being
performed:
««<Continued on Page 4 » » >
Page 3
Volume 2, Issue 2
Understanding Service Computation bates con't.
> P e r i o d s of absence,
service.
service
s u c h as leave w i t h o u t pay (to i n c l u d e non-pay s t a t u s ) o r b r e a k s in
I f t i m e in non-pay s t a t u s was m o r e t h a n 6 m o n t h s t o t a l in t h e calendar
c o m p u t a t i o n d a t e s f o r leave accrual,
a d j u s t e d t o reflect
year
r e d u c t i o n in f o r c e , and r e t i r e m e n t m u s t b e
t i m e in e x c e s s o f 6 m o n t h s in one c a l e n d a r y e a r .
> Congressional service.
> Peace C o r p s o r V I S T A v o l u n t e e r s e r v i c e .
> P e r i o d s of s e r v i c e w h e r e r e t i r e m e n t c o n t r i b u t i o n s w e r e r e f u n d e d .
> Military service.
> S e a s o n a l w o r k , s u m m e r j o b s and casual p o s t o f f i c e employment.
> Details to international organizations.
> W o r k f o r t h e D i s t r i c t of C o l u m b i a .
> S e r v i c e as a N a t i o n a l G u a r d t e c h n i c i a n .
> S e r v i c e under a d i f f e r e n t retirement system.
A l s o , t h e r u l e s f o r s e r v i c e c r e d i t have c h a n g e d o v e r t h e y e a r s ; t h e r e f o r e d e p e n d i n g upon
w h e n t h e s e r v i c e was p e r f o r m e d d i f f e r e n t c r e d i t i n g r u l e s may apply. T h i s is why i n d i v i d u als must begin t o plan e a r l y and s e e k i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g r e t i r e m e n t e l i g i b i l i t y .
Employ-
e e s do not s e e t h e i r r e t i r e m e n t S C D and it is only v e r i f i e d when an a c t i o n r e q u e s t s is
g e n e r a t e d t h a t r e q u i r e s t h e agency t o v e r i f y r e t i r e m e n t e l i g i b i l i t y o r c e r t i f i e d F e d e r a l
s e r v i c e f o r t h e p u r p o s e s of r e c e i v i n g a s p e c i f i c r e t i r e m e n t r e l a t e d b e n e f i t .
E m p l o y e e s who have q u e s t i o n s r e g a r d i n g t h e i r S e r v i c e C o m p u t a t i o n D a t e f o r r e t i r e m e n t
p u r p o s e s s h o u l d c o n t a c t t h e i r local H u m a n R e s o u r c e s R e p r e s e n t a t i v e o r e-mail t h e
HQ
Benefits
Unit
bobEA
at [email protected].
A l l o t h e r S C D inquiries should b e d i r e c t e d t o y o u r local Human R e s o u r c e s R e p r e s e n t a t i v e
or their servicing Customer Operations Team.
Please note:
The information provided is this news letter is gathered from sources which are thought to be reliable and is
intended as a useful resource and convenience to the reader. Such use is strictly voluntary and does not
constitute an official endorsement or approval by the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) of
any product or service. DoDEA does not assume any responsibility for errors and all information is subject to
change without notice.
Volume 2 Issue 2
Page 4