Federal employee bonuses could have a faster path to approval under a new change from the Office of Personnel Management. OPM has delegated authority to agency heads to approve individual cash and performance awards exceeding $10,000 and up to $25,000 without sending those recommendations to OPM for separate approval.
The change affects the approval process, not the maximum amount an employee can receive.
What’s Changing?
Previously, an agency could approve an individual performance award of up to $10,000 on its own. Awards above $10,000 and up to $25,000 required OPM review and approval. Under the new delegation, agency heads can approve awards in that higher range themselves.
OPM said the change is intended to reduce administrative hurdles and give agencies more flexibility to recognize different levels of performance.
The basic thresholds remain:
- Up to $10,000: Agency approval
- More than $10,000 through $25,000: Agency heads can now approve under the delegated authority
- More than $25,000: Still requires presidential approval
So this isn’t a new federal bonus program, and it doesn’t increase the amount an agency is legally allowed to award.
Why Does the Change Matter?
A federal agency that wants to give an employee a $15,000 or $20,000 performance award no longer has to send that recommendation through a separate OPM approval step. That could make it easier for agencies to recognize exceptional performance while the accomplishment is still relatively recent.
OPM’s announcement comes as the agency is also changing how federal performance ratings and performance awards are handled. For the FY 2026 appraisal cycle, OPM established a 40% ceiling on Level 4 and Level 5 ratings for covered career SES, Senior Professional, and General Schedule employees, along with recommended performance award ranges by rating level.
Does This Mean Bigger Bonuses Are Coming?
The new authority doesn’t require agencies to increase federal employee bonuses or give more employees awards. It simply gives agency leadership more control over awards that fall within the $10,001-to-$25,000 range.
Whether employees actually see more awards, or receive them more quickly, will depend on how individual agencies use the authority. It also doesn’t change the performance standards an employee must meet to receive an award.
What Federal Employees Should Know
If your agency already uses performance awards, the practical change is that a larger award may be able to move through the approval process with fewer steps. For employees, that means the potential bonus amount hasn’t changed, but the approval process has.
If you’re expecting a performance award this year, it’s worth paying attention to how your agency implements the new authority and how it fits with the agency’s broader performance-rating and award policies.
For now, the key takeaway is simple: OPM has given agency heads more authority over individual federal employee bonuses between $10,001 and $25,000.
