Agencies run different appraisal systems with different numbers of levels and different names for them. What follows describes the five-level pattern and the government-wide consequences that attach to a rating of record. Confirm how your own system maps onto it — a “3” does not mean the same thing everywhere.
I The order that just inverted
Under the framework that governed federal reductions in force for decades, retention standing was built in this order: tenure, then veterans' preference, then length of service, with performance as a final adjustment.
The rule at 91 FR 49178, effective for RIF notices issued on or after 2 September 2026, reversed it. Performance credit is computed first. Veterans' preference became points added to that score rather than a category ahead of it. Tenure and length of service became tie-breakers.
Twenty-five years of service used to be close to decisive against a colleague with eight. It is now a tie-breaker — reached only after performance credit has already separated you. An employee with three Level 5 ratings and eight years of service can outrank one with three Level 3 ratings and twenty-five. That is not an incidental effect of the rule; it is the point of it. The full mechanics are in RIF retention standing.
II How performance credit is scored
The credit is drawn from your three most recent ratings of record received during the four-year period preceding the cutoff date.
| Rating level | Typical name | Points per year |
|---|---|---|
| Level 5 | Outstanding | 7 |
| Level 4 | Exceeds Fully Successful | 5 |
| Level 3 | Fully Successful | 3 |
| Level 2 | Minimally Satisfactory | 0 |
| Level 1 | Unacceptable | 0 |
| Maximum credit | 21 | |
Two features of that scale are worth reading carefully.
It is steeper below than above. Moving from Level 3 to Level 4 gains two points. Falling from Level 3 to Level 2 loses three. Avoiding a bad year is worth more than earning a good one.
The window rolls. A weak rating stops counting after four years, so recovery is genuinely possible. But the ratings you are receiving now are already being scored toward a reduction in force nobody has announced — and by the time one is, the record is closed.
III Performance Credit Calculator
Enter your last three ratings. The calculator scores your credit, adds veterans’ preference points, and shows what a single year change is worth.
What Is My Retention Score?
Estimates only. Applies to RIF notices issued on or after 2 September 2026; earlier notices run under the prior framework.
IV Step increases and the competence test
Within-grade increases are often described as automatic. They are not quite — they are automatic conditional on one thing.
A WIGI requires that your performance be at an acceptable level of competence, which in most systems means a current rating of record at Level 3 or higher. A rating below that supports a denial, and a denial is separately reviewable.
A denied step increase is not a one-year loss. The step you did not get would have raised every subsequent paycheque, every percentage-based award computed on basic pay, and your high-3 at retirement. On a GS-13 the step interval is roughly $3,031 in 2026 — carried across a decade and into an annuity, a single denial costs a multiple of its face value. The waiting-period mechanics are in step increases.
V What a Level 5 actually buys
Three things, and one of them is worth substantially more than the others.
Quality Step Increase eligibility. A QSI is an accelerated step increase for outstanding performance, granted at agency discretion and available no more than once in a 52-week period. It permanently raises your rate — which is why it beats a cash award of similar face value.
Performance award positioning. Awards are discretionary and budget-dependent, and a top rating does not guarantee one. See performance awards.
Two extra retention points a year. Seven rather than five, under the 2026 rule.
Why the QSI is the one to chase
A GS-13 step 5 receives either a $3,000 cash award or a QSI moving them to step 6.
VI What falls away below Level 3
The reason a single weak rating matters more than its face value is that the consequences arrive together.
| What you lose | Because |
|---|---|
| Retention credit | Level 1 and Level 2 both score zero — not a reduced amount |
| Step increase | Acceptable level of competence is not supported |
| CTAP eligibility | Requires a current rating of at least Fully Successful |
| QSI and awards | Both are gated well above Level 3 |
| Position, eventually | Level 1 opens the PIP process |
The CTAP consequence is the cruellest of these, because it lands at the worst moment: an employee facing a RIF with a weak rating loses both retention standing and the placement priority that would have cushioned the separation. See priority placement and performance improvement plans.
VII Challenging a rating
The route depends on your situation. Bargaining unit employees usually have a negotiated grievance procedure; others use the agency administrative grievance system. A within-grade increase denial carries its own reconsideration process. Discrimination or retaliation claims run separately through EEO or the Office of Special Counsel.
Not disagreement about judgement — contemporaneous evidence of what you delivered. That evidence has to exist before the rating is issued, which means the time to prepare for a rating dispute is the start of the cycle, not the end of it. Read your performance plan when it is issued, confirm what each element actually requires, ask for mid-year feedback in writing, and keep a running record. The practice is set out in documenting everything.
VIII The playbook
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Start of the rating cycle | Read the performance plan and confirm what each element requires. Ask if it is vague. |
| Mid-cycle | Request feedback in writing. A surprise at rating time is a documentation failure. |
| Rating below what the record supports | Raise it immediately. It counts for four years. |
| Long service, average ratings | Your tenure is now a tie-breaker, not a shield. The ratings are what separate you. |
| One weak year in the window | It rolls off after four years. Recovery is possible. |
| Step increase denied | Ask whether the acceptable level of competence determination is the basis, and use the reconsideration process. |
| Received a Level 5 | Ask about a QSI specifically. It beats a cash award of similar size. |
| Facing a possible RIF | Your last three ratings are already fixed. Focus on placement priority instead. |
| Below Fully Successful | CTAP eligibility is gone too. Address the rating before anything else. |
| Any year | Keep a contemporaneous accomplishment record. Reconstruction never persuades. |
Treating the rating as what it now is
- Pull your last three ratings of record and score them against the credit table.
- Work out how many points separate you from the 21-point maximum.
- Read this cycle's performance plan and confirm what each element requires.
- Ask for mid-year feedback in writing and keep it.
- Record accomplishments as they happen, with dates and outcomes.
- Confirm your current rating supports the acceptable level of competence for your WIGI.
- If you hold a Level 5, ask explicitly about a QSI rather than a cash award.
- Check whether your rating keeps you above the CTAP floor.
- Challenge an unsupported rating at once — it counts for four years.
- Note when each weak year rolls out of the window.
Frequently asked questions
The reduction in force rule effective September 2, 2026 inverted the retention order. Performance credit is now scored first, before tenure and before veterans' preference. The credit is drawn from the three most recent ratings of record received during the four-year period prior to the issuance of reduction in force notices, scored at 7 points for a Level 5 rating, 5 points for Level 4, 3 points for Level 3, and zero for Level 1 or Level 2, to a maximum of 21 points. Under the previous framework tenure came first and performance was the final tie-breaker. The practical effect is that a run of average ratings now costs you standing that length of service used to protect.
Three ratings at Level 5, seven points each. That is the whole arithmetic, and it is worth reading the scale carefully because it is not symmetrical. Moving from Level 3 to Level 4 gains you two points for that year. Falling from Level 3 to Level 2 loses you the entire three. Avoiding a bad year is therefore worth more than earning a good one, and a single year below Fully Successful costs more standing than a single outstanding year buys.
Yes, through the acceptable level of competence determination. A within-grade increase requires that your performance be at an acceptable level of competence, which in most systems means a current rating of record at Level 3, Fully Successful, or higher. A rating below that supports a denial of the increase, and the denial is separately reviewable. Step increases are otherwise automatic on the waiting period, which is precisely why the rating is the only thing standing between you and the money.
Three things. It is the eligibility gate for a Quality Step Increase, an accelerated step increase that permanently raises your rate and can be received no more than once in a 52-week period. It positions you for a performance award, though awards are discretionary and budget-dependent. And under the 2026 RIF rule it is worth seven points of retention credit per year rather than five. The QSI is the most valuable of the three because it compounds — an accelerated step raises every future paycheque and every future percentage-based award.
Several doors close at once, which is why a single weak rating matters more than its face value. You score zero retention credit for that year under the RIF rule. You may lose the acceptable level of competence determination that supports your within-grade increase. You become ineligible for CTAP, which requires a current rating of record of at least Fully Successful. And in most systems a Level 1 rating opens the performance improvement plan process. The consequences compound because they arrive together.
Usually, though the route depends on your situation. Bargaining unit employees typically have a negotiated grievance procedure; others use the agency administrative grievance system. A within-grade increase denial has its own reconsideration process. Discrimination or retaliation claims run on separate tracks through EEO or the Office of Special Counsel. What almost never works is arguing about the rating in the abstract — what works is contemporaneous evidence of what you delivered, which has to exist before the rating is issued.
For RIF retention purposes, the three most recent ratings of record received during the four-year period prior to the issuance of reduction in force notices. That is a rolling window, which has two consequences. A weak rating stops counting after four years, so recovery is possible. But it also means the ratings you receive today are already being counted toward a reduction in force that has not been announced yet, and by the time one is announced the record is closed.
Treat the rating as a compensation and job-security event rather than an administrative formality, because that is now what it is. Keep a contemporaneous record of accomplishments as they happen rather than reconstructing one at rating time. Read your performance plan at the start of the cycle and confirm what the elements actually require. Ask for mid-year feedback in writing. And if a rating comes in below what the record supports, raise it immediately, because the four-year retention window means a rating you accept quietly today is still being counted three years from now.