New Retention Pay at BOP as Understaffing Pressures Persist
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is trying to get more frontline workers to stay on the job as the agency continues to grapple with widespread understaffing.
The incentives, which take effect in February, will apply to correctional officers and other frontline positions, according to an internal email from BOP Director William K. Marshall III obtained by Federal News Network.
“These retention incentives are about keeping the experience in our institutions while we throw everything we have to deliver reinforcements and bring relief to an exhausted workforce,” wrote Director Marshall in the email.
The value of the upcoming retention pay incentives will depend on an employee’s occupation and location, along with staffing levels at their facility.
“Tier 1 and tier 2 institutions represent our most critically understaffed locations and will receive the strongest support,” wrote Director Marshall, with correctional officers at “tier 1” institutions receiving a ten percent pay bonus, and correctional officers at “tier 2” institutions receiving a five percent bonus.
All mid-level practitioners and psychologists will receive a 25 percent retention bonus and all lieutenants, registered nurses and special education teachers will receive a ten percent bonus.
BOP employees who are eligible for the new retention incentive, and are already receiving incentive pay, will keep the higher of the two.
Calls for Broader Pay Reform
Retention incentives are reviewed annually and could be revoked if they are not needed. That has organizations like the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) calling for passage of the just introduced Federal Correctional Officer Paycheck Protection Act.
The bill would establish a 35 percent increase in base pay for all BOP correctional staff, including those paid under the General Schedule (GS), the GS Law Enforcement Officer pay plan (GL), and the Wage Grade (WG) system.
AFGE says the bill brings BOP in line with other federal law enforcement agencies that have “modern pay structures, career ladders, and premium pay.”
“This reform is critical. It will align BOP compensation with federal law enforcement standards, stem the loss of experienced officers, and attract qualified applicants in an increasingly competitive hiring market,” said AFGE Council of Prison Locals National President Brandy Moore White.
The push comes as the management of the federal prison system remains on the Government Accountability Office’s high-risk list, in part due to workforce challenges such as chronic understaffing and heavy reliance on overtime.
The new incentives also coincide with an expected 3.8 percent federal pay raise for BOP correctional officers, part of President Trump’s broader 2026 pay increase for certain law enforcement personnel.