and Human Services (HHS)
SALARY LIMITATION ON GRANTS, COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND CONTRACTS
RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2003
NOTICE: NOT-OD-03-034
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
This notice provides updated information regarding the salary
limitation for NIH grant and cooperative agreement awards and
extramural research and development contract awards. On January 25,
2002, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 information on the salary limitation
was published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.
A notice on the continuing resolutions for FY 2003 regarding the
salary limitation was published February 10, 2003.
For fourteen consecutive years, Congress has legislatively mandated a
provision for the limitation of salary. For FY 2003,the Consolidated
Appropriations Resolution 2003, Public Law 108-7, which includes
appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services,
restricts the amount of direct salary of an individual under an NIH
grant or cooperative agreement (referred to here as a grant) or
applicable contract to Executive Level I of the Federal Executive Pay
scale. The Executive Level I annual salary rate was $166,700 for the
period January 1 through December 31, 2002. Effective January 1, 2003,
the Executive Level I salary level increased to $171,900.
For the purposes of the salary limitation, the terms "direct salary,"
"salary," and "institutional base salary" have the same meaning and are
exclusive of fringe benefits and facilities and administrative (F&A)
expenses, also referred to as indirect costs. An individual's
institutional base salary is the annual compensation that the applicant
organization pays for an individual's appointment, whether that
individual's time is spent on research, teaching, patient care, or
other activities. Base salary excludes any income that an individual
may be permitted to earn outside of the duties to the applicant
organization.
NIH grant/contract awards for applications/proposals that request
direct salaries of individuals in excess of the applicable RATE per
year will be adjusted in accordance with the legislative salary
limitation and will include a notification such as the following:
According to the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution 2003, "None of
the funds appropriated in this Act for the National Institutes of
Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shall be used
to pay the salary of an individual, through a grant or other extramural
mechanism, at a rate in excess of Executive Level I" of the Federal
Executive Pay Scale.
In summary, the following reflects the time frames associated with the
existing salary caps from FY 1999 through FY 2003:
FY 1999 Awards (Executive Level III)
o October 1, 1998 through December 31, 1999 $125,900
o January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000 $130,200
FY 2000 Awards (Executive Level II)
o October 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999 $136,700
o January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000 $141,300
o January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001 $145,100
FY 2001 Awards (Executive Level I)
o October 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000 $157,000
o January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001 $161,200
o January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002 $166,700
FY 2002 Awards (Executive Level I)
o October 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001 $161,200
o January 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002 $166,700
FY 2003 Awards (Executive Level I)
o October 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002 $166,700
o January 1, 2003 and beyond $171,900
The following are examples of the adjustments that NIH will make when
salaries exceed the current salary limitation:
EXAMPLE 1. INDIVIDUAL WITH FULL-TIME APPOINTMENT (based on grant
award/contract issued after January 1, 2003 with a $171,900 salary
limitation)
Individual's institutional base salary for a FULL-TIME
twelve month) appointment
$ 175,000
Research effort requested in application/proposal - 50%
Direct Salary requested $ 87,500
Fringe benefits requested (25% of salary) $ 21,875
Subtotal $ 109,375
Applicant organization's F&A (indirect) costs at
a rate of 45% of subtotal $ 49,219
Amount requested - salary plus fringe benefits plus
associated F&A (indirect) costs $ 158,594
If a grant/contract is to be funded, the amount included for the above
individual will be calculated as follows:
Direct salary - restricted to a RATE of $171,900
Multiplied by effort (50%) to be devoted to project $ 85,950
Fringe benefits (25% of allowable salary) $ 21,488
Subtotal $107,438
Associated F&A (indirect) costs at 45% of subtotal $ 48,347
Total amount to be awarded due to salary limitation $155,785
Amount of reduction due to salary limitation
($158,594 requested minus 155,785 awarded) $ 2,809
EXAMPLE 2. INDIVIDUAL WITH HALF-TIME APPOINTMENT (based on a grant
award/contract issued after January 1, 2003 with a $171,900 salary
limitation)
Individual's institutional base salary for a
HALF-TIME appointment (50% of a full-time
twelve month appointment) $ 87,500
Research effort requested in application/proposal 30%
Direct Salary requested $ 26,250
Fringe benefits requested (25% of salary) $ 6,563
Subtotal $ 32,813
Applicant organization's F&A (indirect) costs at a rate
of 45% of subtotal $ 14,766
Amount requested - salary plus fringe benefits
plus associated F&A (indirect) costs $ 47,579
If a grant/contract is to be funded, the amount included in the award
for the above individual will be calculated as follows:
Direct salary - restricted to a RATE of $ 85,950
Multiplied by 50% appointment by 30% effort $ 25,785
Fringe benefits (25% of allowable salary) $ 6,446
Subtotal $ 32,231
Associated F&A (indirect) cost at 45% of subtotal $ 14,504
Total amount to be awarded due to salary
limitation $ 46,735
Amount of reduction due to salary limitation
($47,579 requested minus $46,735 awarded) $ 844
EXAMPLE 3. INDIVIDUAL WITH NINE MONTH APPOINTMENT (based on a
contract award/grant issued after January 1, 2003 with a $171,900
salary limitation)
Individual's institutional base salary WITH NINE MONTH
appointment $131,250
Research effort requested in application/proposal 50%
Direct Salary requested $ 65,625
Fringe benefits requested (25% of salary) $ 16,406
Subtotal $ 82,031
Applicant organization's F&A (indirect) costs at a rate
of 45% of subtotal $ 36,914
Amount requested - salary plus fringe benefits
plus associated F&A (indirect) costs $118,945
If a contract/grant is to be funded, the amount included in the award
for the above individual will be calculated as follows:
Direct salary - restricted to a RATE of $171,900 (annual rate) divided
by 12 months
Multiplied by 9 months by 50% effort $ 64,463
Fringe benefits (25% of allowable salary) $ 16,116
Subtotal $ 80,579
Associated F&A (indirect) cost at 45% of subtotal $ 36,260
Total amount to be awarded due to salary limitation $116,839
Amount of reduction due to salary limitation
($118,945 requested minus $116,839 awarded) $ 2106
NOTE: If a faculty member with a 9 month appointment works during
his/her off months, the monthly salary rate limitation is $14,325
($171,900 divided by 12 months) multiplied by the proposed percent of
effort during those months.
Implementation of new salary limitation:
o No adjustments will be made to modular grant applications/awards or
to previously established commitment levels for non-competing grant
wards issued with FY 2003 funds.
o NIH competing grant awards with categorical budgets reflecting salary
levels at or above the new cap(s)issued in FY 2003 will reflect
adjustments to the current and all future years so that no funds are
awarded or committed for salaries over the limitation.
o For awards issued with FY 2002 funds, if adequate funds are available
in active FY 2002 awards, and if the salary cap increase is consistent
with the institutional base salary, grantees may rebudget to
accommodate these salary levels and contractors may bill at the higher
level. However, no additional funds will be provided to the FY 2002
grant award and the total estimated cost of the contract will not be
modified.
o An individual's base salary, per se, is NOT constrained by the
legislative provision for a limitation of salary. The rate limitation
simply limits the amount that may be awarded and charged to NIH grants
and contracts. An institution may supplement an individual's salary
with non-federal funds.
o The salary limitation does NOT apply to payments made to consultants
under an NIH grant or contract although, as with all costs, those
payments must meet the test of reasonableness and be consistent with
institutional policy.
o The salary limitation provision DOES apply to subawards/subcontracts
for substantive work under an NIH grant or contract.
o COMPETING grant applications and contract proposals that include a
categorical breakdown in the budget figures/business proposal should
continue to reflect the actual institutional base salary of all
individuals for whom reimbursement is requested. In lieu of actual
base salary, however, applicants/offerors may elect to provide an
explanation indicating that actual institutional base salary exceeds
the current salary limitation. When this information is provided, NIH
staff will make necessary adjustments to requested salaries prior to
award.
Questions & Answers
1. Can I rebudget grant funds or bill contracts issued with FY 2003
funds to allow for the increase? Yes, provided funds are available and
the increase is warranted. Prorated figures should be used for the
applicable months, i.e., the $171,900 level is effective beginning
January 1, 2003.
2. If a grant award (competing or non-competing) has already been
issued in FY 2003, will an adjustment be made? No adjustments will be
made. However, rebudgeting is allowable.
3. If an application/proposal fails to provide needed salary
information, will an adjustment be made based on the new rates? No
adjustment will be made if an application fails to provide adequate
information regarding the individual's salary level.
4. Does the NIH appropriation language link the salary cap to a Federal
Executive Level or to a dollar level? The link is to the Federal
Executive Level pay scale (i.e., Executive Level III for FY 1999 and
Executive Level II for FY 2000 and Executive Level I for 2001, 2002,
and 2003). As the cap is linked to Federal Executive Levels, can
grantees/contractors with ongoing awards rebudget/bill up to the
various salary caps, based on the fiscal year of the award and the time
of the salary expense? Yes, salary may be charged in accordance with
the prevailing FY cap(s), as long as the levels are consistent with the
individual's institutional base pay.
5. Will grantees be permitted to submit revised budgets reflecting
higher base salaries? Not as a general rule. NIH policy states that
grantees should always reflect actual base salaries in the requested
budgets or provide an explanation indicating that actual institutional
base salary exceeds the current salary limitation. As a general rule,
NIH will use the information available in the existing application and
make adjustments for salary cap based on information available at the
time of award.
INQUIRIES
Questions concerning this notice or other policies relating to grants
or contracts should be directed to the grants management or contracts
management office in the appropriate NIH Institute or Center.
Weekly TOC for this Announcement
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