OWCP has published the 2010 annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA):
- Pay Rates: The new maximum compensation rate based on the salary of a GS-15, step 10, is now $129,517 per year. The minimum compensation rate is the salary of a GS-2, Step 1 or $20,017 per year. The weekly minimum is $288.71 and the maximum is $1,868.03. Thus a newly calculated payment as of January 18, 2010 for 28 days would be $1,154.83 for the minimum and $7,472.13 for the maximum. In death cases, the monthly pay is a minimum of $1,668.08 and a maximum of $8,094.81.
- Cost-of-Living Adjustments for March 1, 2010 based on the “Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers” (CPI-W) is 3.4 percent. The increase is applicable where disability or death occurred before March 1, 2009. The maximum compensation rates are $7,472.13 per four weeks or 1,868.03 per week after rounding to the nearest $1.00 monthly or the nearest $.25 weekly. By contrast, for SSA beneficiaries there is no cost of living adjustment for 12/01/2009–11/30/2010.
- Debts: The interest charge on overpayments has also been changed to 1.0 percent for January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010. This compares to a rate of 3% last year. The rate will be reviewed again on July 1, 2010 to determine if the Treasury has changed the rate.
- Mileage: Effective January 1, 2010 the reimbursement for use of privately owned automobiles necessary for medical treatment has been reduced to $.50 per mile compared to $.55 last year.
