Audit of the Agency’s Retention Incentive Program

The National Security Agency Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released an unclassified summary of its Audit of the Agency's Retention Incentive Program. The OIG concluded that the NSA lacked administrative controls necessary to ensure that it was properly determining eligibility and incentives in a consistent manner. Moreover, we found that without more defined program goals and a documented process for evaluating success, the Agency cannot determine whether the program is effectively expending Agency resources in retaining key personnel, and doing so without risk to other work roles and programs. Additionally, we found that the Agency paid significant amounts in what the OIG determined were or may be noncompliant group retention incentives.The OIG made 12 recommendations to assist the Agency in addressing these issues. The Agency agreed with all of the OIG’s recommendations; three were closed upon issuance of the audit, and the OIG found that the actions planned by the Agency met the intent of the remaining recommendations.