Standard Form 50

Standard Form 50 (SF 50), officially titled Notification of Personnel Action, is a United States government form used to process various personnel actions for government employees. The form is very important for government employees: any errors in the form can affect eligibility for certain benefits (such as when an employee can retire and with what level of annuity). The Form The first four blocks on the SF 50 list the employee's name, Social Security Number, date of birth, and the effective date of the personnel action. The effective date (Block 4) is important for annuity purposes (as an employee nears retirement) as it is the beginning date used to calculate how long an employee has held a particular pay rate for "high-3" purposes under either of the retirement systems (FERS or CSRS). Blocks 5 and 6 ("First Action" and "Second Action") are subdivided into sub-blocks. Sub-blocks A and B are used to note the action being taken, while sub-blocks C/D (and E/F, where applicable) give the legal authority for the change being made.