1/18/23, 10:15 AM FAQs for 2020 Evacuees: Allowances and Benefits

Allowances and Benefits

These frequently asked questions are for Volunteers evacuated

in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

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What is the Readjustment Allowance (RA)? <https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-

benefits/#what-is-readjustment-allowance>

How much Readjustment Allowance will I receive?

<https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-benefits/#how-much-readjustment-allowance>

What is the Evacuation Allowance (EA) and who is eligible?

<https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-benefits/#what-is-evacuation-allowance>

How much Evacuation Allowance will I receive? <https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-

and-benefits/#how-much-evacuation-allowance>

What if I need to update or correct my U.S. bank account in order to get my allowance payments?
<https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-benefits/#what-if-i-need-to-update-bank-
account>

What are the tax implications of these allowance payments?

<https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-benefits/#what-are-tax-implications>

Will the full amount of my Readjustment Allowance payments be included on my 2020 W-2?
<https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-benefits/#full-amount-on-w2>

What if I don’t have a copy of my W-2? <https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-

benefits/#what-if-i-dont-have-w2>

If I return to service with the Peace Corps at a later date, would I be required to pay the evacuation
or readjustment allowance back? <https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-
benefits/#pay-allowances-back>

Am I eligible for unemployment assistance, or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, as a Returned

Peace Corps Volunteer? <https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-benefits/#am-i-
eligible-for-unemployment>

How will this affect noncompetitive eligibility (NCE)?

<https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-benefits/#how-will-this-affect-nce>

How will this affect Coverdell Fellowships? <https://www.peacecorps.gov/coronavirus/allowances-and-

benefits/#coverdell-fellowships>

What is the Readjustment Allowance (RA)?

The Readjustment Allowance is a “payment authorized by the Peace Corps Act to assist returned
Volunteers in their transition from Peace Corps Service to other endeavors.” RA begins accruing on the
first day you began service and continues until your Completion of Service (COS) date.

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1/18/23, 10:15 AM FAQs for 2020 Evacuees: Allowances and Benefits

How much Readjustment Allowance will I receive?

Trainees and Volunteers who have served less than 24 months since the date they swore in as
Volunteers earn $375/month. Response Volunteers and Volunteers who have served more than 24
months since the date they swore in earn $475/month.

An easy way to see your accumulated RA is to take a look at your March Statement of Earnings (sent
to your email in early March). It provides your RA balance, which reflects your total RA earnings since
the start of your service, less federal tax withholding and any withdrawals or allotments you might have
requested.

What is the Evacuation Allowance (EA) and who is eligible?

Evacuation Allowance is provided for Trainees and Volunteers who had to close their service due to a
country evacuation or suspension, and is intended to provide support to you as you return to the US on
very little notice. Everyone who was in service as a Peace Corps Trainee or Volunteer when the
COVID-19 crisis required evacuation is eligible, including Response Volunteers and those on
medevac, admin hold, or leave.

The EA is a separate allowance from Readjustment Allowance (RA), and is in addition to the RA you
already earned. It is intended to replace the future RA you would have earned in the next 12 months of
service but will not now earn due to the evacuation.

How much Evacuation Allowance will I receive?

The amount of EA you will receive is based on two things. The first is the monthly accrual rate of your
RA on the date you COS’d due to the evacuation. As shown in section on RA, that rate is $375/month
for Trainees and Volunteers who have not yet completed 24 months since their swear-in date. For
Response Volunteers and Volunteers who have extended beyond 24 months since their swear-in date
(e.g. Third Year Volunteers), the rate is $475/month.

The second thing affecting your EA is the time you had remaining in service when on the date of your
COS due to the evacuation. If you were scheduled to serve for 12 or more months beyond that date,
you will receive 12 months of EA. If you were scheduled to serve for less than 12 months beyond that

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1/18/23, 10:15 AM FAQs for 2020 Evacuees: Allowances and Benefits

COS date, you will receive EA for the number of months you had scheduled to remain in service (i.e.
up until your original COS date).

What if I need to update or correct my US bank account in order

to get my allowance payments?
Please direct your inquiry to update banking info to financialinfo@peacecorps.gov.

What are the tax implications of these allowance payments?

The IRS considers Readjustment Allowance to be taxable income. Social Security and Medicare were
deducted from your RA earnings every month when they were credited to your RA account. Federal
Income Tax was only withheld from RA if you requested Federal Income Tax to be withheld. Since
taxes have already been withheld from your RA, there will not be additional tax withheld at the time of
your RA payments.

The IRS considers EA to be taxable income. Unlike Readjustment Allowance, however, Evacuation
Allowance does not qualify for Social Security and Medicare withholding. No taxes will be withheld
from your Evacuation Allowance payment.

Will the full amount of my Readjustment Allowance payments be

included on my 2020 W-2?
Only your Readjustment Allowance earnings for your service in 2020 – about 3 months of RA – will be
reported on your W-2 for Tax Year 2020 that will be issued in January 2021. Your RA earnings for
service in previous years was reported on the W-2 you received from Peace Corps for those Tax
Years.

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1/18/23, 10:15 AM FAQs for 2020 Evacuees: Allowances and Benefits

What if I don’t have a copy of my W-2?

Please send a request for your W-2, including your full name, complete dates of service, and country
of service to taxhelp@peacecorps.gov.

If I reinstate, re-enroll, or become a Response Volunteer at a

later date, would I be required to pay the evacuation or
readjustment allowance back
Any and all allowances you were paid were intended to help you adjust to the end of your service and
are yours to keep, regardless of whether or not you return to service.

Am I eligible for unemployment assistance, or Pandemic

Unemployment Assistance, as a Returned Peace Corps
Volunteer?
The Department of Labor (DOL) has determined that Peace Corps Volunteers do not serve as
employees and, therefore, do not qualify for unemployment insurance.

However, the DOL has agreed to include evacuated RPCVs in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
(PUA). DOL issued guidance to the states on April 27 confirming that RPCVs evacuated due to the
COVID-19 crisis are eligible for PUA, but systems at the state level are still being adapted to
accommodate this new program.

We are aware many evacuees are having difficulty providing documentation sufficient to establish their
eligibility for PUA at the state level, and therefore are issuing a letter to each evacuated RPCV to assist
in establishing their status as a COVID-19 evacuee and therefore their eligibility under DOL guidance
for PUA.

Please see this link to connect to the offices handling PUA in the state where you live or go directly to
your state coronavirus website for more information:

https://www.dol.gov/coronavirus/unemployment-insurance
<https://www.dol.gov/coronavirus/unemployment-insurance>

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1/18/23, 10:15 AM FAQs for 2020 Evacuees: Allowances and Benefits

How will this affect noncompetitive eligibility (NCE)?

Get full details on how application of NCE differs <https://www.peacecorps.gov/returned-
volunteers/careers/noncompetitive-eligibility/> for evacuated Volunteers, Peace Corps Response
Volunteers, and Trainees.

How will this affect Coverdell Fellowships?

Peace Corps Volunteer: All Volunteers (i.e. those who started a two-year term of service and who
swore in) are eligible for Coverdell Fellowships, regardless of how long they actually were able to
serve before the COVID-19 evacuation.

Peace Corps Response Volunteers: On April 28, 2020, Director Olsen waived the 12 months
minimum service requirement as set forth in Manual Section 126, Attachment A, 4.1(d), therefore
allowing all COVID-19 evacuated Response Volunteers to have lifetime eligibility for the Coverdell
Fellows Program.

Peace Corps Trainees: Evacuated Trainees are not eligible for the Coverdell Fellows program.

For more information about the Coverdell Fellows program, please explore the Introduction to
Returned Volunteer Services courses in Learning Space where you will find the Continuing your
Education with Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program course materials. You will also find useful
information on the Peace Corps website Coverdell Fellows page:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/university-programs/coverdell-fellows/
<https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/university-programs/coverdell-fellows/>

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1/18/23, 10:15 AM FAQs for 2020 Evacuees: Allowances and Benefits

CONTACT US

1275 First Street NE

Washington, DC 20526
855.855.1961
Other ways to get in touch <https://www.peacecorps.gov/contact/>

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