By Reg Jones
Leave accrual
February 23rd, 2012 | Annual leave
Q: I retired from the Air Force in 1998, after 26 years and two months of service. In September 2000 I started a civil service career; and immediately started paying the deposit of the military buyback to secure all of my military service, (completed by April 2003). I am trying to ascertain whether I should have been placed in the CSRS Offset pension program, and started acquiring eight hours annual leave per pay period. I am 57 and preparing for retirement in about three years and trying to ensure my record is accurately reflecting my benefits.
A: Because you were first employed after Dec. 31, 1987, you were automatically placed in FERS. As someone receiving military retired pay, you would only be entitled to credit for that time in determining your leave accrual rate if that pay was awarded on account of a service-connected disability either incurred in combat with an enemy of the U.S. or caused by an instrumentality of war and incurred in the line of duty during a period of war.
Tags: FERS, military buyback
Agency-to-agency sick-leave transfer
February 1st, 2012 | Annual leave LEAVE Sick leave
Q. If someone was to transfer from one federal agency to another (Postal Service to Federal Aviation Administration), would his annual leave and sick leave carry over?
A. Yes.
Annual leave decision out of employee’s hands
January 17th, 2012 | Annual leave LEAVE RETIREMENT
Q. I am in the Senior Executive Service and am eligible to retire in March. I will have over 700 hours of accumulated annual leave at that time. Is there a straightforward way of calculating whether it makes more sense to take a lump-sum payment in March or remain in the government and take several months of annual leave before resigning. In addition to extending my time in service by a few months, are there other factors I should consider when deciding which course to take?
A. You start with the assumption that you have a choice about whether to retire and take a lump-sum payment for your unused annual leave or take annual leave and stay on the rolls until the leave runs out. Well, you don’t. The government makes no provision for what in the military is called terminal leave. Further, your agency would be daft to allow you to occupy a position unproductively for that length of time. If they need that position, they’d want to fill it as soon as possible. If they don’t need it, they’d want to abolish it as soon as possible.
Annual leave payment
December 21st, 2011 | Annual leave
Q: I am a letter carrier who is eligible for retirement. What is the maximum amount of annual leave I can receive as a lump-sum payment?
A: You can receive a lump-sum payment for a maximum of 440 hours.
Tags: Postal Service, RETIREMENT
Annual leave hours
December 20th, 2011 | Annual leave
Q: According to an OPM chart, the Annual Leave Year for 2012 begins on Jan. 1, 2012, and ends Jan. 12, 2013. If I am counting correctly, that is 27 pay periods. Is this correct? What will be the maximum number of annual leave hours an employee can accrue for Annual Leave Year 2012?
A: As always, the maximum number of annual leave hours you can accrue is the amount you earn during all the pay periods in a leave year. However, with rare exception, the maximum number of hours a nonpostal employee can carry over to the next leave year is 240.
Tags: annual leave
Leave carryover cap
November 1st, 2011 | Annual leave
Q: In a recent response you stated: “Most of you do get paid for all your unused annual leave if you retire before the end of the leave year; however, if you are an employee of the U.S. Postal Service, the amount of leave for which you can be paid is capped.” What is the cap as a postal service employee? And my maximum leave carryover is 440. If I carry over the max, and then earn another 80 hours prior to my retirement date, am I only paid for the 440 max carryover, or do I get paid for the full 520 hours of unused leave?
A: The maximum annual leave carryover for postal bargaining unit employees is 440 hours. For Executive Administrative Schedule employees it’s 560 hours. While either can receive a lump-sum payment for accumulated annual leave carried over from the previous year and accrued annual leave during the year, the total for which payment will be made cannot exceed their maximum: 440 or 560 hours. Any hours beyond those maximums are lost.
Tags: Postal Service
Annual leave and separation
November 1st, 2011 | Annual leave
Q: I am thinking about leaving federal service after 18 years and will have at least 240 hours of annual leave accrued. I do not want to cash it out and prefer to leave it should I choose to return to federal service. May I do that?
A: No.
Tags: annual leave, retire
Substituting leave
October 7th, 2011 | Annual leave
Q: I am a FERS employee and I have an excess of 23 days of use or lose annual leave. I just took three days off of unscheduled sick leave. Can I use my “use or lose annual leave” instead of using up my sick leave so I can eventually put my sick leave toward my retirement service computation date? I understand that the laws have changed and that now sick leave will be credited toward retirement in FERS and not just in CSRS only.
A: You can ask your supervisor to change the leave from sick to annual. As for the change in crediting sick leave, you’ll only receive half credit for that leave in your annuity unless you retire in 2013.
Tags: FERS, sick leave
Unused leave
September 30th, 2011 | Annual leave
Q: I am a CSRS Air Force employee with more than 37 years of civil service. I am considering retiring on Dec. 31. Can I cash in more than 30 days annual leave when I retire, or do I need to use everything over 30 days annual leave prior to my retirement date to keep from losing it? Will the payment of annual leave be paid in the 2012 tax year? Would I qualify for the buyouts the Air Force is about to offer with the same retirement benefits as if I retired Dec. 31?
A: As long as you retire no later than December 31, the end of the leave year, you’ll receive a lump-sum payment for all your unused annual leave.
Tags: CSRS, RETIREMENT
Retirement date
September 27th, 2011 | Annual leave
Q: Does it make a difference if I retire on Dec. 31? I question it because Dec. 31 starts pay-period 2 and I want to cash in my annual leave without losing the amount over the maximum carryover.
A: You are mistaken. The 2011 leave year for non-Postal Service employees ends on Dec. 31. The new leave year begins Jan. 1.
Tags: retire