Q: I read Mr. Jones article in the Nov. 15 issue regarding advantages to retiring in 2010 and 2011. That is a bit early for me; I have to wait until 2013 at a minimum and mostly likely will not retire until 2014 or 2015. My question is, are there any limits on the amount of unused annual leave that one can be reimbursed for upon retirement? I am in the Foreign Service (FERS) and currently maintain a leave ceiling of 360 hours of annual leave. If I do not take any annual leave in my retirement year, that could be a potential of 568 hours of annual leave for a lump-sum payment. I want to make sure that I can be reimbursed for it all or use what I have and work down to the maximum if necessary.
A: Yes, you would be reimbursed for all your unused annual leave. To the best of my knowledge, the only employees who have a cap on the amount of annual leave they can cash in are those who work for the Postal Service.
