Q. I work as nurse for a Veterans Affairs Department hospital and am eligible to retire as I am going to be 62 in August 2012 and will have worked for five years. Can I use my annual leave (550 hours) to retire early? There is no reduction in force. Will I have to request that I take the annual leave from management and get approval from my supervisor?
A. No, you cannot use your annual leave to retire early, either by trading it in or by taking every hour until you hit your proposed retirement date. There is no provision in law that would permit the use of annual leave for that purpose.
