Q. I am 55 years old and am looking to retire Dec. 31. I am in under CSRS and have 35 years as a federal firefighter. As of the end of 2012, I had accrued 600 hours of annual leave. I plan on saving my annual leave for this year and want to make sure that I will get paid in a lump sum for my accrued hours when I retire. Is this possible?
A. As a rule, federal employees working in the U.S. may carry over no more than 30 days (240 hours) from one leave year to the next. To receive a lump-sum payment for more than that amount, the employee must retire no later than the end of a leave year. I’m not aware of any exception for special category employees, such as firefighters and law enforcement officers.
