Q. I would like to know if “donated leave” to a co-worker under the donated leave program will be added back to my time in service to calculate my retirement benefit under FERS. I was told that it would, but I have done exhaustive searches and can’t find it.
A. What you were told is wrong for two reasons. First, since donated leave is deducted from your annual leave account, there is no difference between your having given it to someone else or using it yourself. When it’s used, it’s gone. Second, unused annual leave is never included in a retirement annuity calculation. Instead, it’s paid to you in a lump sum when you retire.
