Q. I am CSRS and considering a retirement date of Oct. 31. But I want to check with you if a few assumptions that I am making are valid. First, Oct. 31 is the second Thursday in the pay period, and we work a compressed 5/4/9 schedule, where the second Friday in a pay period is a regular day off. Will retirement on Thursday, Oct. 31 complete the pay period for me and allow me to accrue the annual and sick leave for that pay period, and the full month of November retirement pay? Second, I am hoping to take a several-week vacation that would start on Oct. 26. Is there any issue in taking annual leave from Oct. 28 through Oct. 31 in this scenario?
A. First, as long as you have completed your workweek, you should be entitled to any annual and sick leave accrued during the pay period. However, you need to check with your payroll office to be sure this is true where you work. Second, the Comptroller General has ruled that employees may not take terminal leave before retiring. You need check with your personnel office to make sure that your taking off a few days before retiring doesn’t fall under that prohibition.
