Browsing: carryover

Q. I understand that if you exceed the special retirement supplement earnings limit for the year you retire, you will not be eligible for the special retirement supplement for the rest of that year. Is this correct? I will be eligible to retire Jan. 22, 2015. I would like to carry into the 2015 year 240 hours of annual leave. There are two pay days in 2015 prior to Jan. 22. Most likely, the lump-sum payment for 240 hours of annual leave and January wage earnings will exceed the special retirement supplement earnings limit for 2015. If I put all…

Q. Postal Service employees can carry over 440 hours of annual leave. The next year, they earn their new annual leave upfront (208 hours), making their balance 648 as of January. They work every holiday for leave for an additional 80 hours of leave and take no annual leave during the year, making their balance 728 hours of annual leave. They now want to retire Dec. 31. Will they get paid a lump-sum check for 728 or only 440 hours? A. As a rule, Postal Service bargaining unit employees may only receive a lump-sum payment for 440 hours of unused…

Q. My husband was a temporary federal employee for the Defense Department for five years. He was laid off in August. He had two years of military service, which he bought that time back, so in essence he has seven years of federal service. He is 60 years old. He put 10 percent of his salary in the Thrift Savings Plan. Should he leave that money in TSP or put it in another vehicle? Also, when he reaches retirement age (62), will he receive a pension for the seven years of federal service? He left DoD with a sick leave…

Q. If the paperwork for my retirement takes longer than the requested date, what happens? For example, if my anticipated retirement date is Dec. 31, but the paperwork does not clear until February 2013, do I have to work until then? What about the use-or-lose for 2012? A. Regardless of how long your agency or the Office of Personnel Management take to process the paperwork, your retirement date is the one stated in your application. Therefore, you would be on the annuity roll on Jan. 1. Because that matter is set in stone, you would receive a lump-sum payment for…

Q. If the paperwork for my retirement takes longer than the requested date, what happens? For example, if my anticipated retirement date is Dec. 31, but the paperwork does not clear until February 2013, do I have to work until then? What about the use-or-lose for 2012? A. Regardless of how long your agency or the Office of Personnel Management take to process the paperwork, your retirement date is the one stated in your application. Therefore, you would be on the annuity roll on Jan. 1. Because that matter is set in stone, you would receive a lump-sum payment for…

Q. I completed a full one-year internship with the Veterans Affairs Department system (with annual leave and sick leave earnings) prior to my current federal employment. Three years after this internship ended, I obtained a job at a VA hospital. I have known other VA employees who have had this period counts toward changes in annual leave accrual from four to six hours. Upon my hire, I was informed that the VA hospital I worked at had some of the documentation but was missing a specific form required to change annual leave calculation. Hence, our human resources office could not…

Q. I am considering retiring Dec. 31. I turned 62 on April 7, and as of Aug. 28, I will have 42 years and four months of total service. Scenario 1: What if I decide wait until Jan. 2, 2013, to retire instead? Would I get full credit for any unused annual or sick leave I would have accrued if I stayed to the new year? Scenario 2: Will the excess retirement dollars from September 2012 to Dec. 31 (date of retirement) equate to any percentage of annuity or lump-sum payment after I retire? A. You’ll have to check with…

Q. I am 75 with 28 years of federal government service under FERS. I am retiring at the end of 2012. 1. How is sick leave accounted regarding retirement (I have 1,400 hours)? Is this converted into time or money? 2. When is the best time to begin the retirement process (inform human resources, supervisor, etc.)? 3. If I’ve carried 240 hours of annual leave into the new year and continue to earn eight hours per pay period during the entire year, will I be able to cash in the 240 hours plus whatever I earned during the year? A.…

Q. I am a Civil Service Retirement System employee who will be retiring Dec. 31. I currently have 360 hours of CY2010 carryover leave (based on my overseas assignment). I also have 120 hours of use or lose for CY2011, for a total of 480 hours. When I retire, will I get annual leave payout for 480 hours? A. Yes.

Q: As a federal civil service employee in the Defense Department, I usually have several days of use/lose annual leave at the end of the year. Rather than taking off almost the entire month of December to avoid losing accrued annual leave, am I allowed to sell back the unused leave? A: There is no provision in law that would allow you to be paid for unused annual leave that exceeds the carryover amount from one leave year to the next.