Q: I understand Congress has a bill to allow federal employees, upon retirement, the ability to roll our unused annual leave into the Thrift Savings Plan. Has this been decided upon as of yet? A: No.
Browsing: LEAVE
Q: I’m a Federal Employees Retirement System employee who is about to take three-plus years’ leave without pay from my job to serve with an overseas international organization. What are the rules regarding unused annual leave? I plan to return to this job upon completion of the overseas posting. Can I cash in my days now? Will they be returned if I don’t use them, or may I use them after commencing my overseas post, in effect starting the other job while on “LWOP-leave”? A: You cannot cash in your unused annual leave when you go on LWOP, nor may…
Q: I was employed in January 2006 on a term position. Having been prior civil service, my service computation date was 1989. In August 2007, I was involuntarily laid off and received compensation for 148 hours of accrued annual leave in the amount of $3,877.60. I recently was charged by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service as being overpaid and was told my SCD was the reason, and that I received too much money when I left the job. I was told I was not entitled to receive eight hours per pay period, therefore I owe the government money. I…
Q. I am considering requesting LWOP for an extended period. I am a postal employee with 25 years of postal service and seven years of prior goverment service for a total of 32 years. My question: When you go into a LWOP status, what are the restrictions, if any, on what you can and cannot do? For example, can you work a part-time job while on LWOP? Would you still be covered for health insurance while on LWOP status? What is the procedure for requesting all of this? A. To learn more about the affect of leave-without-pay on your benefits, read…
Q: Under FERS, after 2013 or 2014 (whenever you get full credit for sick leave), if you retire under MRA 10+, will the sick leave add on, or add service months to help reduce the 5 percent reduction per year? I am 54 with 20 years of FERS service. A: No, it won’t. While unused sick leave will be added to your years of service and used to increase the amount of your annuity, it won’t alter your age. You will still be penalized 5 percent for every year (5/12 percent per month) that you are under age 60.
Q: I am trying to determine the best date to retire at the end of 2013. I want to maximize the amount of lump-sum leave I would be entitled to and also to take advantage of the new FERS sick leave policy. The pay period calendar shows that pay period 26 for 2013 begins Dec. 29, 2013, and ends Jan. 11, 2014. I plan to have my 240 hours of annual leave carry over and my earned leave for 2013 of 208 hours at the end of 2013, for a lump-sum payout of 448 hours. If I retire Jan. 10,…
Q: I am CSRS and my plans are to retire Jan. 1. 2012. I was told that the last day for use/lose is Dec. 31, 2011, so that is the day I will have to retire. I cannot retire on Jan. 1, 2012, or I will use my use-or-lose leave. When I file taxes, will it show me receiving an additional amount of money (approximately $10,000) for the year 2011 (which will put me into a higher tax bracket), or will it show as income for 2012? A: Your lump-sum payment for unused annual leave will be taxable in the…
Q: If someone has two catastrophic illnesses, years apart, and applies for leave donations for both events, is there a cumulative limit on the number of hours one may accept as donated leave in a career? A: There isn’t any limit on the amount of donated annual leave a recipient can receive.
Q: If I retire Jan. 31, 2012, what happens to my use-or-lose leave, since the leave year ends Dec. 31, 2011? A: The answer should be obvious. If you retire after the end of the leave year, any annual leave you have that exceeds the annual limit is lost. That’s why it’s called “use or lose” leave.
Q. Is there a time limit on leave without pay status, before an employee is subject to termination? A. Leave-without- pay can only be taken with your agency’s approval. As a rule, an upper limit is set, after which date an employee is expected to return to duty. While an extension can be granted, an agency isn’t required to do so. Failure to return to work when a period of LWOP expires can trigger an adverse action, which could lead to an employee’s termination.