Q. I have the maximum hours of annual leave I can carry over: 240. Should I cash these hours in when I retire or use them, which would make my years of service a little longer and thus maybe make my retirement check a little larger? A. You are assuming your employer would approve your using six weeks of leave before you retire. That’s not a safe assumption. The government’s civilian employees don’t have the right to take terminal leave.
Browsing: Terminal leave
Q. I am leaving active duty with 20 years. I have 65 days of terminal leave. If I have been accepted to a federal job, can I start it while on active duty terminal leave? A. Yes.
Q. I work for a Veterans Affairs hospital under CSRS Offset. I was employed at the Postal Service from 1980 to 2001. I was reinstated at VA in 2008. I work Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. I am a GS-5. I have 178 hours of annual leave and 1,027 hours of sick leave. My service computation date is Feb. 12, 1987. I am eligible to retire on my 60th birthday, which is March 28. I have planned a European vacation from March 21 to April 9. I want to take annual leave March 21-29. I have annual…
Q. I am a Postal Service craft employee in Hawaii planning to retire this year. We receive a 25 percent T-COLA on our base salary ($56,508) that also includes our annual leave as we use it, so our checks don’t shrink when on annual leave. Is the 25 percent T-COLA included on the terminal leave I wish to sell back at retirement? If not, I will burn my annual leave before retiring. A. Only if it is included in your basic pay and retirement deductions are taken from it. Note: You don’t have the option of “burning off” your annual…
Q. I plan on retiring in the near future. I will have around 300 hours on annual leave at that time. Is there any Office of Personnel Management guidance that discusses my option to take the leave immediately prior to retirement rather than being paid for that leave at retirement? A. There is no such thing as terminal leave in the federal civilian service. Therefore, you don’t have a choice. While you can take annual leave at such time and in such amounts as are approved by your supervisor, you can’t burn it off. Just be happy that your unused…
Q. I am a FERS employee with 20 years’ service as of July 20. I plan to retire in 2013; however, I am not sure when I should go out. I will be 62 on June 20 and will reach my 21-year anniversary with the service July 20. I plan to use all of my annual leave and go out on what is considered terminal leave, so depending on my retirement date, I could stop work in May and be on annual leave until my official retirement date. Will it really make that much of a difference in retirement pay…
Q. I just sent you a question and realized I did not include that I am under CSRS. As of Oct. 13, I had 29 years with the Postal Service and presently have enough annual and sick leave to get me through until I have my required 30 years. What is the best way for me to retire early with the least amount of loss in my retirement? A. First, I need to correct a misunderstanding on your part. You can’t use your annual and sick leave to help you reach 30 years of service. Unlike the military, the federal…
Q. I have a little more than 300 hours of sick leave and have approved FMLA sick leave. I am eligible for retirement with 31 years of service and am 59. Can I use FMLA sick leave for three months consecutively and put in for retirement effective at the end of the three months? A. Since the federal civilian government doesn’t have a provision for terminal leave, you’d have to have a legitimate reason for using the FMLA leave and you’d have to clear your retirement at the end of that period with your agency.
Q. I am separating from civil service after 15 years. Is it more advantageous for me to take my leave as terminal leave or accept a lump-sum payment? (I have approximately 20 days). A. There is no such thing as terminal leave in the federal civilian government. The decision of whether to approve a request to take annual leave before retirement is entirely up to your supervisor. If you end up having a choice between taking annual leave or receiving a lump-sum payment, you’ll have to figure out which would be more advantageous in your situation. One size does not…
Q. I am a Postal Service employee, Under CSRS, what is the maximum number of leave hours one can cash in at retirement: 240, 360 or more? A. Bargaining unit employees can receive a terminal leave payment for their accumulated leave from the previous year (a maximum of 440 hours) and any accrued annual leave in the year they retire. Executive Administrative Schedule employees can receive a terminal leave payment for their accrued annual leave carried over from the previous year (a maximum of 560 hours) and any accrued annual leave earned during the year in which they retire.