Annual leave

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Q. I will have 30 years with the Postal Service on Dec. 24. I have 450 hours of annual leave. If I were to take a voluntary downgrade — which would reduce my pay rate substantially for my last six months before retirement — would my annual leave buyout be calculated solely at my new lower rate? Or would it correspond to my pay rate when it was earned?

A. Lump-sum payments for unused annual leave are always computed using the current hourly rate of pay. Therefore, if the downgrade results in a lesser hourly rate of pay, your lump-sum payment when you retire will be smaller than it would have been had you stayed in the higher-paying position.

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Reg Jones was head of retirement and insurance policy at the Office of Personnel Management. Email your retirement-related questions to fedexperts@federaltimes.com.

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