Q. I’m an APWU employee (maintenance craft). In February 2015, I’ll have 30 years, and I’ll also have 5.8 months of unused sick leave. Because of my sick leave, can I retire five months early?
Browsing: sick leave
Q. If I am subject to a reduction in force with just under 25 years of service (say, with 24 years and nine months), can I use sick or annual leave to make up the difference? If not, is there any recourse to take a retirement in lieu of a RIF when you are so close to the 25-year threshold? I am 46 years old. A. While you may only use sick leave for purposes spelled out in law and regulation, your agency can allow you to use your annual leave to continue past the date on which you’d be…
Q. My service computation date is April 24, 1971, and I plan on leaving at the end of April after 42 years with a load of annual and sick leave. I have always been told to leave at the end of the year because of the annual leave business, but I want to start a consulting firm and devote my time to it. My father-in-law, a former federal employee, says just get out because it is time and I should not miss the beach and I can always bring my laptop. A. As I’ve said over and over, the best…
Q. I am a letter carrier, age 52, started in 1985 and have 28 years of creditable service. If I understand what I’ve gleaned from the posts here and the Postal Service were to offer me a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority this year, 1. Would I begin my annuity immediately? 2. Would I have no reductions in calculations of my annuity? (average high-3 x 1 percent x 28) 3. Would I receive credit for half of my sick leave and all of my annual leave? (How are these applied?) 4. Would I receive the special retirement supplement beginning at age…
Q. Can a supervisor force an employee to take leave without pay over taking annual leave? The employee’s day care provider called in sick, and the employee had to stay home with a healthy 4-year-old child. The employee has exhausted sick leave but has an annual leave balance, as well as some comp and credit time. The supervisor denied the request for annual leave and instead put the employee on LWOP for the day. The employee called in and left a voice mail for the supervisor promptly on the day the child care provider was not available. Can the supervisor…
Q. I am a FERS employee with 30-plus years of federal service looking to retire as soon as possible after turning 62. I will turn 62 on Jan. 28, 2015. What date is best to retire shortly after my 62nd birthday — the end of the pay period that includes Jan. 28 or some other day? A. There is no best date to retire. There are only a few tips that, once you consider them, can lead you to the date that seems best for you. First, because you are a FERS employee, you’ll want to retire as close to…
Q. I am in CSRS and expect to retire when I have 42 years. I know unused sick leave is added to my length of service on a monthly calculation. I also know, however, that 42 years of service equals the maximum retirement of 80 percent. If I retire with an unused sick leave balance of nine months (which is what I have), will this be lost because I have reached the 42-year/80 percent cap, or is there some other factor? A. You reach the 80 percent limit when you have 41 years and 11 months of creditable service. The…
Q. OPM’s Standard Form 71 (Request for Leave or Approved Absence) contains options for Advanced Annual/Sick Leave in addition to Accrued Annual/Sick Leave, Leave Without Pay (LWOP), etc. Due to personal circumstances, I asked my immediate supervisor for both Advanced Leave and LWOP, and he said that he while he could grant LWOP, he would not be able to grant Advanced Leave because his upper management discourages it. Can my agency legally exclude Advanced Leave as one of my leave options? A. Yes. You’re not entitled to advanced annual leave. In making a decision, your agency may consider such factors…
Q. I am a CSRS employee who plans to retire this year. I will have a large annual leave buyback, so I want to leave before the end of the 2013 leave year. I read one article that advised to retire Dec. 28 (the start of new pay period) and others that relay Jan. 3, 2014. While I understand that the 3rd is the max to stay and get a retirement check the following month, i.e., February, am I correct that if you retire Dec. 28, you miss out on two full days of pay, i.e., the 30th and 31st?…
Q. I was just offered a $25,000 Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment. I have -153 sick leave hours due to an auto accident. Are waivers available prior to accepting the VSIP offer? If so, what is the procedure? A. The decision about granting a waiver is entirely up to your agency. Check with your personnel office to learn how such requests are handled where you work.