Micah and Tammy have been seeing lots of mistakes and missteps happening lately, with more people reaching out to see whether they were wrong or...
Read MoreMicah and Tammy have been seeing lots of mistakes and missteps happening lately, with more people reaching out to see whether they were wrong or...
Read MoreWhen we talk about your FERS Retirement, we’re really talking about several different benefits. FERS (Federal Employees Retirement System) has three main components: Basic FERS...
Read MoreSpecial Benefit for Some FERS Who Retire Before Age 62 Have you heard about the FERS Supplement? It’s an important benefit for FERS planning to...
Read MoreFERS retirement benefits are complex. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all of the details. But it’s important to remember that federal benefits are just...
Read More“Hi Micah and Tammy, I’m a Federal employee with 30 years in, and 5 years out from retirement. Can you explain how unused Sick and Annual leave are handled at retirement? I understand that unused SL balances can increase your annuity but I don’t understand the formulas. Thank you.” -Cheryl
Let’s start with annual leave which is paid to you in a lump sum when you separate or retire from federal employment.
For example:
If you retire on December 31, 2021 and have an annual leave balance of 448 hours…
Wait! How did you get 448 hours of annual leave?
You carried over 240 hours of A/L from 2020 (if you had more than this, you could have had 25% of use or lose leave restored in 2021, but the additional leave cannot be paid in a lump sum). Then, in 2021, you didn’t use any annual leave and you earn leave at the rate of 8 hours / pay period. There are 26 pay periods in a year and you retired at the end of pay period 26.
26 x 8 = 208
208 + 240 = 448
Example: | Years | Months | Days | |
Total Service | 30 | 6 | 18 | |
Sick Leave (1,300 hours) | + | 7 | 15 | |
30 | 13* | 33* | ||
Years and months for Calculation | 31 | 2 | 3 |
*1 month = 30 days and 12 months = 1 year
Converting Unused Sick Leave | ||||||||||||
Days | Months | |||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
0 | 0 | 174 | 348 | 522 | 696 | 870 | 1044 | 1217 | 1391 | 1565 | 1739 | 1913 |
1 | 6 | 180 | 354 | 528 | 702 | 875 | 1049 | 1223 | 1397 | 1571 | 1745 | 1919 |
2 | 12 | 186 | 360 | 533 | 707 | 881 | 1055 | 1229 | 1403 | 1577 | 1751 | 1925 |
3 | 17 | 191 | 365 | 539 | 713 | 887 | 1061 | 1235 | 1409 | 1583 | 1757 | 1931 |
4 | 23 | 197 | 371 | 545 | 719 | 893 | 1067 | 1241 | 1415 | 1589 | 1762 | 1936 |
5 | 29 | 203 | 377 | 551 | 725 | 899 | 1073 | 1246 | 1420 | 1594 | 1768 | 1942 |
6 | 35 | 209 | 383 | 557 | 731 | 904 | 1078 | 1252 | 1426 | 1600 | 1774 | 1948 |
7 | 41 | 215 | 388 | 562 | 736 | 910 | 1084 | 1258 | 1432 | 1606 | 1780 | 1954 |
8 | 46 | 220 | 394 | 568 | 742 | 916 | 1090 | 1264 | 1438 | 1612 | 1786 | 1960 |
9 | 52 | 226 | 400 | 574 | 748 | 922 | 1096 | 1270 | 1444 | 1618 | 1791 | 1965 |
10 | 58 | 232 | 406 | 580 | 754 | 928 | 1102 | 1275 | 1449 | 1623 | 1797 | 1971 |
11 | 64 | 238 | 412 | 586 | 760 | 933 | 1107 | 1281 | 1455 | 1629 | 1803 | 1977 |
12 | 70 | 244 | 417 | 591 | 765 | 939 | 1113 | 1287 | 1461 | 1635 | 1809 | 1983 |
13 | 75 | 249 | 423 | 597 | 771 | 945 | 1119 | 1293 | 1467 | 1641 | 1815 | 1989 |
14 | 81 | 255 | 429 | 603 | 777 | 951 | 1125 | 1299 | 1473 | 1646 | 1820 | 1994 |
15 | 87 | 261 | 435 | 609 | 783 | 957 | 1131 | 1304 | 1478 | 1652 | 1826 | 2000 |
16 | 93 | 267 | 441 | 615 | 789 | 962 | 1136 | 1310 | 1484 | 1658 | 1832 | 2006 |
17 | 99 | 273 | 446 | 620 | 794 | 968 | 1142 | 1316 | 1490 | 1664 | 1838 | 2012 |
18 | 104 | 278 | 452 | 626 | 800 | 974 | 1148 | 1322 | 1496 | 1670 | 1844 | 2018 |
19 | 110 | 284 | 458 | 632 | 806 | 980 | 1154 | 1328 | 1502 | 1675 | 1849 | 2023 |
20 | 116 | 290 | 464 | 638 | 812 | 986 | 1160 | 1333 | 1507 | 1681 | 1855 | 2029 |
21 | 122 | 296 | 470 | 643 | 817 | 991 | 1165 | 1339 | 1513 | 1687 | 1861 | 2035 |
22 | 128 | 301 | 475 | 649 | 823 | 997 | 1171 | 1345 | 1519 | 1693 | 1867 | 2041 |
23 | 133 | 307 | 481 | 655 | 829 | 1003 | 1177 | 1351 | 1525 | 1699 | 1873 | 2046 |
24 | 139 | 313 | 487 | 661 | 835 | 1009 | 1183 | 1357 | 1530 | 1704 | 1878 | 2052 |
25 | 146 | 319 | 493 | 667 | 841 | 1015 | 1188 | 1362 | 1536 | 1710 | 1884 | 2058 |
26 | 151 | 325 | 499 | 673 | 846 | 1020 | 1194 | 1368 | 1542 | 1716 | 1890 | 2064 |
27 | 157 | 331 | 504 | 678 | 852 | 1026 | 1200 | 1374 | 1548 | 1722 | 1896 | 2070 |
28 | 162 | 336 | 510 | 684 | 858 | 1032 | 1206 | 1380 | 1554 | 1728 | 1902 | 2075 |
29 | 168 | 342 | 516 | 690 | 864 | 1038 | 1212 | 1386 | 1560 | 1733 | 1907 | 2081 |
“I have a question related to something in one of your articles about FEHB and Medicare. The article stated: “As a full-time Federal employee, you are eligible to enroll in
“Thank you very much for the great information. Question: Do I need to list my ex-spouse on my FERS retirement application if we were married for less than 10 years
“I watched the very helpful video on ROTH IRA conversions. I will be retiring by the end of 2022 and I do not have any funds in the Roth TSP,
“Is there a way, I can find out how much I will receive at retirement and when I can collect? I worked 24 years, but I don’t know my high
Get the most out of your federal retirement benefits by taking advantage of the FERS resources created by Micah Shilanski, CFP®, and the team of independent financial advisors at Shilanski & Associates, Inc. Join the thousands of federal employees who trust us to guide them in their retirement planning journey because of our unique perspective of how your FERS benefits contribute to your comprehensive financial plan.
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