How to Burn Sick Leave Before Retirement

Free Copy of My Book: Building Wealth In the TSP: Your Road Map To Financial Freedom as A Federal Employee:
app.hawsfederaladvisors.com/f...
FREE WEBINAR: "The 7 Biggest FERS Retirement Mistakes":
app.hawsfederaladvisors.com/7...
Want to schedule a consultation? Click here:
hawsfederaladvisors.com/work-...
Submit a question here:
app.hawsfederaladvisors.com/q...
I am a practicing financial planner, but I'm not your financial planner. Please consult with your own tax, legal and financial advisors for personalized advice.

[@drmitofit2673]

As a fulltime federal physician with patient and critical-duty responsibilities, it wasn't ethical not to be sick and to call in sick on the mornings I was scheduled to work. We also needed a doctor's note for 3 days or more of sick leave in a row. I was very healthy from bicycle commuting. For these reasons I retired with a full year and one month service time equivalent of sick leave. I was able to schedule sick days claiming "medical appointments." Because of privacy and that appointments could be cancelled or recheduled, this could not be disputed by administrators. I used scheduled sick leave to make sure I didn't leave 29 sick days "on the table". Being a high paid high demand specialist at the salary cap, my sick leave conversion to time of service is quite valuable, more than $120,000 over 30 years retirement, even more with COLAs (2 new pickup trucks). If you retire late in the year, your annual leave lump sum could put you into a higher tax bracket and result in you losing 30-40% of your lump sum in federal and state taxes, so you might want to time retirement so that lump sum is paid to you at the start of the next calender year when your taxable income will drop. I used about half of my annual leave in the months prior to retirement, but I didn't merely lay on the beach. I completed many long term projects and home improvements so that when I retired there were no nagging issues or extra worries.

[@patrickrussell1498]

I take my 3 days of sick leave every quarter, that's my way of burning it up

[@guysevedz3581]

Cancer can raise it’s head at any time, I’ll keep my leave going

[@gravelstudios]

I've seen too many other federal employees get something awful like cancer and run out of leave. I'm a saver by nature, so I have no problem hoarding my sick leave. I do use it when I'm truly sick, but my goal is to have more sick leave at the end of every year than the beginning. I'd rather have more than I need than need it and not have it.

[@gw5309]

The most I ever carried on the books was around 700 hours. It wasn't until about ten years before I retired that they started giving retirement credit for unused LS, so there wasn't much incentive to bank a lot, other than a catastrophic illness. I used most of mine for family care; wife's surgeries, aging parents, two major surgeries for our son. I burned mine down and gave them ten hours when I retired with 34 years. No regrets.

[@donaldlewis567]

And you need a full month of sick leave to extend your pension. If you have 20 days of sick leave at retirement it all goes to waste :(

[@javiersmith2216]

I thouht 173 hours of SL equals one month per opm

[@winterversion]

Actually, I'm pretty sure the sick days get added to your time in service, so if you have 20 sick days, but worked 30 years and 10 days, total time in service would be 30 years and 1 month.

[@BC-te9ow]

Since OPM calculates your retirement in 30 days increments, it changes the how SL is counted. It comes out to about 6 hours of SL = one day. Your HR office will give you the exact figure with “leftover hours” that won’t count. Burn these hours.

[@happilife2222]

​@@BC-te9owwhen do you think is the best time to ask HR about your SL? Is 6 months before your planned retirement enough time or need more months ahead ?

[@yourmanzach2307]

my dad was able to use ALL of his sick time before he officiallyretired. he got a sick note from his doctor stating that due to all of his injuries at the post office, he was allowed to burn all his sick time prior. just something to note!

[@ray.d.oeaux1230]

HYPOTHETICAL: You have 20 years of service with a high-3 average of $100,000 and 1000 hours (6 months) of unused Sick Leave. That's a $20,000 per year (or $1,667 per month) pension-not factoring in your unused Sick Leave. [$100,000 x 20 x .01 = $20,000 per year (or $1,667 per month)] Now add that half year of unused Sick Leave to your years of service for 20.5 years and your yearly pension increases to . . . [drumroll] . . . $20,500-which adds only $42 to your monthly pension. [$100,000 x 20.5 x .01 = $20,500 (or $1,709 per month)] CONCLUSION: Your Sick Leave has much more value if you use before you retire than if you use it to increase your years of service.

[@happilife2222]

Thank you for doing the math. I am thinking of retiring in 2 years and already feeling burned out from work bc my agency has turned to be a shet hole now. I might as well use as much SL to keep my sanity.

[@ronaldjacobi1788]

@@happilife2222 use your LS and save your LA for a chunk of $$ to tide you over while they process your retirement. It's taking more than a few months to start drawing your pension these days.

[@bayoustateoutdoors9650]

💯

[@winterversion]

The pension boost is more valuable to me than taking sick leave. Think about it - did you actually make extra money taking sick leave? No, you just got your salary - nothing added. The pension boost is actual more money in your pocket for life.

[@ray.d.oeaux1230]

@@winterversion I did think about it. In my example a person who leaves 6 months of unused Sick Leave walks away from over $50,000 in compensated time off (paid leave). (High-3 average is $100,000, so in Year 3 the employee is actually making well over $100,000 per year, which is how the unused leave is valued.) By adding a scant $500 per year (or $42 a month) to your pension from 6 months of unused Sick Leave, it would take you 100 years (ort more) to recoup the value of unused leave. [$500 per year x 100 years = $50,000] The leave is thus far more valuable if used as paid time off than if used to increase your years of service for calculating your pension.

[@barano9729]

Crazy how some people are able to burn up their entire sick leave balance and go into the red , never missing a birthday, Christmas, kids t -ball game or graduation, thanksgiving yet continue to get promoted. What’s the point in doing the right thing and saving up S/L?

[@35goingon90]

Sick leave only gets added to your pension time if you have a traditional retirement time (57+ or 55 for special provisions?). If you are like me, and plan to retire at 50, with 21 years of service, your sick leave is just lost if you dont use it before you retire, it does not get added to your pension time.

[@jt2quick]

Another good video, Mr Haws. And I've been thinking to myself, "I wonder when He will make a video on using sick leave vs annual leave. Keep sharing your knowledge. Take care and stay safe.

[@richardxo507]

I’m actually doing that right now as I did the numbers and the amount I get extra is close to nothing so I rather be moving my stuff to the new house and then fixing and selling the house I am living in now. Some people sell their A/L but quite honestly being away from work and the BS is therapy for me and I don’t miss it. I did very well on my Tsp and real estate so obviously we are not all in the same boat. Good luck everyone!

[@symboan8]

Yes Sir

[@boondoggle4820]

As long as you schedule leave in advance and don’t call out without notice, they shouldn’t care if you use up your sick leave. This may vary from agency to agency but as long as you’re being responsible and communicating with them they shouldn’t care if you use sick leave before retirement. That’s better than someone calling out sick a lot so that they don’t have any sick leave at retirement and you have to look for someone to cover their assignment.

[@user-yu1cj8cy5f]

Thats right.

[@ronaldjacobi1788]

I burned my LS down to 4 hours when I retired. Used it in lieu of annual for my last two years. Of course, I had sympathetic leadership and supervision. Got a nice fat LA payout, to help cover the months I anticipated not collecting my retirement while they figure things out.

[@chrisnykol8706]

One fact not mentioned: When you burn sick leave, you earn more sick and annual leave. That doesn't happen if you just give it back...

[@davidpippin3460]

I've got 400+ hours of SL and have 3-5 years to go. I do plan on using it for legit purposes as med issues increase.

[@Milkman3572000]

Take scheduled SL. Your wife goes to the Dr.. YOU need to take her..

[@kchiker]

So, you use your sick leave in lieu of AL. What are you going to do, lounge around in your underwear at home? You're still going to be paid whether you're at work or on SL. Let it accumulate and add to your service time. Do the calculation and any excess time beyond one month, use it so you don't leave anything on the table. When I retired, I left 2 sick days on the table as a buffer in case my math was a little off. Make sure to add all your service time + SL time to make sure you're not leaving 29 days on the table.

[@swat486]

I have a lot of sick leave saved. I mean a lot!! My plan is to focus on mental health my last year. The govt is sending out mental health emails weekly. I will be using my sick leave for mental Health my last Year.

[@provrbs35]

No short term disability. I view SL as short term disability insurance. Was in a motorcycle accident years ago. Out of work for 4 months. Had enough SL to cover while out. Those who pay into short term or long term disability insurance do not get the premiums back if not used. Insurance. That’s the way I view SL. If I need a medical procedure before retirement, I will take advantage of the unused SL. Otherwise, it’s nice to add months of service to my pension.

[@margaretfranck1795]

Absolutely!!!! I was going to make this same comment. 37 years and over 1700 hours of sick leave. And that’s with 2 maternity leaves back before parental leave was a separate thing.

[@mcsephoenix]

Some people get paid out for sick leave, better make sure that isn't the case before you burn it for no reason.

[@mcz68l]

Rule of thumb for sick leave, every 3 months adds .25 percent to your retirement formula (1 year equals 1 percent)

[@javiersmith2216]

I thought the rule was 173 hours equals one month

[@patriciabrooks4908]

😢

[@shopgirl6673]

Just remember that it’s not beneficial to have large Sick Leave if you are leaving, resigning or getting fired, so keep it below 160 hours as general rule. Large Sick Leave in thousands of hours only helps if you are retiring at MRA. Also, good luck getting lengthy sick leave approved by your second level mgmt, especially if you have an 😈 one!

[@barano9729]

I’m special provisions and MRA in 13 months with 1540 hrs of sick leave. People look at me like something is wrong with me. lol.

[@shopgirl6673]

@@barano9729 In your case of full MRA retirement, Congratulations 🎊🎉, you can add those 1500+ S/L to your service. The reality is most people can’t make to MRA due to harassment from Mgmt. We’re not quitting our job, instead we’re quitting the boss!

[@TR8jhlo]

Isn’t it best to just use all SL to extend your effective working time? Draw salary while taking extended break in lieu of slightly larger monthly pension.

[@zenawarrior7442]

People shouldn't keep thousands of hours, is impossible to take all that at the end, too many people fake stuff at the end🙄😁Great info as always Dallen thanks 😊

[@rogerpowell2991]

I have 2578 hours of sick leave. Only 1 year, 11 months to MRA. I would have had more sick leave, but I used 13 days a year once I got 1000 sick hours in the bank around 2001 (figuring, I would lose it if I had more than that. Crazy how the rules changed around 2013).

[@JuanMartinez-kn2qs]

I believe if you are a over 22 years as a civilian employee, use the sick leave to your advantage and it is fair, meaning legally you can take one day per Below 22 it helps to give you that extra 1 percent for retirement. Example, I have 22 years of service that gives me 24.2 with an extra 1 percent from sick leave itis25.3 percent.. with sick leave I have 25.3. Depending on your high 3 this is considerable

[@LittleCabin]

My extra sick leave will add up to an extra bag of groceries every single month of retirement. I'll take the groceries.

[@symboan8]

Should i retire at 60 with a year of sick leave added to my years of service or stay until 62 and burn all my sick leave between 60 and 62?

[@itguru2037]

60. Years. Get out asap

[@all-inhomestead3855]

I think hes referring to those "at retirement"

[@Raj8Baby]

❤

[@alrifr5786]

It would take more than a century for the sick leave benefit to match what the same annual leave provides.

[@deannaphillips3177]

Hi I want to do a postponed retirement. Will my annual leave still be paid out? Will my sick leave still be added to my time? I have 20 years of service and planned on leaving in 2 years. TIA

[@PlanYourFederalBenefits]

Great question. The annual leave and sick leave that your accrued during your years of service should still affect your retirement. Here is a great video that can explain a little more: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ7Fm4GNZriCj6s&pp=ygUqaGF3cyBmZWRlcmFsIGFkdmlzb3JzIHBvc3Rwb25lZCByZXRpcmVtZW50

[@pamelamoutz5307]

Is the SL time added considered as civilian time for FERS Supplement?

[@PlanYourFederalBenefits]

Great question. No, the FERS supplement uses a different calculation.

[@pamelamoutz5307]

@@PlanYourFederalBenefits so what you're saying is it's the exact time that you were working in your civilian position

[@pamelamoutz5307]

@@PlanYourFederalBenefits also, if I had paid back civilian time retirement would that time count because I did work the civilian position?

[@lostcausel3929]

I was recently informed by my HR that the leave that’s sold back is distributed over 3 pay periods and is not a lump sum? Is she uninformed?

[@PlanYourFederalBenefits]

That's a great question. This might be the case with your specific agency. But, usually it is just one lump sum payment.

[@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener]

I have 16 years of federal service and have 1200 hours of S/L so far. If I remain healthy and don't need it sooner, I plan to use the S/L to get to 20+ years and retire in approx 3.5 versus another 4 years ( all estimates right now). I could burn it and wait another 6 months but the difference is not enough to entice me (less than $100 month) to wait the full 4 years. In the meantime, I use other forms of leave, like credit time and comp time, for the minor medical appts.

[@Ponchofan400]

You can’t use sick leave to reach the required years of service to retire at 20 years.

[@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener]

@@Ponchofan400 If I am already over 62 and eligible to retire, I can use my sick leave to add to my time in service and get the additonal 1.1% for my pension calculation as if I worked 20 years.

[@Ponchofan400]

@@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener I don’t believe sick leave can be used to increase your service years for any eligible reasons. For instance, if someone is at their MRA and needs 30 years of actual service on the job time but they only have 29 years and have saved up a years worth of sick, they can’t add that year of sick to their 29 and get 30 and be eligible to retire. I know at 62 years of age you only need 5 years of service time to retire but I don’t know if you can use sick leave to get you to officially have 20 years of service time.

[@kimbosco4654]

You have to be *eligible* for retirement with time served only. Then once you're eligible, you can add in your sick leave for a larger benefit. Sick leave time doesn't count as time served to determine eligibility.

[@ceecee-thetransplantedgardener]

@@kimbosco4654 Correct.

[@terrylantz2831]

Doesnt make sense to burn months of SL. Days…yes certainly

[@miker1180]

I have over 2000 hrs to burn. Doing the basic math, it would take me over 100 years to get what my sick leave is worth if I were to give it back. Why not burn it and get the extra year towards retirement, the increase in pension, and then a years worth of pay? Duh!

[@winterversion]

That's like a whole year of sick leave. My question is how do you burn a whole year? And you're implying you burn it all at once. How do you swing that? I'm asking seriously.

[@miker1180]

Had conversation with manager, he's good with it. Schedule (that's the key) 3 months at a time. Turn in 3971 a month ahead of time for each quarter. Not all managers will agree to it though.

[@winterversion]

​@@miker1180more power to you, bro!

[@bayoustateoutdoors9650]

When I’m 2 years from retirement, will start burning sick leave……worth more $ that way

[@winterversion]

But you're losing out on the pension bonus. I'd rather have a little more for the rest of my life than nothing more. If you're burning all your sick leave before retiring, you're just getting your regular salary like normal. I'll take the pension bonus over regular salary any day.

[@barano9729]

⁠​⁠@@winterversionInvest the money now for the compounding effect, otherwise you might not live to see your bonus. Capiche?

[@jerrys2346]

The agency I work for has small offices, usually with only 3-5 employees. I've watched people burn sick leave in the last couple years of their career and their co-workers have to pick up their slack. Call me old fashioned but that just seems like stealing from the employer and burning co-workers in the process. I'll take my 3000+ hours of sick leave into retirement with a clean conscience.

[@Linz.Edward]

Using hours that you earned from your employer, cannot be considered stealing. Ask yourself why your employer didn’t hire more people when they knew someone was using all their earned sick leave?? These govt jobs will replace you in a moments notice. You don’t owe them anything. Use your sick leave.

[@charlietuna1971]

How is using leave that you earned considered stealing?

[@glasshalffull2930]

@@charlietuna1971 If you’re not sick or had a medical appointment, it’s Fraud Against the Government which is a federal crime. I hope that helps.

[@charlietuna1971]

@glasshalffull2930 if someone takes sick leave, then they needed to take sick leave. It's that simple.

[@glasshalffull2930]

@@charlietuna1971 And if someone decides to steal, they just steal. It’s that simple.

[@Dave-sw2dm]

Unfortunately I have a valid reason to use sick leave instead of retiring.