A Federal Employee’s Guide to Annual Leave
A Federal Employee’s Guide to Strategizing Annual Leave
If you dream it, you can achieve it. That includes your annual leave! It may take some strategizing but Federal Educators is here to help you navigate annual leave and how to make the most of it.
Every federal employee is entitled to use their annual leave for vacations, personal business, or emergencies. Depending on the length of employment, type of employment and status, employees can earn between 4-8 hours of annual leave each pay period, totaling up to a maximum of 208 hours earned annually.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) allows federal employees to carry leave over from year to year, but the amount allowed depends on your agency and employment level. In most cases, employees are allowed 240 hours from one year to the next leave year, but this amount can vary so be sure to check your employment “annual leave ceiling” in order to not lose out on any annual leave hours. Federal Educators can help you learn and understand more about this through our complimentary federal benefits analysis.
If retirement is your next chapter of life, Federal Educators wants to make sure you can enjoy every minute of it by maximizing your earned benefits. Upon retirement, separation from Federal service or entering active duty, the employee will receive a lump-sum payment for accumulated and accrued annual leave. Federal employees are paid out based on their total earned annual leave balance.
In order to find that amount, you must first calculate an hourly rate from your annual base salary. By taking your annual salary and dividing it by the number of OPM working hours, 2,087, you can determine the hourly rate that will be multiplied to your remaining annual leave balance. This gross annual leave amount will be paid out in a final paycheck, as it is subject to income tax.
Don’t let your work computer background taunt you! Let Federal Educators create an annual leave strategy that works for your family. Give us a call at 866-226-8160 to get started or check out our upcoming workshops for more information.