FERS Sick Leave Conversion Chart - Download The Fers Sick Leave Conversion Chart pdf

As a federal employee under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), understanding how your unused sick leave can enhance your retirement benefits is crucial. While sick leave cannot be used to meet retirement eligibility, it plays a significant role in calculating your annuity.

Understanding FERS and Sick Leave

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FERS is a retirement plan for U.S. federal civilian employees, encompassing three components: the Basic Benefit Plan, Social Security, and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). Federal employees accrue sick leave at a rate of 4 hours per pay period, totaling 104 hours annually. This leave is intended for personal medical needs, care of family members, and adoption-related purposes.

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Locate the number in the table of fers sick leave conversion chart that is closest to your unused sick leave hours. The horizontal row shows the number of months, while the vertical column shows the remaining days. For instance, 441 hours convert to 2 months and 16 days. If your hours fall between two figures, select the next higher value. There is no cap on the sick leave that can be added to an eligible employee’s earned service. If your sick leave balance exceeds 2,087 hours, subtract 2,087 from your total to determine the additional time credited beyond one year.

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FERS Sick Leave Conversion Chart (Full Credit – Post 1 Jan 2014)  

Sick Leave Conversion: The Basics

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Sick leave conversion refers to the process of translating unused sick leave hours into additional creditable service time, thereby increasing your annuity. Prior to 2014, FERS employees received credit for half of their unused sick leave. However, legislation effective from January 1, 2014, grants full credit for unused sick leave at retirement .

How Sick Leave Impacts Your Annuity

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While unused sick leave doesn't count towards meeting the minimum service requirements for retirement eligibility, it does enhance your annuity calculation. Specifically, every 2,087 hours of sick leave equates to one additional year of creditable service. This added time increases the total service years used to compute your annuity, resulting in higher monthly payments .

Using the Sick Leave Conversion Chart

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To determine how your unused sick leave translates into service time, refer to the Sick Leave Conversion Chart. Here's how to use it:

• Calculate Total Sick Leave Hours: Sum your current sick leave balance with any additional hours you expect to accrue before retirement.
• Locate on the Chart: Find the closest number to your total hours on the conversion chart.
• Determine Service Credit: The chart will show the equivalent months and days of service credit.

For example, 441 hours of unused sick leave equate to 2 months and 16 days of additional service credit .

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Example of FERS Sick Leave Conversion

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Scenario 1: Less than 2,087 hours of sick leave

Let's say you have 1,500 hours of unused sick leave.

• Find your balance: Locate 1,500 on the FERS sick leave conversion chart.
• Round up: Since 1,500 isn't listed, round up to the nearest number, which is 1,515.
• Determine additional service credit: Looking across and up from 1,515, you'll find that it equates to 8 months and 15 days of additional service credit.

Scenario 2: More than 2,087 hours of sick leave

• Imagine you have 3,000 hours of unused sick leave.
• Subtract 2,087: Subtract 2,087 from 3,000, leaving you with 913 hours.
• Use the chart: Find 913 on the chart and round up to 915.
• Determine additional service credit: This equates to 5 months and 3 days of additional service credit.
• Add a year: Add one year of service credit for the initial 2,087 hours.
• Total Additional Service Credit: 1 year, 5 months, and 3 days.

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All unused sick leave is converted into months and days of service using the 2,087-hour chart.

The converted time is added to your total creditable service time when calculating your FERS pension.

Blocks of 30 days are counted as an additional month of service.

Any remaining days that don’t total 30 are considered use-or-lose.

Please note that sick leave only enhances your service time and does not count toward retirement eligibility, meaning it won’t allow you to retire earlier. See the example below for guidance on adding converted sick leave to your total creditable service time.  And you can also chekout the fers best dates to retire 2025.

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Credit for Unused Sick Leave

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Under FERS, employees are now eligible for sick leave credit due to a legal change in October 2009.

If you retired before 2014, you receive credit for half of your sick leave balance at retirement.

If you retired on or after January 1, 2014, you receive credit for your full sick leave balance.

CSRS employees receive credit for their entire sick leave balance, regardless of retirement date.

Sick leave credit is used solely for annuity computation purposes and cannot be applied toward retirement eligibility or your high-3 average salary.

How to Calculate Sick Leave Credit

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Add the months and days of unused sick leave to your actual service time.

Example:

Actual Service: 30 years, 4 months, 16 days

Sick Leave at Retirement: 4 months, 24 days

Total Credit: 30 years, 9 months, 10 days

Only full years and months are counted in the annuity computation. Any leftover days are disregarded.

In this case, the 10 days are dropped, equating to 58 hours of sick leave. 

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FAQ

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How to convert sick leave for FERS retirement?

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To convert unused sick leave for FERS retirement, refer to OPM's Retirement Facts #8 conversion chart, which translates sick leave hours into months and days of service credit. This additional time is factored into your total creditable service for annuity calculation.

How many sick leave hours equal 1 year?

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By law, a work year consists of 2,087 hours. However, since OPM bases annuities on a 360-day year (12 equal months of 30 days each), 2,087 hours divided by 360 days equals approximately six hours per day.

How many days is 1000 hours of sick leave?

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If you have 1,000 hours of sick leave and work 8 hours per day, the calculation is:

1,000 ÷ 8 = 125 days.

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