OPM Memo: Recredit of Sick Leave for Re-employed FERS Retirees
The following is a Memo released by the Office Of Personnel Management (OPM)
Recredit of Sick Leave for Re-employed FERS Annuitants Who Retire Between October 28, 2009, and December 31, 2013
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has been asked whether employees covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) who retire between October 28, 2009, and December 31, 2013, with 50 percent of their sick leave having been credited toward their FERS annuity computation, could have the remaining 50 percent of their sick leave recredited to their sick leave account if they return to Federal service as reemployed annuitants. The answer is yes. Agencies should recredit reemployed annuitants the 50 percent of sick leave that was not used in their FERS annuity computation. For employees who retire or die in service on or after January 1, 2014, all unused sick leave to the employees’ credit will be creditable for annuity computation purposes. Further, for FERS employees who retire on or after January 1, 2014, 100 percent of their sick leave will be used in the annuity computation, consequently, no sick leave will remain for recredit should the retirees later return to Federal service.
Agencies must take action to identify FERS employees who initially retired on or after October 28, 2009, and who have since returned to Federal service as reemployed annuitants, to ensure that the employees have received recredit of the 50 percent of sick leave that was not used in the computation of their annuities.
Background
Section 1901 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Public Law 111-84, October 28, 2009) amended 5 U.S.C. 8415 to provide that employees covered by FERS who retire on an immediate annuity, or die while in active employment leaving a survivor or survivors, between October 28, 2009 (the date of enactment of the statute), and December 31, 2013, will receive credit for 50 percent of their unused sick leave towards their total creditable service for annuity computation purposes.
Additional Information
For additional information, please refer to Benefits Administration Letter Number 11- 102, Guidance on National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 Provisions on Sick Leave for FERS Retirees.
Agency Human Resources (HR) Directors may also contact their assigned OPM Human Capital Officers. Reemployed annuitants should contact their agency human resources or benefits offices for assistance.
From: Charles D. Grimes III
Acting Associate Director
Republicans Introduce Bill To Eliminate FERS Retirement For New Hires
Republican Senators Richard Burr, (R-NC) and Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), on Thursday introduced a bill (S. 644) that would eliminate the pension portion of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for all new federal employees hired after 2012. The legislation would not affect Thrift Savings Plan benefits and agency-matching contributions. It also will not affect FERS pensions for current federal employees and retirees. It would, however, apply to members of Congress.
Press Release
Today, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina), along with Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), introduced the Public-Private Employee Retirement Act of 2011 to address long-term liabilities facing the federal government. The legislation would end the defined benefit pension portion of the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) for new federal government hires starting in 2013, leaving fully in place the Thrift Savings Plan with the current match (up to 5%) for both current and future federal workers. The bill would also apply to Members of Congress.
“Right now, federal government workers receive far more generous retirement benefits than private sector employees. The cost to taxpayers of these benefits is unsustainable and we simply cannot afford it,” said Burr. “We cannot ask taxpayers to continue to foot the bill for public employee benefits that are far more generous than their own.”
“The congressional pension plan currently in place only serves to foster political careerism and should have been frozen years ago. In addition to enjoying a better benefits package, federal workers generally earn up to 20 percent more than their private sector counterparts. When American families across the country are being asked to sacrifice in order to meet their basic needs, federal employees and members of Congress should not be the exception. Defined benefit pension plans are going belly-up across the nation because politicians and employers continue to make promises they cannot keep. Existing federal employees will be unaffected, and all federal employees would continue to enjoy a 401(k)-style pension plan with a very generous federal match. But the only responsible thing to do is stop making irresponsible commitments and forcing future generations to pick up the tab,” said Dr. Coburn.
Currently, federal workers enjoy both a defined benefit pension and a Thrift Savings Plan (equivalent to a 401(k)) with up to a 5% match, paid for by the taxpayers. The average private sector employee gets a 401(k) with a 3% employer match and no pension. Federal workers also continue to enjoy federal health care benefits (FEHBP) after they retire, a benefit that is becoming increasingly rare in the private sector.
Current federal government employees and retirees would not be impacted by the changes in the Burr-Coburn bill.
Thousands Of Postal Employees To See Social Security Tax Decrease Starting January 7
Filed under: FERS, pay, postal, postal employees, postal news, usps
NEW TAX LAW
SOCIAL SECURITY EMPLOYEE TAX RATE DECREASES FOR 2011
Thousands of postal employees will have their Social Security employee tax rate decrease 2 percent in 2011.
The tax reduction is a result of the “Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010” signed into law Dec. 17, 2010.
The Act temporarily decreases the Social Security employee tax rate from 6.2 percent (of the first $106,800 in earned income) to 4.2 percent for 1 year — but some employees will not see any changes in their tax rate.
Here are the new law’s effects:
■ Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) employees — Since they do not pay Social Security, the new law does not change their tax rate and there will be no change in their retirement deductions.
■ CSRS-offset and Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) employees — Social Security tax will be reduced by 2 percent and there will be no change in their retirement deductions.
The Social Security tax rate change will be reflected in Jan. 7, 2011 paychecks. The reduced Social Security withholding will have no effect on the employee’s future Social Security benefits.
Click here for more information, or contact the Accounting Help Desk at 866-974-2733
Editorial: 10 Tips to Remember When Filing for Postal Disability Retirement Benefits
Filed under: Articles, FERS, nrp, postal, postal news, retirement, usps
Article written exclusively for PostalReporter.com by Robert R. McGill,Esq.
Whether you call it “Postal Disability Retirement”, “Federal Disability Retirement”, or “OPM Disability Retirement”, the available options under the National Reassessment Program all lead to the same road: the injured Postal Worker is being squeezed out of the workplace, and it is time to secure one’s future by asserting the legal rights that are available.
If a gentleman tips his hat to a lady, has he given anything? If he tips his hat unaware that the lady is present, has he still tipped his hat? If you tip your hat to a waiter, have you satisfied the convention of tipping? If a man receives ‘a tip’, must it be of value in order for it to truly be a tip, or is bad advice, or nonsense, still considered a tip even if it leads to nothing? If a bill is for $1,000.00 and you leave a $100 tip, are you still a cheapskate? If the same person receives a bill for $200.00 and leaves a $100.00 tip, is he then a generous tipper? – From Top to Toe and Tip to Tip
10 Tips to Remember When Filing for Postal Disability Retirement Benefits
During this time of turmoil, when Postal employees are undergoing economic, financial, internal and structural corporate reverberations from all angles; where the Postmaster general has decided to call it quits and retire; where email and technology have altered the landscape of how a population communicates, thereby impacting the profitability of a mail service whose paradigm inception began in the days of Benjamin Franklin; during these economic times of hardship – when the National Reassessment Program is impacting Postal employees all across the United States – filing for Federal Disability Retirement is an option that Postal employees must consider.
Some common questions are often asked when contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits for FERS & CSRS (as well as “CSRS-offset”) employees. How easy is it to get? Should a Postal employee try to submit the application for Federal Disability Retirement, get it rejected, then get an attorney? Should Social Security Disability benefits (SSDI) also be filed for? Should I file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits while I am on OWCP?
These are just some of the preliminary questions which a Postal employee will face when first contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits. When contemplating this course of action, it is well to remember the following 10 “tips”: Read more
Postal Employee Who Retired Under Early Retirement Is Challenging OPM Over FERS Annuity Supplement
Filed under: FERS, legal cases, opm, postal, postal news, retirement, usps, vera
My name is Lennis B. Reynolds I am a retired Postal employee who took a VER/Incentive offer in August 2009. I am taking OPM to MSPB about the FERS Annuity Supplement. The difference without the Supplement is $1000.00 per month in retirement income.
To : Honorable Howard J. Ansorge
Administrative Judge
Central Regional Office
230 South Dearborn Street, Room 3100
Chicago, IL 60604-1669
Dear Judge Ansorge:
I, Lennis B. Reynolds CH-0841-10-0788-I-1,CSA 8 436-635 desires an in-person hearing, I will conduct the hearing in this appeal by telephone .The telephone hearing will be held: Date: September 13, 2010 Time: 2:00 p.m. Central time (3:00 p.m. Eastern) I am requesting a in person hearing.
PREHEARING SUBMISSIONS
The issue is a employee who retires under their MRA under FERS is eligible for the FERS Annunity Supplement when retiring on VERA. OPM position is that you have to be MRA to collect the FERS Annuity Supplement, but according to the THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM ACT OF 1986 legislation clearly states it allows only four types of retirement benefits :Unreduced, reduced, ‘involuntary, and deferred vested annuities.
Under the THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM ACT OF 1986 a employee who retired inVoluntary would have to wait to MRA not Voluntary(See exhibit 1). When Voluntary Early Retirement Laws Enacted in the 107/108th Congress under Voluntary Early Retirement Authority. Under both CSRS and FERS, a federal employee is eligible for an IMMEDIATE UNREDUCED RETIREMENT annuity at age 55 with 30 or more years of service. Under voluntary early retirement authority (VERA), the age and service requirements are reduced to 20 years of federal service at age 50 or 25 years of service,regardless of age. (see exhibit 2).
The Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296) provides that with the approval of OPM, an agency undergoing restructuring or downsizing can offer voluntary early retirement to employees in specific occupational groups, organizational units, or geographic locations. Reductions in annuity amounts for early retirement will continue to apply . In your offer (the “agency”) must submitted a request to OPM for a grant of authority to offer voluntary early retirement in conjunction with a proposed major reduction in force (“RIF”). OPM/ agency must have this in your offer letter see (JOSEPH T. TORRES,Petitioner,v.OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT.(see exhibit 3)THIS WAS NOT IN MY offer letter ONLY a VER offer was issued NOT a proposed major reduction in force (“RIF”)this was not INCLUDED IN MY OFFER LETTER.
I was offer to retire voluntary. .(see exhibit 4.) I also took a look at my form 50 and I looked up how agency/OPM retired me I was retired Involuntery (see form 50 Nature of Personnel action(Nature of action code is (303) Description (Retirement-Special-option .(see exhibit 5.) Chapter 30. Retirements (Natures of Action 300, 301,302, 303, and 304).then go to Table 30-B. Remarks Required for Retirement Actions rule(see exhibit 5 A1) .
According to voluntary Early Retirement Laws Enacted in the 107th/108 Congress under Voluntary Early Retirement Authority I retired(voluntary with unreduced benefits the same way that a regular employee /special groups retirement it is Voluntery. Note: only the age and service requirements are reduced not the benefits. OPM retired me under Early retirement provision under CSRS not Voluntary Early Retirement under FERS it is a big diffence see chapter 43 fers(see exhibit 6). OPM retired me as an Early-Optional retiree when I should have been retired on Voluntary Optional.(see exhibit 7) I was not in a MAj-RIF must be in my offer voluntary early retirement in conjunction with a proposed major reduction in force (“RIF”). this was noted in my offer letter.
If you have any question please feel free to call XXX-XXX-XXXX this is a major case on all FERS employees who retired under VER and who is under their MRA. Note: I had a prehearing telephone conference call with the Honorable Howard J. Ansorge and OPM Agency Representive James Wiliams. In the conference call OPM claims that they retired me under 8414b (1) B. OPM cannot retire any FERS employee who retired voluntary under 8414 b (1) B unless the agency is undergoing a RIF and they must be documented in the offer letter as a reasonable offer. Therefore under U.S Code 8421 Annuity Supplement paragraph a(2) only applies to people who retired involuntary not voluntary. The only way a FERS employee can retire,. who retired voluntary is under U.S. Code 8412 IMMEDIATE RETIREMENT. The decision will be on September 13, 2010
Sincerely
Lennis Reynolds
former non-commissioned officer/retired Postal employee:
**This article may not be reprinted or republished without the approval of PostalReporter.com or Lennis Reynolds.
OIG Says USPS Overfunded Its FERS Retirement Obligations By $6.8 Billion
A new audit report from the Office Of Inspector General says that the USPS over-funded its FERS retirement obligations by $6.8 billion. The OIG reported several months ago that USPS overfunded its CSRS retirement obligations by $75 billion.
Excerpts:
Consistent with other retiree benefit obligations, the Postal Service is being unfairly burdened for its share of the FERS pension obligation. The OPM projected a $6.8 billion surplus in the Postal Service’s FERS obligation at the end of FY 2009. The OPM acknowledged that the federal government’s FERS obligation, excluding the Postal Service, was unfunded by $7.4 billion at the end of FY 2008.The funding status for the Postal Service, as well as the federal government, is calculated by subtracting the pension assets from the actuarial accrued liability. A higher liability results in an unfunded status, while a lower liability results in a surplus. According to the OPM, the liability is a projection for current and future benefit obligations and considers contributions paid into and disbursements from FERS. Overall, the liability is based on estimated demographics for the entire federal government, including the Postal Service.
However, the Postal Service’s benefits paid represent actual demographic behavior, such as early career turnover, and not the aggregate, resulting in a surplus status for the Postal Service and an unfunded status for the federal government.
Based on this data, the Postal Service’s overfunding issue is even larger than we previously reported. Similar to what we have noted in other OIG retiree benefit reports, Postal Service Based on this data, the Postal Service’s overfunding issue is even larger than we previously reported. Similar to what we have noted in other OIG retiree benefit reports, Postal Service ratepayers continue to pay more than their fair share of retiree benefits. It is important that the trend of overpayments does not continue. The Postal Service faces a challenging future and its responsibilities and the true cost of funding postal operations needs to be absolutely clear. To address that challenge, the Postal Service is making operational changes to bring costs in line with revenue projections. Additionally, it is pursuing legislative changes to address concerns raised about pension and retiree health benefit payments. We believe management should also consider the FERS overfunding issue as the Postal Service pursues legislative changes.
Having retirement expenses commingled with the federal government’s budget, while being expected to operate as an efficient business, puts the Postal Service in a precarious position. The surplus in the CSRDF effectively subsidizes appropriated tax dollars when it could be used to offset the Postal Service’s current and future business expenses.
Conclusion:
The Postal Service has opportunities to use at least $5.5 billion of the $6.8 billion in FERS surplus funds to address its current and future financial condition. We found the Postal Service continues to overfund its retirement obligations and there is no present legislation to resolve surpluses. Further, it is vital that the Postal Service’s responsibilities be clearly delineated and separated from those of the rest of the federal government. The overcharges associated with CSRS obligations, coupled with the FERS surplus discussed in this report, have adversely affected the Postal Service’s financial position, hindered its ability to operate efficiently in a business-like matter, and hindered its transformation under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA). Action is needed to prevent a repeat of historical trends in the overfunding of Postal Service retiree benefits.
Read the full USPS OIG report.
Editorial: Does the Postal Service Really Want Early Retirements?
Filed under: Articles, CSRS, FERS, postal, postal news, retirement, usps, vera
In recent VERAs the Postal Service issued FERS annuity estimates that omitted the employee’s FERS annuity supplement. The FERS annuity supplement is often nearly equal the basic annuity amount. Was that to discourage early retirements so they can justify weakening the no-layoff clause in upcoming contract negotiations?
The method of calculating the FERS annuity supplement is explained by Robert F. Benson in What are “Deemed” Salaries in the FERS Annuity Supplement? If you have the necessary personal information, his software at http://www.fedbens.us/ will calculate the exact amount of your FERS annuity supplement. The PDF Attachmenthas an example.
Most postal employees in FERS are eligible for the annuity supplement after age 55 with 30 years of service, but in a VERA, RIF, or involuntary transfer over 50 miles that requirement is reduced to 20 years–a significant bonus. Federal law enforcement officers, like Postal Inspectors and OIG, are eligible for the FERS annuity supplement at age 50 with 20 years of service.
OPM’s Handbook, Chapter 40, Section 40A2.1-3.N, requires the Postal Service to furnish this information for eligible FERS employees.
The Postal Service also neglects to mention another advantage in an early retirement. The funds in your Thrift Savings Plan may be withdrawn after retirement and age 55 without an IRS early withdrawal penalty. If you retire before age 55, you can avoid an IRS early withdrawal penalty by choosing an annuity. See Important Tax Information About Payments From Your TSP Account
Don Cheney
Auburn WA
Senator Ted Stevens Was The “Father of FERS”
Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was a longtime advocate for federal employees. Stevens played a key role in the creation of the Thrift Savings Plan, a 401(k)-type retirement savings program. He also was one of the original sponsors of the 1993 Family Medical Leave Act, which provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave. A moderate Republican, he served longer than any other Republican in history.
When Republicans controlled both houses of Congress, Senator Ted Stevens used his position as Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee to block any cuts to CSRS, FERS and TSP. Without his help, federal employees’ benefits would be a lot worse today.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011002372.html
Thrift Savings Plan – The Model for all 401(k) Plans!
Ted Stevens – Father of FERS
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=319&sid=1576147
Federal Disability Retirement under FERS or CSRS: Understanding the Different Perspectives and Differing Interests
by Attorney Robert R. McGill
As with most things in life, attempting to secure a Federal Disability Retirement annuity under FERS or CSRS requires an extraordinary amount of time, effort, planning, and the collection, formulation and coordination of a compendium of information. Multiple questions arise at the early stages of planning: Can I live on 60% of the average of one’s highest-3 consecutive years of salary for the first year, then upon the second and subsequent years at 40% (planning stage)? Will my doctor support me (collection of information stage)? How must it be stated, and what must be stated, on the Applicant’s Statement of Disability (Standard Form 3112A, both for FERS & CSRS) (formulation stage)? How do I get the doctor to cooperate, make sure my Supervisor does his or her portion, and who fills out the Agency Certification of Reassignment and Accommodation Efforts (SF 3112D) (coordination stage)? And these are just a small fraction of the questions one needs to ask in preparing to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.
Before engaging in the minutiae of preparing an application for Federal Disability Retirement, it is often a good idea to take a macro-perspective of the process as a whole.
What a potential applicant for Federal Disability Retirement needs to understand, at a minimum, are the varying perspectives of (potentially) differing interests involved in the totality of the process of this “thing” called Federal Disability Retirement under FERS or CSRS. The four (4) main interests involved are: (1) The individual applicant who will be filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits; (2) The Agency for which the applicant works; (3) The Doctor who is treating the applicant who is contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits; and (4) The Office of Personnel Management. The key to success in filing and winning an approval is to recognize the different perspectives of each of the four main interests, to coordinate the differing interests, and then to formulate a plan to garner the proper support from each.
Thus, let us take each interest in the order listed:
1. The individual applicant who is contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS. Whether because of medical conditions which have impacted the physical body – from Cervical, Lumbar or Thoracic degenerative diseases, or Shoulder Impingement Syndrome; Lupus; Multiple Sclerosis; Parkinson’s Disease; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; Plantar Fasciitis; Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (including allergies); Fibromyalgia; Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; Migraine headaches; or a host of other medical conditions not listed (this is not intended to be an exhaustive list, by any stretch of the imagination) – to Psychiatric diagnoses of Major Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder; panic attacks, Agoraphobia; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; ADD or ADHD; Autism Spectrum Disorders (including Asperger’s); Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc. (again, this list is not meant to be exhaustive), the important point is to know that the individual has come to a stage in his or her life where a medical disability has become so intractable, despite surgery, physical therapy, medication regimens; psychotropic medications; psychotherapeutic intervention; and multiple other reasonable modalities of treatments – all of which have been merely temporary and palliative in nature; but work is and has been suffering; and the individual cannot perform one or more of the essential elements of the job, and the medical condition is expected to last for a minimum of 12 months. The time has come to file. Work and career have been a major part of one’s life, and it is difficult to come to acknowledge the reality that such work cannot be performed anymore, and the years invested with an Agency must come to an end. This is where “quality of life” issues become important: Am I coming home each day just to recuperate to make it to work for another day? Am I using up so much LWOP that my performance is suffering? Am I in danger of being placed on a PIP? Is my Agency thinking about terminating me? Before it reaches a critical point, it is important to begin planning; and the first step in planning is to acknowledge bluntly and forthrightly, that the time has come to file for Federal Disability Retirement under FERS or CSRS.
2. The Agency for which the applicant works. Agencies are strange organic entities. They reflect, on a microcosmic scale, the people at all levels who work for the Agency. Don’t ever expect that loyalty is a bilateral avenue – it is not. Your loyalty for twenty years to an Agency will not be remembered on the day you start to impede the mission of the Agency. An employee’s loyalty to an Agency is rewarded only to the extent that the level of performance reflects positively upon the immediate Supervisor. Once the performance level begins to falter, the true avenue of loyalty reveals itself: it is a unilateral avenue. Your years of loyalty are forgotten. Is there a solution to this problem? To some extent; by persuading those who are open to persuasion, that the applicant for Federal Disability Retirement benefits and the Agency have a common goal: the Agency wants the vacant position which the applicant presently fills; the applicant wants to secure his or her financial security by obtaining Federal Disability Retirement benefits. Thus, the emphasis upon the commonality of goals can result in a positive result which is beneficial to both parties.
3. The Doctor who is treating the applicant. He or she is the critical linchpin of the case, and to garner the support of the most valuable resource in a Federal Disability Retirement case is essential. By his or her very nature, the doctor hates such administrative details of the job. To be asked to write a medical narrative report is anathema to the very essence of who a doctor is. A doctor is trained to treat patients. The administrative headaches of writing a convincing, excellent narrative report is the last thing that a doctor wants to do. It is therefore critically important to explain to the doctor, in clear and concise terms, the nature of Federal Disability Retirement; how it differs from Social Security or Worker’s Comp; what elements and issues need to be addressed in the narrative report; and why helping to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits is in the best interests of the patient.
4. The Office of Personnel Management. This is the toughest out of the four. This is the Agency which receives and reviews all Federal Disability Retirement applications under FERS or CSRS. They apply the legal criteria in determining whether or not the applicant qualifies. Not everyone who makes a decision is fully informed of the governing laws, and so it is imperative that an Application for Federal Disability Retirement is well-formulated, concisely written, descriptively delineated, and supported by credible medical documentation. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will never meet you; you are a faceless entity with merely a paper trail. As such, the paper submission must be convincing, persuasive, and meet the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence.
A successful Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS, submitted to the Office of Personnel Management, must take into account all of the four (4) interests described above, and coordinate them, taking into account the differing perspectives which will often involve seemingly opposing interests. It is the ability to garner the support of each, to coordinate and extrapolate the advantages from each, and to compile, formulate, and prepare an excellent presentation which will have a high chance of being approved by the Office of Personnel Management. This is where one might consider the “5th” entity – that of an Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement laws. It is a consideration worth pursuing, especially because it concerns the future financial security of a Federal or Postal employee which we are speaking about – you.
Attorney Robert R. McGill specializes in federal disability retirement cases helping Federal and Postal workers secure their disability retirement benefits under both FERS and CSRS.
USPS: Sick Leave Credit For FERS Employees
OPM TO ISSUE GUIDANCE, IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONSPostal employees who retire under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) will receive credit for their unused sick leave when they retire. The new provision — which became effective Oct. 28 with the president’s signing of the fiscal year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act — will be phased in over four years.
FERS employees who retire between now and Dec. 31, 2013, will receive a 50-percent credit for their unused sick leave. FERS employees who retire on or after Jan. 1, 2014, will receive full credit for their unused sick leave. Employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System already receive credit for sick leave when they retire.
The National Retirement Counseling Systems, an annuity calculator that provides employees with an estimate of their retirement benefits, will be programmed to show unused FERS sick leave.
Once the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issues guidance and implementing regulations, the Postal Service then will be able to provide advice to employees who inquire about the effect these changes will have on their individual retirement situation.
source: USPS News Link