The wait is over. Employees covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) now receive full credit for their unused sick leave in their annuity calculation when they retire. This benefit was previously available only to employees covered by the Civil Service Retirement System.

You may recall that with passage of the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law by President Obama as Public Law 111-84, employees covered by FERS would begin to receive retirement credit for their unused sick leave. H.R. 2647 actually was signed into law on October 28, 2009. But this retirement credit for unused sick leave was phased in and initially provided for 50% credit of one’s unused sick leave; it increased to 100% credit on January, 1, 2014. Prior to passage of this law, FERS employees received no credit for their sick leave upon retirement. As of January 1, 2014, CSRS and FERS retirees now enjoy the same sick leave retirement benefit. If you retire on or after January 1, 2014, a year’s worth of sick leave will translate into a 1 percentage point increase in your FERS annuity; 1.1 percentage points if you are at age 62 or older with at least 20 years of service at retirement.