The head of the IRS and SSA announced advanced leave will no longer be allowed for the foreseeable future. If you’re assisting employees at these agencies, we’ve got solutions.
Frank Bisignano is both the first ever CEO of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) while also serving as commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA). On July 24, HR managers announced to workers that advanced leave practices would be suspended until “existing significant advanced leave balances” have been reduced.
Featured: Short-Term Disability Insurance
Advanced leave is when a federal employee takes more sick leave or annual leave than the amount of hours they currently have. In many ways, it functions as insurance for short-term or long-term disability insurance. When dealing with an unexpected illness like cancer, caring for a parent or kid with a serious illness, or after experiencing a sudden event like a car accident – many feds have been able to take advanced leave.
Because this practice is no longer allowed at some agencies, and could be suspended at others in the near future, it is a good time to bring up private short-term disability insurance plans with the federal clients and leads you serve.
If you’d like to learn about offering these policies to feds, schedule a free consultation here.
Quick Facts About Advanced Leave Suspension
When discussing the recent suspension at the IRS and SSA with employees, it is important to know the key facts:
- All pending advanced leave requests were denied at the time of the announcement and no new requests will be allowed.
- Advanced leave cannot be used even for medical emergencies, family care, or even bereavement of an immediate family member.
- The ban has no other impact on sick or annual leave policies.
- Alternatives available to impacted workers include unpaid leave through FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) or LWOP (Leave Without Pay) – a non-pay status that requires supervisor approval and can impact retirement and health benefits, depending on the length of time needed. Employees can also donate their leave via the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program.
- AFGE has filed a grievance claiming it violates provisions of the union’s collective bargaining agreement.
Final Thoughts: More Pressure on Feds
In the last year and a half, due to both VERA/VSIP offers and the deferred resignation program, also known as the “fork in the road” offers, personnel at the IRS has dropped 25%. At the SSA, the number of active employees is hovering around 50,000, the lowest it has been in almost 60 years. Now overworked employees at these agencies are not allowed to take advanced leave and those with negative balances will not be able to get paid leave until it’s paid back. This may help employees look into retirement as a possibility if they cannot get paid. And if there is a negative balance at retirement, the employee will have to pay it back. This is where a financial professional can step in and offer real help, building trust and respect.
Next Steps
Fed Options offers high-quality benefits reports for helping feds plan their retirement along with 1-on-1 support and a whole lot more. Book a Free Consultation to learn how we can take your firm or agency to the next level.
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