Unused sick leave, including sick leave converted from excess vacation leave in accordance with state law, can be converted to additional retirement service credit at the time of retirement if:
- The member earned the sick leave under a duly adopted sick leave policy.
- The member would receive full salary when using the sick leave if absent from work due to sickness.
- The member has not and will not be paid for this sick leave.
- The member’s last day of service with his or her last participating TSERS employer is within five years before his or her TSERS effective date of retirement.
When a member retires, one month of credit is allowed for each 20 days of unused sick leave. For any part of 20 days left over, one additional month is allowed provided the remaining portion is at least one hour.
Sick leave cannot be used to meet the minimum eligibility requirements for a deferred benefit, the Survivor’s Alternate Benefit or for coverage under the State Health Plan.
Sick leave can be used to increase a member’s creditable service to allow the member to complete:
- 30 years of service, regardless of age
- 25 years of service after age 60
- 20 years of service after age 50 (for law enforcement officers, 15 years of service as an officer after age 50 or five years of service as an officer after age 55)
You will need to certify to the Retirement Systems Division the amount of unused sick leave on the member’s Form 6 (Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit). You should not certify any sick leave, unless a member could be paid for it, in the event he or she was absent due to illness.
Accumulated Sick Leave Days* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Days | Months | Number of Days | Months |
| 1-20 = | 1 Month | 241-260 = | 13 Months |
| 21-40 = | 2 Months | 261-280 = | 14 Months |
| 41-60 = | 3 Months | 281-300 = | 15 Months |
| 61-80 = | 4 Months | 301-320 = | 16 Months |
| 81-100 = | 5 Months | 321-340 = | 17 Months |
| 101-120 = | 6 Months | 341-360 = | 18 Months |
| 121-140 = | 7 Months | 361-380 = | 19 Months |
| 141-160 = | 8 Months | 381-400 = | 20 Months |
| 161-180 = | 9 Months | 401-420 = | 1 Months |
| 181-200 = | 10 Months | 421-440 = | 22 Months |
| 201-220 = | 11 Months | 441-460 = | 23 Months |
| 221-240 = | 12 Months | 461-480 = | 24 Months |
| *Assuming an eight-hour day. Sick leave earned monthly counts as creditable service. | |||
NOTE: A sick leave “day” is determined by the employer’s sick leave accrual policy and may or may not be equal to eight hours.
For example, assume John Smith earns one day of sick leave per month under his employer’s sick leave accrual policy while working an extended shift of 12 hours per day and he accrues 12 hours of sick leave each month. When his employer certifies his unused sick leave on his Form 6 (Claiming Your Monthly Retirement Benefit), for each 12 hours of eligible unused sick leave, his employer should report one day of unused sick leave, rather than 1.5 days.
In another example, assume Mary Brown earns one day of sick leave per month while working 7.5 hours per day and accrues 7.5 hours of sick leave each month. When her employer certifies her unused sick leave on her Form 6, for each 7.5 hours of eligible unused sick leave, her employer should report one day of unused sick leave.
This page was last modified on 07/16/2024