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2026 Federal Employees’ Leave Record Now Available

Posted By Dennis Damp On In ANNUITIES / ELIGIBILITY,BENEFITS / INSURANCE,ESTATE PLANNING,FINANCE / TIP,RETIREMENT CONCERNS,SURVIVOR INFORMATION | No Comments
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Each year, we publish a comprehensive leave record that federal employees can use to track their annual and sick leave, comp, and credit hours used. Our updated 2026 Excel Leave Chart is designed for active federal employees who are planning their retirement and need to establish realistic target retirement dates. This spreadsheet also helps federal employees maximize their annuity through prudent management of their leave balances.

This leave record tracks all leave balances, and you can annotate your work schedule on the spreadsheet. Download the spreadsheet to your desktop for easy availability and please share it with everyone in your agency.

2026 Leave Record, and Schedule Tracker

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  ICE is Hiring 10,000 Agents, Many with Signing Bonuses [3]
(Annuitants Encouraged to Apply)

 Retire With More

Most employees approaching retirement plan to increase their annuity and lump sum payments by maximizing their annual leave buy-back and sick leave balances. Convert your unused sick leave [4] to increase your annuity for the rest of your life! Well worth the effort. I sold back a full year of sick leave, 2087 hours, that added an additional year of service for my annuity calculation.

A federal employee who separates from the Federal service is entitled to payment, in a lump sum, for all unused annual leave accrued through the last whole pay period before separation.

Federal employees are allowed to carry over up to 240 hours of annual leave each year. Many, in the last year of work, apply their carryover balance to most, if not all, of the annual leave they accrue before retiring.

I sold back the full 240 hours of carryover leave plus the 208 hours I accrued in my last year of employment. This amounted to almost three months of pay, less taxes owed, that I received in a lump sum payment 6 weeks after retiring.  Review my retirement timeline [5] to get an idea of what to expect the first three months after retiring.

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The 2026 Leave Record Chart

Download the 2026 Leave Record Chart [2]

If your spreadsheet opens in protected view, click the “enable editing” button in the yellow bar at the top of the form. However, if you don’t see the enable editing button, you may have an older version of Excel, or your IT department may have to allow the form to pass without restrictions. We also included a newer slsx workbook version that you can use if you have problems with the earlier version.

According to a Microsoft Office consulting firm, if the spreadsheet only opens in protected view status and the newer slsx version doesn’t correct the problem, talk with your IT staff. Some agencies increase their security settings to lock out certain documents based on set parameters. We include several hyperlinks in our spreadsheet to link users to additional supporting information, such as our sick leave conversion chart, and that may be the cause.

2026 holidays

*This holiday is designated as “Washington’s Birthday” as defined by the law.

**If a holiday falls on a Saturday, for most Federal employees, the preceding Friday will be treated as a holiday for pay and leave purposes. If a holiday falls on a Sunday, for most Federal employees, the following Monday will be treated as a holiday for pay and leave purposes.

Summary

The earlier you start preparing for retirement, the better. Set several retirement target dates, request annuity estimates from your HR department for selected dates, and review your annual and sick leave balances to maximize your annuity and leave buy-back amount.

Use our FREE online Retirement Planning Guide [7] to help you through the process. One of our site visitors said, “I spent 3 hours on the web looking for answers to questions concerning federal retirement. After a Google search yielded your address, it took only 20 minutes to find all of my answers! Thank you!!!”

Take advantage of this free service to explore your benefits [8], estimate pre- and post-retirement income, expenses, and costs [9], and determine whether or not you are financially [10], physically, and emotionally prepared [11] for retirement.

Helpful Retirement Planning Tools

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Disclaimer: The information provided may not cover all aspects of unique or special circumstances.  Federal regulations, medical procedures, investment information, and benefit details are subject to change. To ensure the accuracy of this information, contact relevant parties for assistance, including OPM’s retirement center. Over time, various dynamic economic factors relied upon as a basis for this article may change.

The information contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. This service is not affiliated with OPM or any federal entity. You should consult a financial, medical, or human resource professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss or other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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