Archive: July 1999

Sick Leave and Your Retirement

State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) and Accumulated Sick Leave

Members frequently ask, "What happens to unused sick leave when I retire?" The accumulated sick leave is converted to service credit. For example, a member retiring with 187 days of unused full pay sick leave (yes, there are individuals who have accumulated this amount and more) will receive an additional year of service credit. This means almost $1500 based on the current salary schedule. Until last year, STRS operated under a double standard. Members entering the system prior to July 1, 1980 were allowed to convert sick leave, members entering after July 1, 1980 were not. The efforts of the California Teachers Association in Sacramento were crucial to this improvement for newer members.