CAR Days Explained: What Your Unused Sick Time Is Worth

Every sick day you don't use as a NYC teacher banks into your Cumulative Absence Reserve — your CAR. And when you retire, that reserve turns into real money through what's called terminal leave. Here's how it works, and one common misunderstanding to clear up.

What CAR is

CAR is your running balance of unused sick days. You earn sick days each year; the ones you don't use accumulate in your CAR, year after year, across your whole career. Think of it as a savings account measured in days.

What it's worth at retirement: terminal leave

When you separate — retire, resign, or leave — you're paid for half of your unused CAR days. Each paid day is worth 1/200th of your salary at the time you leave. If your balance is large, that can add up to a substantial lump sum — potentially several months' worth of pay.

The payment arrives in three installments — roughly 2 months, 14 months, and 26 months after you leave — so it spreads over about two years, not all at once. And you have to file for it: submit the required forms within six years of leaving.

The service-credit misunderstanding

Here's the point of confusion. In some New York public pension systems, unused sick leave can be converted into extra pension service credit. For NYC teachers under TRS, the standard CAR benefit works differently — it's a terminal-leave payment (cash), not automatic pension service credit. If you've heard you can simply "turn sick days into service credit," confirm exactly how it would apply to you with TRS before you count on it, because the rules aren't the same across systems.

How to make the most of it

• Your unused days are paid at half their number — but they're still worth real money, so think twice before burning sick time you don't need late in your career.
• Terminal leave is based on your salary when you leave, so a higher final salary raises the value of every CAR day.
• Budget for the installment timing — the money spreads over roughly two years.

See it in your full picture

Terminal leave is one of several things that land after your last day. Our free Retirement Roadmap maps your CAR payout timing alongside your first pension check and other milestones, so there are no surprises.