Teacher Retirement Lab provides general educational information only — not financial, legal, or tax advice. Always confirm details with your union rep, TRS, DOE, a CPA, and an attorney before making final retirement decisions. We may earn a referral fee from partners we introduce you to.
Learning Page
Family & Medical Leave
Taking leave near the end of your career can quietly move your retirement date. The key question is simple: was the time paid or unpaid?
FMLA and the DOE’s leave policies protect your job. TRS’s service credit rules are separate, and they decide whether that time counts toward your pension. This page helps you ask the right questions — only TRS can confirm how a specific leave affects you.
Paid leave vs. leave without pay
This one difference drives almost everything else:
- Paid leave — using accrued sick or annual leave — generally counts automatically as service and salary for your pension.
- Leave without pay — unpaid time — generally does not count unless you separately purchase it.
Whenever you can, using accrued sick leave to cover an eligible medical or family leave keeps that time as paid service instead of an unpaid gap.
How unpaid leave delays retirement
Your eligibility date depends on your total years of creditable service. Unpaid leave — like an extended Child Care Leave of Absence (CCLOA) — doesn’t add to that total unless you buy the credit, so it can push back the date you reach your required years. Factor any leave periods into your retirement projections.
Leave and your final average salary
Your pension uses your highest years of pay (your final average salary, or FAS). If unpaid or reduced-schedule leave lowers your earnings in a year that would otherwise count toward your FAS, it can drag your average down — unless you have enough other high-earning years to offset it.
- Taking FMLA in your final year can affect your FAS if it changes that year’s earnings.
- An intermittent or reduced schedule under FMLA may lower that year’s pay, too.
- Caregiving leave for a family member only matters if it reduces creditable service or FAS-period earnings.
Buying back leave as service credit
In many cases you can purchase an approved unpaid leave as credited service, which offsets the impact on both your timeline and your FAS. It depends on TRS rules for that leave type, the required documentation, and the cost — your past contributions plus interest.
To request a buyback, submit a service credit purchase application to TRS documenting the specific leave period. TRS confirms eligibility and calculates the cost based on your salary and applicable interest.
Watch the deadline. You usually must complete — or at least start — a purchase before your retirement is finalized. Begin well in advance, not in your final months.
What leave does — and doesn’t — change
- Your tier and seniority: an approved, properly documented leave preserves your original tier membership date and seniority, even after an extended absence.
- Sick day (CAR) accrual: accrual is based on active paid service, so most unpaid leave doesn’t add to your CAR balance.
- TDA contributions: these come from payroll deductions, so unpaid leave generally pauses them — there’s no salary to deduct from.
- Health insurance: coverage during unpaid leave varies by type and length. Some allow continued coverage for a period (sometimes with employee-paid premiums); extended leave may require COBRA. Check with DOE benefits administration.
- Retiring from leave: you can generally retire directly from an approved leave, as long as you meet TRS’s age and service requirements and file your application properly.
Who to ask
- Your school’s HR/payroll secretary — for your DOE leave records.
- TRS member services — for how a leave affects your service credit and retirement eligibility timeline.