If you get an non-fed job while in a RIF period

[Anonymous]

I’ve been RIF’d and during the RIF period I have been lucky enough to be offered a private sector job. Can any fed HR wonks tell me what my options are as far as if I return to federal service down the road? I’ve served four years in a federal position. Do I keep my bank of sick leave or other types of leave that won’t be cashed out (such as time off awards)? Do I only have to work one more year to hit the five-year mark for eligibility to continue health coverage upon retirement? I assume I forgo severance if I leave before the RIF period is over. What else do I need to know/think about?

[Anonymous]

I assume you mean the warning period.

I’m not in HR but my understanding is you’re still employed so you will have to file an outside employment request or quit.

[Anonymous]

Yeah. I'd recommend just filing the outside employment req with ethics/HR, and if approved and if the hiring party allows, just allowing the RIF/severance to play out.

They are actively letting the forked folks pursue outside employment, so this should be fine. The federal severance continues to pay out until/unless you are rehired by the federal gov.

hopefully you have your SF50 and copies of your recent pay stubs. Sick leave balance stays on the books in the event you rejoin the federal service. Annual leave is paid out lump sum, usually after your last in-service admin leave paycheck.

time off awards, credit hours, comp time are generally just lost, just like if you switched agencies.

You can leave your FERS contributions in, in the event you rejoin federal service and want to get to 5 years, or you can request it as a lump sum and put it in the market. Currently: if someone rejoins the federal service they have the opportunity to redeposit their FERS contributions to retain pension status and their original contribution rate. but there are no guarantees on how they might mess with the pension rules and how you might be affected in the future.

At four years in, you are already vested in the TSP 1% agency contribution, so your whole TSP balance is available for you to let ride or roll over to an IRA.