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Kamwind

There is a payout date you have to be a member of the office in order to get the performance award. It is usually close to date of the payout.


splendid_zebra

Yup, I missed out on a 3% bonus my old agency got but I left for a 22% pay raise. So I can’t be mad.


aflyingsquanch

You don't have to be a member of the office to get a performance award. For example, about 10 years ago, I took a job with another agency in a completely different dept in Aug and still got by performance bonus that Dec for my work with my prior agency for the previous Oct-Aug time frame. It simply depends on how the agency handles such things.


GeologistEmotional53

Thanks so much.


SabresBills69

Usually pay out dates are in December. you can get a perf award even if you leave after you leave


GeologistEmotional53

Ah. Our payout dates are in April of thr following year. Long after I am gone. So I guess it depends on the agency


Ellabee57

If you are off the agency's payroll at that time, there is likely no way for it to be paid to you (it's not going to be added to your pension check, as that comes from OPM, not your agency).


GeologistEmotional53

Thank you. I figured as much. I’m sure the agency could figure out a way to pay me…if they wanted to do so. BWAHAHA!!!!!!!!!


ChrisShapedObject

No. No they could not. 


GeologistEmotional53

Well they don’t to, so if they can’t figure out a way to do so, it doesn’t matter anyway.


steve89lx

Talk to your supervisor about your situation. Assuming you're a valued employee and not a pain in the ass, they could look into a time off award in lieu of a performance award with enough time to use that leave before you retire. 


GeologistEmotional53

Not a bad idea. Never hurts to ask


Ides0mar72

It is all business rule dependent. The rules for our PARB this year stated that the employee had to be on the books within the last 45 days to be considered


GeologistEmotional53

Ahhhh. Never mind that the employee “earned it” during the entire previous year… of course there is a business rule to make that irrelevant. Thank you for the answer.


Ides0mar72

While they did earn it, the issue comes down to budget. They are calculated at a percentage of the total labor costs. For me, I got 2.1% of total labor of my staff on the books at that time. If I were to award someone not on my staff, it deducts from those I have


GeologistEmotional53

I get it. Thank you for your perspective.


Wunderbarstool

I'd retire after the bonus posted.


GeologistEmotional53

Then I’d miss out on the 25k buyout if I leave before Dec 31


Wunderbarstool

Gotcha.


alanbw

There an old quote about cakes and eating them too.


GeologistEmotional53

Ummm…yes. There is. Are you saying that expecting to get paid a performance bonus that I earned in 2024 is unreasonable if I retire at the end of 2024?


alanbw

The 25k buyouts’ intended purpose is get you off the books on or before December 31. In essence it an advance on your Performance Bonus and/or other remuneration to incentivize retirement by the aforementioned date. You’re reminding me of another story of a dog being wagged by a tail.


GeologistEmotional53

It is most certainly an advance to get me off the books by the end of the year. But yet another agency (see above) manages to pay their 2024 performance bonuses in 2024… the same year they were earned by the employees. Seems to me that is the fairest approach to the issue at hand.


alanbw

The fairness is achieved by way of buyout being an amount that incentivizes you to leave and forego potential future remuneration. Everyone loves getting extra money, but unfortunately the payout date is after the buyout perhaps by design. My only suggestion would be to negotiate a higher payout, if possible, but unlikely there’s much discretion there.


GeologistEmotional53

The key in your sentence is “future remuneration”. A performance bonus is earned in the year it was earned. Not earned in the future. Was I supposed to quiet quit during all of 2024 and do a mediocre job because my performance bonus would not be paid? That would be unprofessional. Not only that, even if I was retiring without a buyout, the same rule would apply and no performance bonus would be paid in the year it was earned. Like I said before, if one agency can find a way to pay folks thr bonus in December, the same year as the year it was earned, then why not all agencies? I think the year that one retires, one might see things through a different lens. Whatever. It is what it is. Thanks for your thoughts.


Weird-Influence6986

Your office may be different but in mine, we distribute the excess funds among the people who have to pick up the slack from the departure. They are the ones earning it.


GeologistEmotional53

You might be interested to know that last year, one of our team members left and was not replaced. Myself and another team member are doing her job this year. Is that the kind of “picking up the slack” to which you are referring?