Employee Matters

This column is prepared by staff of the Employee Compensation and Benefits Services office. You may e-mail us at Employee@bussvc.wisc.edu, or call Employee Services at 263-7556 or 262-5650.

Sick Leave

What happens to my sick leave at retirement?
At retirement, your sick-leave hours are converted to create an Accumulated Sick Leave Conversion Credit (ALSCC) account for payment of your state group health insurance premiums. Some employees also are eligible for matching credits.

How are my credits converted?
Your accumulated sick-leave hours are converted to create a dollar value for payment of your health insurance premiums by multiplying the sick-leave hours by your highest rate of pay while a state employee.

Why is this important to me?
When you retire, the university contribution toward your health insurance premiums ends. You are responsible for the full cost. The current rate for a single plan ranges from $375.70 to $672.70 per month and from $921.50 to $1,622.90 per month for a family plan. For most retirees this will be their No. 1 expense.

Your ALSCC account will pay the premiums for you until your credits are exhausted.

What are matching credits?
Employees with 15 years of continuous state service are eligible for Supplemental Health Insurance Conversion Credits (SHICC). Craft workers are not eligible for these credits.

Matching credits are granted at the rate of 52 hours per year (78 hours per year for protective category employees) for the first through 24th year of state service. For years in excess of 24, matching credits are granted at the rate of 104 hours per year.

Matching credits cannot exceed the number of hours of sick leave at the time of retirement.

At what rate are matching credits converted?
The matching credits are converted at your highest rate of pay while a state employee for all employees except those in WSEU Bargaining Units 02, 03, 05, 06, 08, 13, 14 and 36. If you are in one of these bargaining units, your matching/supplemental credits are converted at the higher of your current rate of pay at retirement, or the average of your three highest years’ earnings. This may change in the future because of collective bargaining.

What happens to my credits if I die?
You must have a family plan in effect at the time of your death for your spouse and any eligible dependent children to be eligible to use any unused credits to pay for health insurance until exhausted or, in the case of dependent children, until they are no longer eligible for coverage, whichever occurs first.

For more information, visit the EC&BS Web site: http://www.bussvc.wisc.edu/ecbs/ecbs.html, or e-mail: employee@bussvc.wisc.edu.