Retiree Accumulated Sick Leave Program

Eligible faculty and staff can receive a maximum of $30,000 payout per retirement system if they meet the following requirements: 

• Have an available and unused health leave balance of at least 500 hours at the time of separation from employment. 
• Establish a retirement date through an authorized retirement system — Arizona State Retirement System, Optional Retirement Plan or Public Safety Personnel Retirement System — that is effective within 31 calendar days after the retirement date. 

Health leave hours below 500 or above 1,500 are forfeited. The benefit value is calculated by taking the hourly rate of pay on the date of termination from university service, multiplied by the number of unused sick leave hours at termination up to 1,500 hours, multiplied by one of the percentages below. See the RASL program benefit formula and examples.

• 25%, at least the minimum 500 but less than 750 sick leave hours. 
• 33%, at least 750 but less than 1,000 sick leave hours. 
• 50%, at least 1,000 up to the maximum of 1,500 sick leave hours. 

Additional RASL eligibility requirements

To receive RASL benefits, you must complete and submit the required forms to OHR Benefits and Total Rewards within 150 calendar days of your effective retirement date. Visit the RASL application webpage to download the necessary forms. 

The OHR Benefits team will complete the employer sections and forward the application packet to the Arizona Department of Administration, General Accounting Office, within 180 calendar days of your effective retirement date. 

RASL payments 

GAO usually issues the first RASL payment within 60–90 days of receiving the application packet. Subsequent RASL payments are issued on the second and third anniversaries of the first payment.

You can only defer the first payment to the retired faculty or staff member’s State of Arizona Deferred Compensation 457(b) account with Nationwide Retirement Solutions. First payments rolled into a deferred compensation account are subject only to Social Security and Medicare taxes. All other payments are subject to Social Security, Medicare, federal and Arizona taxes. 

RASL payments are mailed directly to retired faculty or staff members’ homes or, if authorized, electronically deposited into their designated bank accounts.