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- When can I retire?
A: Your normal retirement date is listed on your yearly pension statements. This date is based on the age and years of service eligibility criteria of the plan at the time you were hired. You only have to meet the age or years of service eligibility, not both requirements. You do have to be vested in order to be able to retire based on age eligibility.
- Where can I access my retirement statements?
Retirement statements can be viewed using the pension portal. The pension portal can be accessed at the following link:
Washington County’s Retirement Plan – Login (mypensionbenefit.com)
- How do I access the pension portal?
The pension portal can be accessed at the following link:
Washington County’s Retirement Plan – Login (mypensionbenefit.com)
If you have previously registered but need help logging in, you have the option to choose Forgot user ID and Forgot password. These options will allow you to get logged in on your own.
If you need to Register as a new user, you will need a registration code. In order to get a registration code, please contact the Retirement Coordinator.
- What is the difference between uniformed and non-uniformed employees?
Uniformed Employees are any Covered Employee who is (i) employed as sworn sheriff’s personnel, or (ii), effective on and after October 11, 2022, any Covered Employee covered by the collective bargaining agreement between the County Commissioners and Local 1605 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, AFC-CIO.
All other Covered Employees are non-uniformed employees.
- How many hours of sick leave equals 1 month for retirement?
If your base salary is based on the following working hours:
2080 hours per year: 173.33 hours of sick = 1 month
2184 hours per year: 182 hours of sick = 1 month
2496 hours per year: 208 hours of sick = 1 month
- What happens when I apply unused sick leave to my service credit when I retire/enter the DROP?
When you apply sick leave as service credit, the applied sick leave is deducted from your sick leave balance and added to your service credit for the calculation of your retirement.
For example, if an employee has 20 years of service and is applying 6 months of sick leave as service credit, their retirement calculations will be based on 20 years, 6 months which will increase the retirement benefit for the employee for the employee’s lifetime.
- Can I use my sick leave to retire sooner?
This answer depends on if you are meeting your age or years of service eligibility first. You can apply your sick leave to increase your service credit to meet your years of service requirement earlier which would allow you to retire sooner than your normal retirement date.
Example: An employee has 24 years and 7 months of service and is wanting to apply 5 months of sick time in order to retire prior to their normal retirement date. This is allowed because with those additional 5 months, this gives the employee a total of 25 years of service which is the requirement for that specific employee.
You cannot use your sick leave to get you to age eligibility sooner.
Example: An employee is 59 years of age with 20 years of service and is wanting to apply 1 year of sick leave to become retirement eligible. The retirement age requirement for this employee is 60 years. This is not allowed because with the 1 year of sick leave, the employee would still only have 21 years of service and would still be 59 years old which doesn’t meet the criteria to retire. Therefore sick leave cannot be used to make an employee older.
Q: What happens to my sick, vacation, and personal leave when I retire?
Any unused vacation hours and personal leave hours are paid at your regular rate of pay.
For any unused sick leave, if you have not used any Family Sickness or Employee Sick and Safe Leave hours, you will receive payment at your regular rate of pay for up to 40 hours. You are also paid at a rate of $10 per eight-hour increments; not to exceed $1,300 or 1040 hours.
These payouts are included with your last pay with the County.
- I am looking to retire in 5 years. How do I estimate my retirement to see where I will be at in 5 years?
Retirement Benefits are based on a formula which is:
2% x Average Compensation x Years of Service
Average Compensation: Average salary for three highest fiscal years
If you have those pieces of information, you can estimate what your retirement will be. You can also estimate different potential salary increases to see what your pension would be in different scenarios.
Retirement benefits are paid monthly so if you divide that formula above by 12, that will give you the estimated monthly pension payment.
Years of Service | Retiree Portion of the Total Cost |
|---|---|
5-9 | 50% |
10-14 | 40% |
15-24 | 30% |
25-34 | 20% |
35+ | 10% |
For additional information regarding retiree health benefits eligibility including the monthly costs as well as the eligibility for spouses and dependents, please click the following link:
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Human Resources
100 West Washington Street
Hagerstown, MD 21740
Phone: 240-313-2350
FAX: 240-313-2351
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:30pm
TTY users may call any government office through the Maryland Relay Service 1-800-735-2258
