The Unofficial SMART Scholarship Forum

If you are in the STEP, SCEP, or any other temporary employment program, you should contact your cohort administrator and discuss it with them. I am a SCEP in the Navy and I know that I have to resign, I cannot just go on LWOP. It is important that you contact them though because both you and your CA will get in trouble if you work past the date they allow. This is because you are technically "double dipping" and is the same thing as you going to work for Lockheed or Boeing while you are on LWOP from the government. I had a friend who worked past his allotted time last year and was in big trouble. You may be able to get some sort of special permission if you contact them early enough since they are all about making the SF happy, but if you do it too late, it could get ugly.

TSP:

If you have >$200 vested in TSP, you can keep it in, get a cash withdraw (must pay taxes), or roll over everything into a new plan. You can also continue to make contributions to TSP.

Under a certain number of years (I think 3), you will not be vested in the automatic 1% contribution. Therefore, you will lose it and the associated interest. The matching contributions are always vested.


FERS Basic Annuity:

You can get your contribution back (must pay taxes). However, if you take it back, you will lose out on the years of service credit when your annuity or minimum number of years for retirement are calculated. If you worked for one year or more, you will receive the basic federal securities rate as interest. You can also leave it in and receive an annuity (although probably small) when your retirement age.

Same boat here as well...

Sick leave: you'll have to save a LES and show them that when you get hired back add the sick leave back.

Annual/comp time: you'll get cashed out.

Time in service: this will get adjusted when you get hired back on, so you won't lose any of your time in service.

Not sure about where my TSP contributions go, though, probably will have to roll that over otherwise it'll get paid out and you'll have to pay taxes on it. However, if you have been in service for 3 years (I think it's 3), then you'll get your organization's contributions as well, otherwise you only keep your own.

I'm pretty sure that past federal service counts towards the 3 years required to get 6hr/pp of vacation. Sick time always accrues at 4hr/pp.

I am almost in the same situation, I am currently a federal employee with USDA and I am going to have to resign to accept this scholarship. I really don't want to do that, so I am going to ask my sponsoring facility and the SPO if they would allow my agency to keep me on Leave Without Pay Status until I finish my degree.

Yes I had a similar question, because currently I am a federal government employee/intern under the STEP program, and I know that right now I get 4hrs vacation and 4 hrs sick time per pay period, but after two years from the startign date of my first internship I get 6hrs each... I am a year and a half in, does this disappear - since I know I will have to be severed from the organization and brought in again as a recruitment intern...

Vacation and Comp time get paid out
Sick days get banked for future federal employment
Credit hours disappear

I've only worked in academic institutions prior, but that question is probably best posed to your local human resources person. SMART doesn't have anything to do with your termination process.

I know for a fact I have to be terminated as an Air Force employee to become a SMART. This may only be AF-wide, but it is definitely the policy at my SF. As such, I'm still curious - what happens to all the federal service and benefits a federal employee has accrued when they switch over to SMART?

ic808 wrote:Hi,

I'm already an intern at my SF, so I'm curious what happens to our benefits (specifically vacation) when we switch over to SMART employment. As current federal employees technically get terminated in order to become a SMART employee, I'm assuming there's some sort of payout. Does anybody know?

According to the handbook, we will not employ by SMART. Instead, we will be a participant and our stipends are determined by the SMART program office. We will be employed by our SF upon completion of phase 1. For undergraduates, we receive 25k annual in stipends; 31k for MS; and 41k for Phd. Hope this helps.

Hi,

I'm already an intern at my SF, so I'm curious what happens to our benefits (specifically vacation) when we switch over to SMART employment. As current federal employees technically get terminated in order to become a SMART employee, I'm assuming there's some sort of payout. Does anybody know?