Quick Summary
If you work at the IRS or SSA, you can no longer take advanced leave. This means if a medical emergency, serious illness, or unexpected life event comes up, you cannot borrow against future leave you haven’t earned yet. This article explains what changed, what your options are right now, and one protection worth looking into before you need it.
What Is Advanced Leave?
Advanced leave is when a federal employee takes more sick or annual leave than they have currently accumulated. Think of it as your agency lending you time against leave you would earn in the future. For many federal employees, it serves as an informal safety net, a way to stay on payroll during a serious illness, a hospitalization, or a family health crisis without burning through savings or going without a paycheck.
It was not a guaranteed right, and agencies always had discretion over whether to approve it. But for employees at agencies that routinely allowed it, advanced leave became something many counted on when the unexpected happened.
What Changed at the IRS and SSA
On July 24, Human Resources managers at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) notified employees that advanced leave is suspended indefinitely. The stated reason: existing advanced leave balances across the workforce have grown significantly and need to come down.
The announcement came from Frank Bisignano, who currently serves as head of both agencies, including his role as the first CEO of the IRS. The suspension applies to all employees at both agencies regardless of their current leave balance or circumstances. Pending advanced leave requests were denied at the time of the announcement, and no new requests are being accepted.
This includes requests tied to medical emergencies, family caregiving, and bereavement. The ban has no impact on your regular sick leave or annual leave accrual. But if you run out of accrued leave during a health crisis, the advanced leave option is no longer available to you.
What Employees at the IRS and SSA Can Use Instead
If you need time away and have exhausted your accrued leave, there are a few options currently available.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year for qualifying medical and family situations. It protects your position and your benefits continuation, but it does not replace your paycheck. A related option is Leave Without Pay (LWOP), a non-pay status that requires supervisor approval. LWOP can affect your retirement calculation and health benefit coverage depending on how long it lasts, so it is worth understanding those implications before relying on it.
The Voluntary Leave Transfer Program is another avenue. Under this program, coworkers can donate their accrued annual leave to employees facing an emergency who have exhausted their own leave. Eligibility requirements apply, and there is no guarantee of receiving donated leave, but it can be a viable avenue worth exploring.
A Protection Worth Looking at Before You Need It
The broader concern here is not just about the IRS and SSA. If advanced leave can be suspended at two major agencies with little warning, the same is possible elsewhere. And if you work at one of those agencies today, you are already operating without a safety net many employees have relied on for years.
One option that fills this gap is short-term disability insurance. A private short-term disability plan pays a portion of your income if you are unable to work due to illness, injury, or recovery from surgery — typically 50 to 70 percent of your salary, depending on the plan. Unlike advanced leave, it does not create a debt you owe your agency. Unlike LWOP, it does not leave you without income.
Federal employees are not automatically enrolled in short-term disability coverage, and the Federal Employees’ Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program does not cover disability income. If you do not have a private policy in place, a sudden medical event could mean weeks or months without pay while you recover.
Want to understand your options? A United Benefits specialist can walk you through short-term disability plans available to federal employees and help you evaluate whether your current coverage leaves any gaps.
The Bigger Picture
The IRS has lost about 25% of its personnel over the past year and a half. The SSA is operating with roughly 7,000 active employees, which is the lowest it has been in more than 50 years. The employees who remain are doing more with less, and they are now doing it without a leave safety net that used to be available in a pinch.
Take a closer look at your options. Fill out the form below to get started.