Comments on: Pro-Saving Initiatives: Convert Sick & Vacation Days to 401(k), Auto-enroll Retirement Plans

By: jim

jim — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:20:23 +0000

“there was some statistic a few years back saying Americans work the most out of any developed country”

The data on the wiki page shows that South Koreans work the most hours. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_time

You might be thinking of worker productivity rather than working hours. US workers are often cited as the most productive.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/03/business/main3228735.shtml

By: centsandthecity

centsandthecity — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:26:27 +0000

I’ve never really had to deal with planning vacation days since I am a teacher, but the conversion to 401K contributions is an interesting idea.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:01:39 +0000

In California, vacation is part of your compensation, so it will be paid out ahead of other creditors’ claims, just as wages are.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:14:46 +0000

In one sentence, my general feelings are that usused vacation days beyond, say, one week are screwing yourself on the front end and the company on the back end (when you leave or retire from the company) so don’t be a corporate hero and use your vacation each year like you were intended to do.

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:10:50 +0000

What happens if your company goes broke and you’re out of a job? Saved up vacation doesn’t mean much then if you don’t get it or have to wait for a bankruptcy filing to settle out. USE YOUR VACATION PEOPLE! As for your comment about other states, if managers deny vacation time, go work somewhere else because you’re in the bottom 1% of the crappy jobs pool.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:32:29 +0000

I’m one of the unfortunate ones. I have given a certain amount of sick/vacation days, accrued at the end of the month. (Kinda tricky because the end of the month does not coincide with pay periods.)

I am under the “use it or lose it” policy, although I do have until January of the following year to use my days.

I was excited when Jim mentioned this possibility for converting days to 401(k) contributions… HOWEVER, according to the article…

“[A] company that doesn’t compensate employees for unused vacation and sick leave, under “use it or lose it” policies, would not be required to start compensating employees for unused time through 401(k) contributions.”

Does not look like I can get compensated for my unused days.

By: Myra

Myra — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:54:05 +0000

Jim, just to be clear, Congress sets the tax rate; the IRS just administers taxes and collect them. I think taxing interest at lower rates is a good idea, but it’s up to Congress to enact that rather than the IRS (which gets plenty of its own blame!).

By: zapeta

zapeta — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:45:58 +0000

I’m lucky enough that at my employer once the vacation is earned it is ours and any we don’t take is paid out when you leave the job. If it wasn’t that way it would be nice to have the unused roll in to retirement.

Automatic enrollment is a great idea, hopefully that passes.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 20:31:01 +0000

In California, you accrue vacation days every pay period and can never lose them. If you leave your job for any reason (not sure about death, but probably), they get paid out in your final check at your current wage rate, regardless of what your wages were when you earned them. Your employer can (and most do) cap your vacation accrual. Mine recently lowered the cap from 360 to 250 hours, and every place else I’ve worked the cap has been lower. Once you reach the cap, you no longer accrue vacation hours until you use some, but the ones you’ve already accrued are yours forever. They’re part of your compensation and can never be taken away.

I’ve heard about states where you get your whole year’s allotment on January 1 and lose any unused on December 31. I’ve also heard that in those states, managers routinely deny all vacation requests, so basically your vacation time is worthless.