{"id":27394,"date":"2024-01-10T14:24:27","date_gmt":"2024-01-10T14:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/01\/10\/how-does-the-2024-leap-year-impact-federal-employee-pay\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:06:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:06:04","slug":"how-does-the-2024-leap-year-impact-federal-employee-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2024\/01\/10\/how-does-the-2024-leap-year-impact-federal-employee-pay\/","title":{"rendered":"How does the 2024 leap year impact federal employee pay?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Count the squares on your new 2024 calendar and you\u2019ll get 366 days, instead of the usual 365. Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a leap year, a quirk of time and science that occurs roughly every four years to account for the fact that it actually takes 365.25 days for Earth to make a complete orbit around the Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for the sake of simplicity, the modern world rounds down to 365 days. The leftover is tacked on once it accumulates to a full day about every fourth year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout leap days, the calendar would be off by five hours, 48 minutes, and 45 seconds more each year,\u201d according to the Farmers\u2019 Almanac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, does the fact that February will have a 29th day shift federal employees\u2019 pay periods? Normally, there are 26 pay periods in a calendar year, though 2023 was unique and had 27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first biweekly pay period of 2024 starts Jan. 14. The only effect the leap year has on payroll is it shifts the date on which the first pay period in March, and all subsequent ones, begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than that, it has no effect, confirmed Reg Jones, Federal Times\u2019 resident retirement expert and a former Office of Personnel Management executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pay periods don\u2019t coincide perfectly with the start and end of a calendar year, so the weekly schedules can shift somewhat over time while still preserving the total number of pay periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal employees will also see an average 5.2% pay raise this year taking effect next week. Bear in mind that the General Schedule pay limit for 2024 is increasing to $191,900 from $183,500 last year.<\/p>\n\n\n