Considering whether I should do it... Relevant details:
- Right now, I get 18 PTO days. That includes both vacation days and sick days -- so if I get sick enough that I actually can't work, I'll end up with less vacation. I don't know what happens if I plan to use up all of my days with vacation and then come down with flu and in a position to go over.
- My husband has a job that makes it hard for him to build vacations around long weekends, so we don't get as much bang for our buck as I'd like from our vacation days. I've been moping today about us not being able to go to a beach around the holidays because I only have two days left.
- On the other hand, my husband gets a ridiculous amount of time off and has to take it a week at a time a some point (or maybe two points?) during the year so my number of days limits his plans,
- My company lets us buy up to 5 more days.
- I'm not sure of the price yet, but know it is proportionate to how many days we work per year. If my company says we work 250 days a year, each day would cost 1/250 of my comp. So if I bought 5, that would be 1/50 of my pay. Let's work with that assumption for now.
- I've been at the company for less than a year. After 5 years, I'll start getting 23 days. Pretty much everyone I work with -- including my boss and the other person I work with the most -- has been at the company for 10+ years and gets 28 days.
- We cannot roll over any vacation days from one year to the next. Absolutely cannot.
So my questions for anyone who has a plan like this --
- Is it frowned upon to buy days (and in particular, all 5 days), if you have a reasonable manager? I know it is strange to ask considering that the company offers the plan, but hey -- my old company gave us 25 PTO days but frowned upon us taking anywhere near that so gifts aren't always gifts...
- In your experience, is the cost based on base salary alone or base + bonus? We haven't gotten the materials yet so I'm trying to get a rough idea for now... but would be much more of a bargain if I was just losing base.
- How are these days taxed? (Meaning, will I end up losing my gross pay for those days? Net? Something else?)
Thanks for any anecdotal information!!!
Update because I know you're all dying to know all aspects of my open enrollment...
I bought the 5 extra days and I think it is actually a fantastic deal because:
(1) Price per day was based on my base salary and did not take into account my bonus; (2) Price per day was based on the assumption that I work 260 days a year while after holidays and other PTO it is considerably less than that; (3) I will pay for them pre-tax which takes quite a bit of bite out of the price; and (4) I think because of IRS rules, those have to be taken after all other PTO has been used up, and I get my money back if I don't use them. Since I don't get rollover otherwise, that's a nice cushion
<)
Oh, and I did not murder my husband for suggesting that not only should I not buy more PTO, but I should in fact sell back the 30 hours that I could have, leaving me with 14 days and him with 28. That's a plus too.
Post by steamboat185 on Oct 8, 2015 18:58:00 GMT -5
I have the option to buy 5 days and do every year (this will be my 5th year). I don't know that many people take advantage, but I have never had any pushback about buying the time and I've never not used the time I've bought. My company doesn't allow the top level executives to purchase extra time, but it is open to everyone else.
The bought vacation costs a week of salary. Bonus is not factored into the cost.
The cost comes out pretax with the other benefits. I earn the time throughout the year 3.33 hours per month, but it shows as part of my PTO total.
I love having the extra time off. This year I will get 28 days with my 5 bought days.
My old company had vacation you could buy. One thing you might want to consider was at my old company if you bought vacation you couldn't roll over ANY vacation year over year (but you could roll 5 days if you didn't buy).
We can't roll over anything, ever. Even in the states where rollover is required by law, my company is firmly "talk to your manager about how you can make sure you take every day given to you by December 31."
If we could roll over, I'd save my two measly days left for this year for use next year when we actually have a good plan (which would also help with the "what if I get sick at the way end of the year?" conundrum too).
That actually kind of baffles me -- On the one hand, sick + PTO are one (not huge) pool so I should be saving a few days for the end of the year in case I get sick on, say, December 28.
But on the other hand, we've already gotten an email from the company reminding us there is no carryover and we must talk to our managers about how to get make sure we use up all days -- and two weeks later we got an email from my manager reminding us that there is plenty of time for us to use our extra days so we should tell him ASAP how we're making sure they're all bye-bye by December 31.
But on yet another hand, we aren't all allowed to take time between Christmas and New Year's because we need coverage then. So I'll need to use all of my days by December 23, realistically, but then will have no sick days left. And I'd probably prefer to take the days around Thanksgiving because my husband can't take any time in December BEFORE December 20th or so off, but I don't want to have more than a month where I'm screwed if I get sick.
My company allows employees to buy up to one week of additional vacation. We track hours, so you when you buy up to 40 hours, the cost is calculated at your "per hour rate" based on your yearly salary and that amount is deducted from your pay check throughout the year. A lot of newer people take advantage (and I always did my first few years). It was never frowned upon. Any bought time that isn't used by the end of the year, gets cashed out and returned to the employee.
My company allows employees to buy up to one week of additional vacation. We track hours, so you when you buy up to 40 hours, the cost is calculated at your "per hour rate" based on your yearly salary and that amount is deducted from your pay check throughout the year. A lot of newer people take advantage (and I always did my first few years). It was never frowned upon. Any bought time that isn't used by the end of the year, gets cashed out and returned to the employee.
That is how ours is calculated. My schedule is based on 37.5 hours a week so to get 5 extra days I'd be buying 37.5 hours. But I don't know what my per hour rate is because I don't know how many days or weeks the company thinks I work in a given year
Your per hour rate should be on your pay stub. I think that's where mine was.
I'm not actually an hourly employee, so it isn't on there. The 37.5 hour thing is just for the purposes of determining vacation accrual/usage and benefits eligibility and such.
I've only had this available once. We only got 2 weeks, and were encouraged to buy 2 more. We had a generous policy where we were paid back for any we didn't use. I didn't get a bonus, and don't recall any tax implications
We can buy or sell PTO and I used to buy 5 days until I was with my company long enough that I didn't need it.
If the days will roll over from year to year I see no reason not to buy some. Worst case you have a cushion just in case.
Ours is based on our base salary not including bonus. I am not sure if they money is taken out pre or post tax. My manager doesn't even know if I buy or sell PTO but if I was just starting out and took a lot of PTO at some companies you might get the side eye (not at mine).
Not at my current job, but the company I used to work at and my mom still works at does this. when I was there vacation days were separate from sick days and you could buy up to 2 weeks. They've combined them into PTO now and I think you can only buy one now but you can rollover a week too. They have a lot of international employees and it was common for them to take a month off to go home to see family (Not annually, usually every couple years - but my point is that taking a whole month off was not frowned upon). Cost based on base salary, but it's not an industry where bonuses are a huge % of your income.
My old company allowed people to buy days based on base salary. Nearly everyone did. I hate that they make you play a guessing game on how many to hold back. Do they let you go negative?
@vicmo and AAM2012 -- it would actually be my second year (I started in January) but yes, that's what I'm wondering too. And since pretty much everyone I work with has been there for so long that they wouldn't need to buy days, hard to get a data point on how it is perceived! I will take my full 18 this year, but a lot of that was eaten up by the 7 days I took on a pre-planned vacation right when I started (as in, I started on a Monday and left for a week and a half vacation on Thursday!!!).
boiler717 -- yes, we can go negative. (We kind of have to be able to -- otherwise, since we have no rollover, nobody would be able to go on vacation until the end of the year!)
I work for the government, so we can't buy, but DH works for a large financial company. In his department, it's usually the newest employees who take advantage of the vacation purchase program, because they're the ones who need it. After 5 years, employees get 20 vacation days and 6 sick "occurrences" per year (3 days of the flu is one occurrence), so it's really only the people who've been there a short time who need to purchase. No one there seems to bat an eye if a newer employee is purchasing extra vacation days.
Do you have to buy the PTO within a specific timeframe? Like you have to decide yes or no by January or whenever?
Also, this is possibly a stupid question, but if you don't buy them and decide you need them, can you just take an unpaid day? I don't see the difference between buying extra PTO or taking an unpaid day, but I might not understand the calculations either.
Do you have to buy the PTO within a specific timeframe? Like you have to decide yes or no by January or whenever?
Also, this is possibly a stupid question, but if you don't buy them and decide you need them, can you just take an unpaid day? I don't see the difference between buying extra PTO or taking an unpaid day, but I might not understand the calculations either.
We can only buy during open enrollment, which will start soon.
I don't know that there would be a financial difference between taking an unpaid day and buying PTO -- I think it is probably fair to assume there isn't. It seems like there could be a difference in how it is perceived? Like, if you buy yourself to 23 days and then take 23 days, you're taking what you're entitled to, but I wouldn't feel comfortable asking for an extra week unpaid so I could go to the beach or whatever (and it would probably be a major headache to get it approved). But this is a new frontier for me so my guesses could all be wrong.
Can I throw in a complaint about my husband, by the way? I tried talking to him about this last night.
His first thing: "I don't think you need more than 18 days." Says the guy who gets and takes 28 days (and then I got a "but only because I've been at my company a few years -- I used to get less." What is less? 27.)
His second thing: "I'm not going to talk about vacation next year until I find out about my bonus this year and figure out if I'll be looking for a new job." I have several problems with that: (1) I need to make a decision during open enrollment, which will end before he finds out about his bonus, and (2) I refuse to build my life around a hypothetical job search (particularly because starting a new job with a big vacation already plans usually ends up spendidly because they usually won't tell you not to take it).
The job search thing is particularly frustrating because every year he complains incessantly about his job, but by February he's like "I can't look for a new job because I don't want to walk away from the bonus that will be paid out in December." Yet he still wants to avoid planning vacations because of the hypothetical job search.
It is so impossible to be married to a pessimist!!!
Post by steamboat185 on Oct 9, 2015 8:47:21 GMT -5
At least at my company, taking unpaid days is highly frowned upon and permission has to come from very high up (I report to a regional VP and I think his boss would have to approve the request). PTO is much easier to use.
We have the chance to buy 40 hours and do every year. At my company, if you don't use it, you can sell it back. It's based purely on your salary, not bonus. I love it and am thankful for that particular benefit.
Do you have to buy the PTO within a specific timeframe? Like you have to decide yes or no by January or whenever?
Also, this is possibly a stupid question, but if you don't buy them and decide you need them, can you just take an unpaid day? I don't see the difference between buying extra PTO or taking an unpaid day, but I might not understand the calculations either.
Buying the PTO spreads the financial pain across the year. So they take 1/12 of a week of pay out of each of my paychecks. Whereas if I took a week unpaid, one of my paychecks would be 1/4 lower than normal.
Can I throw in a complaint about my husband, by the way? I tried talking to him about this last night.
His first thing: "I don't think you need more than 18 days." Says the guy who gets and takes 28 days (and then I got a "but only because I've been at my company a few years -- I used to get less." What is less? 27.)
His second thing: "I'm not going to talk about vacation next year until I find out about my bonus this year and figure out if I'll be looking for a new job." I have several problems with that: (1) I need to make a decision during open enrollment, which will end before he finds out about his bonus, and (2) I refuse to build my life around a hypothetical job search (particularly because starting a new job with a big vacation already plans usually ends up spendidly because they usually won't tell you not to take it).
The job search thing is particularly frustrating because every year he complains incessantly about his job, but by February he's like "I can't look for a new job because I don't want to walk away from the bonus that will be paid out in December." Yet he still wants to avoid planning vacations because of the hypothetical job search.
It is so impossible to be married to a pessimist!!!
LOL. I have significantly more vacation time than DH, but still buy a week. I would never even think to tell him he has enough days. What the hell? That just means I get stuck at home with sick kids more often.
We can buy an extra m 80 hours/year. I always will. Whether it's frowned upon is dependant on your area or boss. I've never had push back but I've talked to people in other groups who were discouraged from buying.
Ours is based on salary not bonus. We can carry over the time as well if it's not used. We select during annual benefits enrollment.
Update because I know you're all dying to know all aspects of my open enrollment...
I bought the 5 extra days and I think it is actually a fantastic deal because:
(1) Price per day was based on my base salary and did not take into account my bonus; (2) Price per day was based on the assumption that I work 260 days a year while after holidays and other PTO it is considerably less than that; (3) I will pay for them pre-tax which takes quite a bit of bite out of the price; and (4) I think because of IRS rules, those have to be taken after all other PTO has been used up, and I get my money back if I don't use them. Since I don't get rollover otherwise, that's a nice cushion
<)
Oh, and I did not murder my husband for suggesting that not only should I not buy more PTO, but I should in fact sell back the 30 hours that I could have, leaving me with 14 days and him with 28. That's a plus too.
Oh, and I did not murder my husband for suggesting that not only should I not buy more PTO, but I should in fact sell back the 30 hours that I could have, leaving me with 14 days and him with 28. That's a plus too.
Your husband is crazy, at least you set him straight.