Work/Life Balance

Social Security is dedicated to its employees and that means recognizing an employee's life outside of the Agency. In addition to generous time-off policies,
Social Security provides many services and excellent benefits to employees.

Approved absence from work in the Federal Government is called leave. As a Social Security employee, you will accrue both annual and sick leave. Annual leave is used for rest and relaxation and the rate of accrual depends on your length of service. Full-time employees with less than 3 years of service earn 13 days per year, employees with 3-15 years of service earn 20 days and employees with 15 or more years earn 26 days. You may accumulate a maximum of 240 hours or 30 days. Sick leave is accrued at the rate of 13 days per year with no limit on accumulation. Other paid and nonpaid leave opportunities are offered for various reasons. In addition, Federal employees receive 10 legal holidays each year such as Christmas, Labor Day, etc. As you can see, our generous leave policies coupled with paid holidays allow you time for your personal priorities without sacrificing your commitment to public service.

Most Social Security employees can adjust their work schedules to meet personal responsibilities before or after work. Flexible work schedules allow them to choose arrival and departure times within an assigned number of work hours. Or, in many offices, employees can choose to work 80 hour pay periods in 8 or 9 days instead of the standard 10-day time frame.

Parents at Social Security have access to quality onsite child-care (at some of our larger locations). Designed with the children in mind, these centers provide convenient solutions to our employees' child-care challenges. Centers are locally licensed and are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

In addition, Social Security provides informational elder care services to assist employees with the many issues involved in caring for an elderly loved one. These services link employees to a wide variety of community resources and services that can help them meet their families' personal needs during this stressful time.