my slighter older sister retired from NYS teaching a couple of years ago.....she was able to cash in all her sick time making for nearly a years pay, she collects big time in pension, but the kicker is she gets all her medical plus her husbands.....she put in 30 yrs but is only in her fifties.....
so please, I know what the state workers get..
I'm not sure what union your sister was associated with in NY State (PEF?), but sick time is used to reduce your health insurance fees. The state has a formula, which they use to figure how much money you'll save on your health insurance costs. The formula is based on your age at retirement and your sex. They figure out what age you'll likely be when you die, then pro-rate your cost according to that figure. They use your sick time to pay for your insurance each month. You are limited to amount of sick time you can have on the books. I didn't have that much sick leave left when I retired, so I pay my own insurance costs out of my pension check each month.
Since you aren't allowed to cash in sick time for money in NY State, it's more than likely she had vacation time she turned in. I've never heard of anyone getting a year's pay for vacation time they turned in, since there are restrictions on how much vacation time you can accumulate, and how many weeks of vacation you can turn in. Those restrictions are based on Civil Service Law, not on union agreements, so I find it hard to believe that she got a year's pay from turning in any accumulated time. It just isn't allowed, and there are restrictions on the amount of hours you can keep and not use. Once you reach that limit, you don't earn it anymore.