NIH Leave Bank Membership

Leave Bank Membership Open Enrollment

Open enrollment for the 2025 membership year runs November 11 – December 9, 2024. 


First time enrollment

  • New NIH employees may enroll within 60 calendar days of their start date. Your membership will be effective on the date of enrollment. Only NIH Federal employees are eligible to enroll – other Federal employees are ineligible to participate as NIH Leave Bank members.
  • All other NIH employees may enroll during annual open enrollment which runs from November 11th to December 9, 2024. Your membership will be effective the first day of the next leave year, January 12, 2025.
  • Please note: The NIH Leave Bank Program is separate from the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP).  For additional information on the differences between VLTP and the Leave Bank, please visit our comparison page.

How to enroll

Log into ITAS (Integrated Time and Attendance System) and select "Leave Bank Membership".

Note: Do NOT select “Donate to Leave Bank” tab. This will result in an additional donation beyond the yearly membership contribution.

If you cannot access ITAS or are having issues enrolling, please contact the Leave Bank Office by email at LeaveBank@od.nih.gov or call 301-443-8393.

Membership contribution

To become a member, you must make a yearly membership contribution of one pay period's annual leave accrual – 4, 6, or 8 hours, depending on your leave category. Membership contributions are not pro-rated for part-time employees.

Employees who enroll during the annual open enrollment will have their annual membership contributions deducted within the first 3 pay periods of the new leave year at DFAS, the NIH payroll provider. The contribution will be deducted in ITAS in the first pay period of the new leave year. The membership contribution will come out of the new leave year’s leave accrual, NOT the employees use-or-lose hours.

New employees will have their annual membership contributions deducted within 1-3 pay periods following enrollment in ITAS and DFAS.

Membership contribution waiver

Your annual membership contribution will automatically be waived if you:

  • lack sufficient leave; or
  • are a current recipient of the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program (VLTP) or Leave Bank

Note: The policy has changed since 2015. Waivers will NOT be granted to those who make a use-or-lose annual leave donation.

New employees who enroll within their first two weeks of employment at NIH will automatically receive a waiver of their membership contribution for the current leave year.

Continuing enrollment

  • Membership automatically rolls-over from year-to-year unless you choose to opt-out in ITAS using the “Leave Bank Membership” tab during an open enrollment period.
  • Employees cannot opt out or enroll outside of an open enrollment period. An employee is responsible for knowing their membership status.
  • Please contact the Leave Bank Office if you do not know your membership status.
  • Memberships for 2024 are effective January 14, 2024 and will run through January 11, 2025.
  • Memberships for 2025 are effective January 12, 2025 and will run through January 10, 2026.

Questions

Please visit our Leave Bank homepage for more information.

For questions, email LeaveBank@od.nih.gov or call (301) 433-8393.

Top Leave Bank FAQs

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