How to Fill Out and Submit Form OP-44: NYC DOE Termination Pay

NYC DOE Form OP-44 is the Application for Termination Pay for Pedagogues, the form you file to collect a lump-sum payout of the unused sick days in your Cumulative Absence Reserve when you retire or resign. It’s a fillable PDF completed electronically, signed digitally by you, your payroll secretary, and your principal or superintendent, and emailed to the Termination Pay Unit at TerminationUnit@schools.nyc.gov.¹

Where to Download the Form

Get the OP-44 from the DOE’s InfoHub at infohub.nyced.org/nyc-doe-topics/finance/payroll/key-documents, from the CSA termination pay page,¹ or from the UFT’s copy.² Open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Other PDF viewers may fail to render the drop-down fields or accept the digital signatures, and the DOE does not accept handwritten or faxed forms.

A note on scope: OP-44 is for pedagogical staff — teachers, guidance counselors, principals, assistant principals, and similar titles. Paraprofessionals, DC 37 members, and other non-pedagogical employees follow separate rules and forms and should call the Managerial Lump-Sum Unit at (718) 935-2218.

Completing Part I

Part I is the only section you fill out yourself. Have your Employee ID and file number ready — both appear on your pay stubs and in HR Connect — along with your final CAR balance, which your payroll secretary can confirm before you start.

Fill in your personal information, file number, Employee ID, last day of service, and the reason for separation (retirement or resignation). Use the drop-down to pick your payment method. Complete the beneficiary designation in case you die before the payment issues. Add your digital signature.

Match your last day of service to your official payroll records exactly. A mismatch is the most common reason the form gets kicked back to your payroll secretary for correction. No notary is required.

Getting Parts II and III Signed

Part II is signed by your immediate supervisor if you’re a CSA-represented employee, such as a principal or assistant principal, who verifies the information on the form.²

Part III is where your payroll secretary or timekeeper verifies your CAR balance and sick leave records and signs, then forwards the form to your principal or superintendent for the final digital signature.¹ Email the signed Part I to your payroll secretary to start that chain.

Choosing How You Get Paid

The payment-method drop-down on the form is the choice with the biggest dollar impact, so make it deliberately.

Direct rollover to a 403(b). If you roll the payout directly into a tax-deferred annuity, such as the TRS TDA program, no federal income tax is withheld at payment. You owe tax only when you eventually withdraw.³

Cash payment. If the money comes to you directly, the IRS requires 20% mandatory federal withholding on the distribution, even if you later roll it over yourself.⁴ New York State withholds supplemental wages at 11.70% for 2026, and New York City adds roughly 4.25%.⁵ On a $50,000 payout, that’s close to $18,000 gone to withholding before you file.

Installments. Chancellor’s Regulation C-605 allows the payout to be split into installments across consecutive calendar years, which can keep you in a lower bracket. Each installment is taxable in the year received.⁶

How the Payout Is Calculated

The base formula is one day of pay for every two unused sick days in your CAR, capped at 200 sick days. The maximum payout therefore covers 100 days.² The daily rate is 1/200th of your annual salary at separation.⁶

Terminal leave reduces the calculation before the formula runs. Twice the number of school days of terminal leave you take is deducted from your CAR balance first.² Thirty days of terminal leave takes 60 days off your CAR before the one-for-two math applies. Run both scenarios before deciding between terminal leave and a straight termination payout.

Pedagogical managers who are not TRS members follow a hybrid rule. Vested sick leave pays out at the same one-for-two rate up to 200 days. Sick leave earned after vesting pays at one day for every three, and only if the manager has at least 10 years of continuous City service and a final balance of at least 60 post-vested days. The combined vested and post-vested payment is capped at 120 days, and the overall lump sum across all leave categories is capped at one year’s salary.⁶

Where the Completed Form Goes

Once your superintendent has signed, the fully executed form is emailed to TerminationUnit@schools.nyc.gov.¹ Faxed forms are not accepted.

If email won’t work, mail or hand-deliver the form to:

NYC Department of Education
Termination Pay Unit
65 Court Street, Room 1400
Brooklyn, NY 11201¹

If your mailing address on file with TRS is outdated, email the Termination Pay Unit separately with your name, file number, Employee ID, and current address.¹

When to Expect Payment

Do not expect a fast turnaround. Under Chancellor’s Regulation C-605, installment plans put the first payment in the calendar year of retirement and subsequent payments in the following one or two calendar years.⁶ Even a single lump-sum payment goes through a final audit of your sick leave balance and salary records before release. Track your claim in the HR Connect portal.⁷

The 90-Day Rule for Principals and APs

Principals and assistant principals must submit their resignation or retirement notice at least 90 days before the separation date. If you miss that window, your lump-sum termination payment is held for two full years after you leave.¹ Time your notice accordingly.

Other educational administrators should contact the Managerial Lump-Sum Unit at (718) 935-2218 or TerminationUnit@schools.nyc.gov. Their calculations may include annual leave and compensatory time along with sick leave, with the total capped at one year’s salary.⁶

If the Employee Dies Before Filing

The termination pay does not disappear if the employee dies before filing the OP-44 or before payment issues. Family members or beneficiaries should contact the employee’s school or DOE agency to identify what is owed and get the required forms; the agency then coordinates with the Office of Payroll Administration to release the funds.⁸

If there’s a will or letters of administration, the estate’s representative handles the claim. Without a will or court administration, distribution follows New York’s Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act Section 1310. Death certificates, letters of administration, and letters testamentary can be sent by fax to 212-742-5663 or by email to BeneficiaryServices@fisa-opa.nyc.gov, though OPA may request originals for verification.⁸

1
Council of School Supervisors and Administrators. Final Entitlement
2
United Federation of Teachers. OP-44 NYC DOE Termination Pay Form
3
Internal Revenue Service. IRC 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans
4
Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions
5
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. New York State Withholding Tax Tables and Methods
6
NYC Public Schools. Chancellor’s Regulation C-605
7
NYC Public Schools. HR Connect
8
Office of Payroll Administration. Owed Payments to Deceased Employees