White Lantern Globes
I’m going to get a “leap paycheck” this year. I get paid every two weeks, or normally 26 times a year, but once a decade the stars, or more importantly the calendar aligns and I get a 27th annual paycheck. This year my last payday falls on December 32nd. “Wait a minute”, I hear you say, “December only has 31 days.” This is correct, payday is scheduled for January 1st, 2015, or next year, but in the event that a payday falls on a holiday, I get paid the day before, or in this case December 31st. I’ll anticipate your next question too, because I’ve heard it often enough, this does not mean that I will only get 25 paychecks in 2015. It truly is a leap paycheck. I could look upon this paycheck as a ~4% bonus (27/26 -1). A bonus, because I won’t be getting another leap paycheck next year. I have already checked, there are only the usual 26 paychecks next year and for many years to come. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, this unexpected windfall should be tidings of great joy, this ~4% bump will increase my annual salary, a good thing, but will also likely boost me into a higher income tax bracket, a bad thing and it will help with my pension calculation, a good thing. Ultimately though, it is just an accounting gimmick, I get paid every two weeks, no matter what time of year it is. I’ll have to ask my tax preparer what to do. Anne?
For the past four years we have also been paid every two weeks. Our year of 27 paychecks will be 2015. Initially they told us that each of our paychecks would be smaller (salary/27 instead of salary/26). But now a few of the finance folks have realized that us salary folks have actually been shorted for the past four years, and the every 11 year 27 paychecks actually will just catch us up. But I have not seen any official statement other than the smaller paychecks for this coming year. At least not yet.