First post. Thanks so much for this resource!

I am a 30 year employee of a municipality that will be retiring in a year. Im a little confused about contribution limits. I anticipate a “muster out” check in the neighborhood of $15,000-$20,000 for my accrued sick/vacation/holiday time. It seems to me the logical thing to do would be to have that money go directly into my 457 so I dont incur the 10% penalty. I will be 57 1/2 at the time of my retirement

This is what the IRS has to say about limits:
A 457(b) plan’s annual contributions and other additions (excluding earnings) to a participant’s account cannot exceed the lesser of:
100% of the participant’s includible compensation, or

the elective deferral limit ($18,000 in 2015, 2016 and 2017).
Increases to the general annual contribution limit:
457(b) plans of state and local governments may allow catch-up contributions for participants who are aged 50 or older.

Special 457(b) catch-up contributions, if permitted by the plan, allow a participant for 3 years prior to the normal retirement age (as specified in the plan) to contribute the lesser of:

Twice the annual limit ($36,000 in 2015, 2016, and 2017), or
The basic annual limit plus the amount of the basic limit not used in prior years (only allowed if not using age 50 or over catch-up contributions)

So what does this mean about how much I can move to my 457?

Thanks so much for any reply