Phased Retirement Plan for Faculty UPPS
No. 04.04.51
Issue No. 4
Effective Date: 11/06/2007
Review: October 1 E2Y
01. POLICY STATEMENT
01.01
02. DEFINITIONS
02.01 This
UPPS describes a policy that provides eligible faculty members with an
opportunity to retire and maintain a reduced employment status prior to full
retirement, a so-called phased retirement, when such an arrangement is of
mutual benefit to the University and the retiring faculty member.
02.02 A
phased retirement plan is an option for transitioning active faculty members to
retired status through a contractual agreement that requires the faculty member
to meet certain milestones during the contractual period, such as a reduction
in percentage of effort or enrollment in retiree group insurance prior to
termination of employment. At the end of the contractual period, the faculty
member is considered to be in a retired status for all purposes.
03. BACKGROUND
03.01 On
January 19, 1983, the Commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board provided
03.02 These
guidelines were the inspiration for
04. PROCEDURES
04.01 Authorization
This
policy allows the University to employ a faculty member on a part-time basis
following retirement when such employment will benefit both the faculty member
and the University. Even though the faculty member has voluntarily moved from a
tenured to an untenured status, dismissal will be only for good cause as
specified in Chapter V, Section 4.23, of the Rules and Regulations, Board of
Regents, Texas State University System, or under the special circumstances for
termination of faculty employment as described in Chapter V, Section 4.7, of
the Rules and Regulations.
04.02 Eligibility
a. All
full-time tenured faculty members are eligible to participate in the program
when they meet one of the following requirements for service retirement:
1) Age
65 with 10 years of service credit, or
2) Age
and years of service credit total 80 with at least 10 years of service credit.
Service credit may be earned with Teacher Retirement System (TRS), Optional
Retirement Program (ORP) or any combination thereof.
b. TRS
Eligibility -- TRS eligibility for full formula benefits or for reduced annuity
benefits is determined by TRS guidelines. TRS regulations require a one full
calendar month break in service between the date of retirement and any
resumption of state employment. Therefore, participation in this program
typically begins in a fall semester, following at least a month break in
service. Failure to observe such a break could result in the loss of monthly
retirement annuity payments. An employee returning to work is eligible to be
employed no more than half-time (50% FTE) during any month for the entire
school year or full-time (100%) for no more than 6 months during a school year
(9/1-8/31). If employed 100% for a semester, the employee must submit written
notice on form TRS118A, "Application for Employment After Retirement
Exception," to TRS annually by the last day of the first month of
full-time employment to avoid interruption of benefits. Working any part of a
month counts as a full month.
c. ORP
Eligibility -- Because ORP is not a defined benefit plan like TRS, the rules
are less clear and there is more room for institutional flexibility. Insofar as
phased retirement is concerned,
04.03 Notification
of Intent to Participate
Participation
is on a strictly voluntary basis at the initiation of individual faculty
members. A faculty member who wishes to participate in this program should
notify his or her department chair in writing not less than 6 months prior to the beginning of the
academic year in which participation will begin to allow time for negotiation
of the Phased Retirement agreement, recruitment of a replacement, and
modification of the class schedule.
04.04 Agreement
The
retiring faculty member and the Chair of the affected department, with the
advice of the Personnel Committee, will negotiate an agreement which will,
broadly speaking, establish expectations for the modified service, subject to
approval by the College Dean/School Director and Provost and VPAA. However,
nothing in this agreement shall include a departmental commitment to offer
specific courses at particular times in selected semesters. Well in advance of each semester, the
department chair will consult with faculty on modified retirement regarding
their teaching preference for each semester. However, the chair will make the
final determination on teaching assignments based on the department’s
needs. The Phased Retirement
agreement is for a one to three-year period, as agreed. The parties may agree
to additional employment on a year-to-year basis, but such renewals do not
extend the Phased Retirement agreement.
04.05 Benefits
Relinquished by the Faculty Member
A
participating faculty member will relinquish his or her status as a full-time
faculty member, including tenure rights held, no later than the member's date
of retirement under TRS or ORP or the end of the academic year in which
notification of one's election to participate in this plan is given, whichever
is earlier. The faculty member will not relinquish his or her right to
participate in discussions of all departmental matters considered by the voting
faculty.
04.06 Amenities
Retained by the Faculty Member
Excluding
TRS or ORP membership (except as required by law), the participant shall be
entitled to all the amenities which the University affords its full-time
faculty, including continued participation in group insurance plans at levels
provided for other retired employees.
04.07 Compensation
and Workload
a. Each
faculty member participating in this program shall receive a salary established
at a rate commensurate with the workload agreed to by the faculty member and
the University. The salary and associated workload shall not be more than
one-half of the salary that he or she was earning during the year immediately
prior to beginning participation in this program. During this time period a
program participant shall receive any general raises under the provisions provided
to comparable continuing full-time faculty members. The workload for the
participant (number of classes and, as appropriate, research and service)
during this period shall be consistent with the salary paid and the FTE
assigned.
b. Program
participants appointed for 9 months may elect to receive their salary in either
9 or 12 equal installments.
c. A
participant in this program may elect to modify his or her status to full
retirement at any time by simply notifying the department chair, in writing, of
this intent not less than 90 days prior to the beginning of the academic year
when this change in status is to become effective.
04.08 Departmental
Budgeted FTE
The
affected department will retain the salary negotiated for the faculty member on
Phased Retirement. The Provost will recapture the remaining salary balance. Additional
replacement salary funds may be provided to the department during the period of
the Phased Retirement. Upon full retirement, the salary will be recaptured by
the Office of the Provost. The department may seek authorization from the
Provost to search for a replacement during the final year of the Phased
Retirement period.
04.09 Conditional
Reinstatement Privilege
Should
any state or federal law change, or be interpreted to prohibit the purpose or
any provision of this agreement, the participant shall, if he or she chooses,
be reinstated by the University to the rank, salary, and tenure status held at
the date of his or her election to participate in this program. In the event of
such reinstatement, however, the participant may not be a member of TRS or ORP,
except as provided by law. Any TRS or ORP participant who is reinstated will be
subject to all laws and rules governing employment after retirement including
those providing for forfeiture of benefits received for the period during which
he or she had returned to full-time status.
04.10 Impact
of Physical or Mental Disability
The
participant and the University agree that, should the participant become
permanently physically or mentally unable to continue the reduced workload
during an academic year, the University President shall authorize extended sick
leave for the remainder of the academic year after all accumulated leave,
including sick leave pool have been exhausted. At the end of the academic year
where the disability occurs, the obligation of the University under this policy
shall be terminated.
04.11 Impact
of This Policy on Group Benefits Program (GBP) and TRS or ORP Rules
A
participant's eligibility to draw retirement benefits from TRS or an ORP
contract and eligibility for membership in GBP, TRS or ORP will be governed by
the laws and rules governing such eligibility and not by this policy.
05. REVIEWERS OF THIS UPPS
05.01 Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:
Position Date
Provost and Vice President October
1 E2Y
for Academic Affairs
Chair, Faculty Senate October
1 E2Y
06. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
This
UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official
capacities and represents
Provost
and Vice President for Academic Affairs; senior reviewer of this UPPS
President