An incentive early retirement program is an arrangement between employer and employee that provides tangible inducement or reward for voluntary early retirement. It may be a formal program or an ad hoc agreement negotiated with the institution. The most common incentives include severance pay, liberalized actuarial reduction, annuity enhancements,…

The University of Virginia's retirement incentive program for older, full-time, tenured faculty provided two options: phased retirement and a retirement decision contract establishing a firm retirement date. Evaluation indicates this plan was effective in meeting the interests and needs of participants and the institution and saved institutional…

Experiences with faculty early retirement programs at three public universities are described. The universities range in size from 11,000 to 33,000 full-time equivalent students with 650 to more than 3,000 faculty members. Attention is directed to: goals of each of the institutions in establishing the program, characteristics of individual…

The literature on incentive early retirement for faculty members is reviewed, including the findings of studies that have assessed the effectiveness of such programs. In addition to describing different types of programs and the incentives offered, attention is directed to legal issues, costs and benefits, assessing whether a program is feasible,…