Faculty working well beyond retirement age has become an issue in higher education that includes increased expenditures in benefits and salaries, hindrance of hiring minorities and women, and teaching effectiveness. The effects of aging faculty contribute to the factors in student retention. A few factors in student success involve affordability,…

The Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act passed by Congress in 1986 eliminated mandatory age-related retirement at age 70. Initially, all postsecondary institutions were exempt from the Act. Based on a report by the National Research Council (NRC), which forecast only a minimal impact of this Act on higher education, the federal government…

This article examines the trend of faculty retirement in the United States. Much of the concern about aging faculty has centered on the twin concerns of lifetime employment in the form of tenure and the lack of a mandatory retirement age. However, as analysis shows, more attention should be paid to what will happen when older faculty…

New federal tax law requiring employees to pay taxes on a large sum of money at one time rather than over the course of retirement makes college retirement "buyout plans" no longer feasible and hampers colleges' efforts to thin faculty ranks after the uncapping of the mandatory retirement age. (MSE)

Federal legislation effective in 1994 bars colleges and universities from forcing tenured faculty to retire at age 70. Reactions of unions and professional associations, a required study of the law's impact, and a related measure requiring institutions to continue contributions to pension plans of over-65 workers are discussed. (MSE)

The 1986 amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and tax reforms from that year will require changes in retirement policies in higher education, especially pension plans, because of the extension of nondiscrimination rules to all tax-deferred annuities. (Author/MSE)

Uncapping the mandatory retirement age is unlikely to alter retirement age by much, but it will lead to substantially higher pensions for faculty members who continue to work. Institutions must monitor retirement-age behavior in order to restructure pension and other benefits appropriately to meet income and retirement objectives. (Author/MSE)

The impact of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1978 (ADEA) and possible options for adjusting to the impact were estimated for members institutions of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE). Questionnaire information was gathered on active, departed, and retired faculty from 27 individual COFHE institutions.…

Important considerations for institutions wanting to establish supplementary early retirement benefits to encourage the practice are outlined. Regulations concerning pension plans, tax-sheltered annuities, and deferred compensation are reviewed. Individually negotiated early retirement supplements are not recommended. (MSE)

Economic underpinnings of retirement incentives and case law leading to the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act (1986) are reviewed; implications for early retirement incentives for college faculty are considered. It is concluded that congressional intent is not to foreclose such incentives and that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act…

Two proposals before Congress threaten to offset the delicate balance in pension plan design. The significance of the normal retirement feature in plan design, some possible program design changes, and how the pension arrangements of higher education institutions would be affected are discussed. (MLW)

Issues of mandatory retirement for faculty are discussed. In 1978, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was amended to raise the age of forced retirement to 70, but tenured college professors were exempted from the protections of the amendment. Arguments raised by advocates of forced retirement for tenured college professors include: the…

The major findings of three studies conducted in 1979-80 for the Consortium on the Financing of Higher Education (COFHE), a group of 30 private colleges and universities, on the potential impact of extending the minimum age of mandatory retirement from 65 to 70 are presented. (MSE)

Looks at various issues set before English departments by recent federal legislation uncapping the mandatory retirement age. Examines the "worst case" scenario of unlimited tenure. Argues that while it is too early to predict the effects of this legislation, preliminary indications show that incentives for early retirement are working.…

Age and sex discrimination are addressed in two newsletter articles. In "Age Discrimination in Faculty Employment," Stuart H. Bompey reviews employment litigation issues and their impact on the collective bargaining process. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) stipulates that individuals may be mandatorily retired at age 70;…