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)

Incentives to retire at 26 private colleges and universities are analyzed using data for tenured, male faculty employed in the 1970s. Simulations suggest that raising or abolishing the mandatory retirement age will substantially delay retirement by faculty members at these institutions. (16 references) (MLF)

Discusses issues related to current and future modifications of faculty retirement plans, including unisex pension benefits, TIAA-CREF management, payout options, early retirement incentives, and the legality of mandatory retirement requirements. With CREF assets increasing, faculty retention, not early retirement, may become a primary issue.…

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)

Although even a few years ago researchers were suggesting that faculty aging and the resulting retirements would result in a huge demand for new hires, job opportunities have become scarce for recent graduates of doctoral programs. It is important, however, that colleges be able to hire new personnel to bring new ideas into the institution. In…

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)

A survey of current early retirement programs and faculty age distributions was conducted among 23 colleges in the Consortium on Financing Higher Education and 13 universities in the Association of American Universities. Tabular data and narrative descriptions are presented in two major sections. The first section presents data on the number of…

A survey of 322 University of Queensland (Australia) faculty found changes in attitudes about retirement age and about terms and conditions of employment at later ages. Implications are discussed and barriers to more flexible faculty employment are examined, including the current structure of retirement benefits, taxes, and flexible retirement;…

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.…

The American Association of University Professors' Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure examines the implications for tenure of federal legislation forbidding mandatory retirement because of age. (MSE)

To advocate replacement of traditional tenure arrangements by fixed-term contracts is a misreading of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act amendments, and may threaten academic freedom. (Author/MSE)

Addresses the issue of "uncapping" in institutions of higher education. Notes that, beginning January 1, 1994, chronological age will no longer be a legally acceptable cause for dismissal of tenured faculty 40 years of age and older. Discusses the governance problems expected to result from this change in federal law. (Author/BH)

This paper, one in a series about the priorities of the professoriate, examines the retirement decision-making of senior faculty, along with some of the key questions faced by administrators in light of the elimination of mandatory retirement. The first part of the paper reviews some general institutional issues, such as faculty turnover, faculty…

Until the beginning of 1994, federal law permitted mandatory retirement of tenured faculty at age 70. The Committee on Mandatory Retirement in Higher Education, formed by the National Research Council, was charged by Congress to examine potential effects on colleges, universities, and faculty members of ending the exemption for tenured faculty…