If you're like me, a "senior" faculty member at a public state university facing significant budget cuts, recently you've probably thought about leaving your current position for another faculty position in a different state. A possible reason for considering jumping ship is envisioning a clearer picture of your retirement as it nears on…

Given the right incentives, many college faculty will retire early. With mandatory retirement of tenured faculty soon to be abolished, institutions may need to revamp their pension plans and introduce voluntary retirement-incentive options. These options include phased- and full-retirement programs. (Author/MSE)

Recent legislative and regulatory actions have made retirement policies more complicated. Six major elements appropriate for retirement policy review are addressed: normal-age benefits and goals, mandatory retirement, early retirement, phased retirement, auxiliary retirement savings programs, and retirement counseling. (MLW)

The California Faculty Association (CFA) seeks to secure and maintain sound retirement options that encourage phased faculty retirement. Their experience in negotiating and administering retirement options are discussed. Defined benefit plan and defined contribution plan are described. CFA agreements are appended. (MLW)

The Committee on Retirement of the American Association of University Professors initiated its first retirement policies survey in 2000 to address a lack of reliable and systematically collected information on retirement policies and practices across U.S. institutions of higher education. At the end of the 1990s, there was a sense that…

Institutions must provide good counseling regarding retirement program benefits, since when in doubt about their financial position faculty members are inclined to remain employed. Colleges should consider offering nonfinancial incentives for early retirement as well as financial. (MLW)

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…

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,…

This analysis of retirement planning and early retirement incentive plans in Illinois community colleges was drawn from a study of early retirement plans at each of the state's 39 community colleges, and a follow-up survey to clarify information in the documents and determine colleges' plans for the future. After introductory comments on the issue…

Greater attention has been focused on the role that employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual savings must play in ensuring retirement income security. Alternative tax retirement planning opportunities currently available to college personnel are explored. (MLW)

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.…

A variety of incentives offered to faculty to leave an institution in difficult financial circumstances are outlined. They include: liberalizing the actuarial pension reduction, lump-sum severance payments, annuity enhancements, phased retirement, retirement perquisites, retraining for outplacement, paid retraining, and earnings supplements during…

A survey of corporations and universities concerning their organizational policies and practices for early retirement found that in general, retirement plans are about equal in benefits and options, but corporations offer far fewer opportunities for phased or gradual retirement. In this regard, the corporation severs its relationship with retirees…

Four steps to retirement planning, intended to demystify retirement investment, are offered for college faculty: (1) establish diversification goals; (2) urge their institutions to offer more investment options; (3) coordinate retirement investments with other investments; and (4) take steps to guarantee against inflation. Typical age-related…