Arrangements in educational institutions for voluntary early retirement programs are discussed. Retirement at any age can be a profound and stressful lifetime change; and it can also represent a welcome transition into newly satisfying and rewarding opportunities. The focus is on: mandatory retirement (exceptions and the new meaning of "early");…

The graded payment method of receiving traditional annuity benefits was introduced by the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) in 1982 to introduce an inflation-fighting factor into the annuity program. Under the graded method, in contrast to the standard method, a part of current annuity dividend income is withheld each year to…

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…

Following the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the increased regulatory burden placed on defined benefit pension plans, the less complex fully funded defined contribution plan emerged as a more attractive and increasingly popular alternative. Traditionally the standard approach to pensions in the educational…

This paper presents a method for higher education faculty and staff to assess pension plan objectives by determining a retirement income replacement ratio to maintain the salary-based preretirement standard of living. The paper describes the RETIRE Project which researches income replacement using the federal government's annual "Consumer…

The influences that demographic changes may have on the design of private pension plans in the twenty-first century are examined. Major demographic factors to be considered include the aging of the population, declining mortality rate, potential for an even lower mortality rate, improved health for all ages and especially for older workers, and…

This paper reports on a study of higher education health-care coverage for retirees including trends in coverage since 1987, major current provisions of institutions' coverage, and program cost controls. A total of 1,6701 institutions responded to a retiree heath-care survey. Among the findings were: (1) 61 percent of colleges and universities and…

A study used data from the Employee Benefits Surveys conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine the influence of employer-provided retiree health insurance on retirement decisions. The analysis found that most coverage is similar to that of active workers but takes Medicare into consideration, and requires retiring workers to meet…

A national survey of college and university retirees in Spring 1990 sought to help institutions to assess benefit programs and provide services for retirees. The survey involved a nationwide cross section of 130 institutions of higher education from which responses were received from 19,126 retirees (40 percent retired faculty). Questions covered…

The baby boom generation faces added uncertainty on their investments and perhaps lower realized rates of return on all components of their retirement savings, primarily because of their large number. Effects will be felt in the Social Security system and by pension plans and private investors. Individuals, employers, pension fund managers, and…

This paper analyzes four personal financial planning "expert systems," which institutions of higher education might offer their employees. Such computerized planning systems, like comprehensive plans and professional planners, help families manage their assets and obligations during their lifetimes and plan for distributing their wealth…