No.  3-41

Rev. 07-13-17

Date  05-14-80

I. POLICY

It is the policy of the University to make special early retirement incentives available to its full-time salaried employees who apply for the program, meet the eligibility requirements and receive approval from the Board of Trustees.

II. DEFINITIONS

Full Retirement Age (FRA), or normal retirement age, is the age a person can receive full (100%) social security benefits as specified by the Social Security Administration.

 

Age to Receive Full Social Security Benefits Year of Birth* Full Retirement Age 1943--1954 ** 66 1955 66 and 2 months 1956 66 and 4 months 1957 66 and 6 months 1958 66 and 8 months 1959 66 and 10 months 1960 and later 67 *If you were born on January 1st of any year, you should refer to the previous year. **For birth years prior to 1943, go to this website: http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/retirechart.htm

No matter what your full retirement age is, you may start receiving social security benefits as early as age 62.

III. ELIGIBILITY

Full-time salaried employees who will have 15 years of full-time service and are within ten years of the Full Retirement Age (FRA) on the date of the proposed retirement are eligible to apply for the early retirement program. Only full-time service qualifies for years-of-service credit. Full-time service will include approved leaves of absence with pay such as sabbaticals. Hourly service is not credited.

IV. APPLICATION AND APPROVAL

Forms for application will be made available at the Human Resources Office. An applicant for the program must make a formal request through normal department channels and receive approval from the administration and Board of Trustees. The criteria upon which the application is approved or disapproved shall have a rational relationship to the legitimate needs, well-being, and overall mission of the University. Applicants applying for early retirement must apply early enough to allow for a normal and reasonable approval review cycle and a period of time for review of the contract specified by law. Typically, the retiree should allow at least six months for processing and review.

V. DURATION

The duration of the early retirement program depends on the point at which the participant enters the program as shown on the table in Section VII of this policy. The program is designed as a "bridge" of medical and dental benefits to Medicare at age 65 and a stipend "bridge" to Social Security FRA provided that neither medical/dental benefits nor stipend may exceed the limits shown in Table VII.

VI. STIPEND

The early retirement stipend depends on the point of entry into the program. Once approved, the stipend percent remains constant throughout the early retirement period. As a bridge to Social Security, the stipend cannot exceed the predicted Social Security eligibility amount at the FRA specified by Social Security. The stipend is paid on the same pay schedule as the payroll for full-time employees.

VII. BENEFITS

Early retirees receive medical and dental coverage according to the table shown in Section VII. Other salary-based benefits such as base retirement contribution, life insurance and disability coverage cease on the first day of the early retirement except as they may apply to the portion of time in a phased retirement in which the employee continues employment.

VII. TABLE OF STIPENDS AND HEALTH AND DENTAL BENEFITS

Point of Entry	Period during which the stipend will be paid (prorated among years)	Annual Stipend (As a percent of the amount of base salary forfeited.)	Period during which the Health/Dental Insurance will be paid (prorated among years)	Health Insurance Premium (As a percent of the amount paid for a full-time employee)	Dental Insurance Premium (As a percent of the amount paid for a full-time employee)
9 to 10 years to Full Retirement Age (FRA)	7-years	14.28% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	7-years	University pays 71.4% of the University share	University pays 57.1% of the University share
8 to 9 years to FRA	6-years	16.67% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	6-years	University pays 83.3% of the University share	University pays 66.6% of the University share
7 to 8 years to FRA	5-years	20% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	5-years	University pays 100% of the University share	University pays 80% of the University share
6 to 7 years to FRA	5-years	20% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	5-years	University pays 100% of the University share	University pays 80% of the University share
5 to 6 years to FRA	5-years	20% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	5-years	University pays 100% of the University share	University pays 80% of the University share
4 to 5 years to FRA	Lesser of 5-years or FRA	20% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	Lesser of 5-years or age 65	University pays 100% of the University share	University pays 80% of the University share
3 to 4 years to FRA	Lesser of 4-years or FRA	25% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	Lesser of 4-years or age 65	University pays 100% of the University share	University pays 80% of the University share
2 to 3 years to FRA	Lesser of 3-years or FRA	30% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	Lesser of 3-years or age 65	University pays 100% of the University share	University pays 80% of the University share
1 to 2 years to FRA	Lesser of 2-years or FRA	30% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	Lesser of 2-years or age 65	University pays 100% of the University share	University pays 80% of the University share
Less than 1 year to FRA	FRA	30% (Cannot exceed Social Security at FRA)	Age 65	University pays 100% of the University share	University pays 80% of the University share

VIII. PHASED RETIREMENT OPTION

Phased retirement is regarded as a case of early retirement in which the retiree forfeits a portion of his or her full-time position. Each year of phased retirement exhausts a year of eligibility for early retirement. The total period in years of phased and total early retirement cannot exceed the period for which the stipend and benefits will be paid shown in Table VII. The phasing schedule is negotiated between the employee and the supervisor and approved through the same process as other early retirements. The early retirement stipend is paid on the forfeited portion of the base salary just prior to retirement. The percentages applied to the forfeited base salary to determine the stipend are shown in Section VII above. A proration of the health and dental benefit premiums shown in Section VII will be applied according to the particular phased
retirement plan approved for the employee.

IX. CONTRACT

Each approved early retirement shall be initiated by a contract signed by the early retiree and appropriate University administrators. The contract will explain the protection provided early retirees and allow time for review as specified by law.

X. RIGHT TO AMEND OR TERMINATE PROGRAM

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to amend or terminate the early retirement program at any time, but no amendment or termination shall affect any participant retired under its provisions.