Voluntary Phased Retirement Program

To be eligible for the Voluntary Phased Retirement Program, faculty must be eligible to retire from the university (eligibility requirements listed below) and hold a current, full-time appointment (i.e., 30 hours per week or greater, .75 FTE or greater). Before applying for the program, the faculty member should check the eligibility requirements.

University Retiree Qualifications for STRS and ARP participants:

1. Has 10-plus years of continuous Ohio State Service in at least a 50% regular appointment at, and directly preceding, retirement; AND
2. Meet the same eligibility parameters that would be required to retire under the STRS Defined Benefit Plan. See STRS Eligibility Requirements for more information.

Voluntary Phased Retirement must follow these parameters:

1. The salary of each full-time faculty member participating in the Voluntary Phased Retirement Program is prorated based on the employee’s FTE. Employees who accrue time will continue to accumulate and receive paid time off in accordance with their reduced work commitment.
2. Participants will continue to receive all employer contributions to their retirement plan(s) based on their reduced service and salary. Those who are members of STRS may earn reduced service credit in proportion to the percent reduction in work commitment based on STRS requirements for calculating service credit. Participants should contact STRS to determine any potential impact on their own service credit.
3. Participants will receive a monthly transition payment of $400. The payment will be made in accordance with regular payroll procedures and is subject to all applicable withholdings. The stated amount is guaranteed for each month in which the faculty member continues service to the university. The payment amount may change from time to time at the sole discretion of the department; however, at no time will the payment amount be less than $400 per month.
4. Once a faculty member’s FTE drops below .75, they will no longer be eligible for the Employee Tuition Assistance program. If a faculty member has received employee tuition assistance and drops below .75 FTE before the end of that semester (the associated commencement date for the semester), the faculty member will be required to pay back that semester’s tuition benefit.
5. If an employee’s application is approved, the employee can participate in a Voluntary Phased Retirement for periods of one (1), two (2) or three (3) years.
6. The program is to be operated within each college’s approved budget. Strategic planning and the department’s financial and academic capacity to support the request should be strongly considered. The TIU head will approve or deny requests for phased retirement in consultation with the college dean in colleges with departments and schools.
7. If a proposal is not approved, the employee may submit a request in a subsequent year.
8. Once approved, the employee’s agreement to participate is irrevocable and may not be rescinded; however, an employee on a phased retirement may request to accelerate the retirement date. Participation in a phased retirement does not guarantee continued employment. Employees remain subject to all Ohio State policies and practices, and the university may terminate a phased retirement, consistent with other university policies and practices applicable to the employee’s position.
9. Participation in all health care benefits may continue, according to the terms and employee contribution rate applicable to each plan.
10. Faculty will continue to participate in all applicable life insurance and disability plans, in accordance with the terms of each plan, based on the reduced salary.

The applicant must complete a Voluntary Phased Retirement Application through Service Now. The application must be completed fully to be considered for approval. All incomplete applications will be returned without consideration. The application must include each of the following:

• Proposed start date of step down. This date should align with the start of the academic semester;
• Length of the phased retirement (one (1), two (2) or three (3) years);
• The percent of reduction in the work responsibilities in each year of the phased retirement and the corresponding reduction in compensation as described below:
  • One year, with FTE reduced to .75 FTE
  • One year, with FTE reduced to or .5 FTE
  • Two years, with FTE reduced to .75 FTE in year 1 and .5 FTE in year 2
  • Three years, with FTE reduced to .75 FTE in year 1, .6 FTE in year 2, and .5 FTE in year three
• The type of work assignments in each period of phased retirement. Applicants are strongly encouraged to have a conversation with their department chair, school director, or dean to determine the appropriate distribution of work during the phased retirement; and
• The perceived benefit of the program to the college, campus, or administrative unit.

All Voluntary Phased Retirement applications will be reviewed for eligibility by the Office of Human Resources. If it is determined that a faculty member is not eligible to retire, they may resubmit a new application upon reaching the eligibility requirements. Once retirement eligibility is confirmed, the application must be approved by the TIU head, dean and regional campus dean/director (where applicable), and the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA). 

Once approval is granted, the faculty member must complete an agreement and release of claims. This agreement will be sent from OAA to the faculty member for completion in DocuSign. The agreement must be signed by the faculty member and approved by the Office of Business and Finance and OAA. OAA will maintain the final record of the agreement.

• Planning to Retire
• Applying for Retirement
• STRS
• Alternative Retirement Plan

1. What happens to the application if the faculty member is deemed not eligible for retirement at time of application?
   1. HR Retirements will provide information on how to contact the appropriate system and inquiry as well as the information on when they will be first eligible. The faculty member can re-apply once eligible.
2. When will the $400 payments begin?
   1. The $400 payments will begin on the first day of the semester in which the phased retirement begins and will continue until the retirement date is reached.
3. Who will be charged the $400 payments?
   1. The $400 payments will be charged to the department/unit that is paying the faculty member’s salary. Phased retirement payments will be made from university funds; funding from external sponsor (grants and/or contracts) cannot be used for phased retirement payments.
4. Does the faculty member need to also apply for retirement with the retirement system?
   1. Yes the faculty member will need to apply for retirement at least four months before the retirement effective date of their retirement. The application to the Phased Retirement Program is not the official application with the retirement systems.
5. Is the faculty member eligible for emeritus status upon retirement from the Phased Retirement Program?
   1. If the faculty member meets the criteria for emeritus status, then yes, they can request emeritus status. The criteria is described in the faculty rules. Emeritus faculty status recognizes sustained academic contributions to the university as described in Faculty Rule 3335-5-36. Full-time tenure-track, clinical/teaching/professional practice, research, or associated faculty may request emeritus status upon retirement or resignation at the age of sixty or older with ten or more years of service or at any age with twenty-five or more years of service. If the faculty member requesting emeritus status has in the ten years prior to the application engaged in serious dishonorable conduct in violation of law, rule, or policy and/or caused harm to the university’s reputation or is retiring pending a procedure according to Faculty Rule 3335-05-04, emeritus status will not be considered.
6. What about 9-month? Will they receive payment in the summer
   1. No, the payment will only be processed during the academic year.
7. Who will enter the $400 payment each month? And who will process the reduction of FTE for the faculty member?
   1. OAA will enter the payments each academic year.
   2. Colleges/units will adjust FTE.
8. If a phased retirement application is approved in middle of a semester when will the phased time begin?
   1. At the beginning of the next semester, if 9-month it will be the next fall semester or spring semester.
9. How does STRS calculate the final average salary?
   1. STRS bases final average salary on the member's five highest years of earnings and total years of service credit. So, if one of those years ends up being NOT their highest earnings, it wouldn't factor into the calculation, or if they receive partial service credit that obviously would make their total years of service lower in the calculation.
10. How is service date calculated?
    1. Faculty accrue service credit on a monthly basis, and it's driven by FTE. A 100% FTE employee earns 20 days of service credit for each full month worked. A 50% FTE employee would earn 10 days a month, etc. Ohio State reports service credit to STRS once a year, so Ohio State totals their monthly service credit to get the annual total. The annual total is then reported to STRS as whatever percent of a full year. STRS requires two things for employees to earn a full year of service credit: 1.) earn at least the state minimum in compensation (currently $35k in Ohio) and 2.) work at least 120 days. For all employees who meet this requirement, Ohio State reports 1.00. For employees who do not meet these requirements, Ohio State reports their fraction of the year.