Voluntary Phased Retirement enhances unit succession planning and is intended to meet the needs of a full-time faculty member who would like to transition into full-time retirement. The unit must evaluate the proposal and determine if it meets the needs of both the employee and the unit. If approved, a full-time faculty member will have a gradual work commitment reduction over a defined period of time at a corresponding reduced compensation level.
Eligibility
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:
- Has 10-plus years of continuous Ohio State Service in at least a 50% regular appointment at, and directly preceding, retirement; AND
- Meet the same eligibility parameters that would be required to retire under the STRS Defined Benefit Plan. See STRS Eligibility Requirements for more information.
Parameters
Voluntary Phased Retirement must follow these parameters:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 at their own discretion.
- If a proposal is not approved, the employee may submit a request in a subsequent year.
- 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.
- Participation in all health care benefits may continue, according to the terms and employee contribution rate applicable to each plan.
- 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.
Application/Agreement
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; and
- The perceived benefit of the program to the college, campus, or administrative unit.
Approval
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.
Cross References
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