Retired Faculty Hiring
Page Under review 11/10/2025
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Employment after retirement
See also HR: Employment After Retirement.
Retirees coming back to teach are hired into the position from which they retired. Note that once a tenured faculty member retires, they forfeit tenure. Any post-retirement employment is considered professional-track, Fixed Term, should be in a JM supervisory organization, and should be funded accordingly.
Note that if the proposed work is for research-related activities, the job in Workday will require assignment of scheduled weekly hours to allow effort certification.
PARs are never used to hire retirees. Instead, the process for Modified Service should be used, described on another tab on this page. Contracts are required for retired faculty who are rehired into professional-track positions through Modified Service.
TRS vs. ORP retirees
The rules for returning to work are different for TRS and ORP retirees, as well as retirees from The University of Texas System or other state institutions and agencies. The retiree is responsible for checking with their retirement program provider about any possible ramifications before returning to service. See HR: Employment After Retirement for more information.
TRS retirees
If the faculty member is retiring under the Teacher Retirement System, they must have a service break of at least one full calendar month following the effective date of retirement and before commencing their Modified Service appointment. TRS retirees are capped at 50% FTE across all positions. The faculty member is responsible for completing all necessary TRS forms and adhering to all employment limitations for retirees as defined by the TRS.
TRS participants who plan to work in Texas public education after retiring should carefully review all requirements that apply to their situation to ensure that they do not revoke their retirement or lose monthly annuity payments by virtue of working in excess of allowable limits set by TRS. Human Resources strongly encourages TRS retirees to review the TRS Employment After Retirement Brochure (PDF) provided by TRS and to contact TRS directly if considering returning to work.
ORP retirees
Texas ORP retirees may return to work at any time. ORP does not restrict the number of hours a retiree may be appointed.
Modified Service
Important: Note that for faculty retiring effective 8/15 and returning to work 8/16 via Phased Retirement Agreement or Modified Service, additional administrative processes are required in order to retain benefits eligibility. For Modified Service, these processes are the responsibility of the department Academic HR Partner; for Phased Retirees, these additional processes are handled by APS.
Per HOP 2-2420: Modified Service and Phased Retirement for Faculty, the University may appoint faculty who have retired to Modified Service. Recommendation for and appointment to Modified Service shall be made only if the service of the individual is in the best interest of the University.
Total compensation during Modified Service will be based on the academic rate at the beginning of the period and determined by the percent effort of the appointment. Increases in compensation, if any, will be based on merit in accordance with regular salary policies for academic appointments.
EVPP: Faculty Retirement, pages 4-5, "Modified Service"
Restrictions for faculty on Modified Service
Per HOP 2-2420: Modified Service and Phased Retirement for Faculty section VII.A.3., all usual rights and responsibilities of faculty appointments continue through the term of the contract, except:
A faculty member on Modified Service shall not be a member of a Faculty Governance Committee, nor be elected to serve on Faculty Council or any committee of the faculty to which members are elected by the faculty.
Voting status in the General Faculty shall be retained, but voting status in the relevant department and college/school shall not be retained. These rules apply to all individuals regardless of the source of funds from which an individual is paid.
Modified Service jobs
Appointment to Modified Service shall be without tenure and for no more than 50% FTE.
Employment of any UT retiree is dependent upon requirements of the individual’s retirement program. The retiree is responsible for checking with their retirement program provider about any possible ramifications before returning to service. See HR: Employment After Retirement for more information.
Retired faculty are hired into Modified Service at the rank they held at time of retirement, without tenure. For instance, if at the time of retirement, a faculty member was a tenured Professor, they would return in Modified Service as a professional-track Professor.
Per HOP 2-2420: Modified Service and Phased Retirement for Faculty section VII.A.1.b., Modified Service jobs may not exceed one academic year in duration and shall terminate at the end of the stated period of appointment without the notification of non-renewal required by Regents' Rule 31002 for other professional-track faculty.
Employment of faculty on Modified Service must be terminated in Workday at the end of their contracted period. They cannot be renewed in Workday but must instead be terminated and rehired.
Modified Service process
The guidance in this section applies to fall and spring semester employment. See guidance for summer at COE: Summer Employment - Faculty > tab Modified Service.
Contracts
A faculty retiree in Modified Service must have an active, unexpired contract in Workday. Modified Service contracts are always one-year fixed term, and employment for faculty on Modified Service should be terminated at the end of each contract without renewal. Contract renewal requires that the faculty member be rehired in Workday.
The Modified Service contract should always be based on the appropriate offer letter template newly-downloaded from Faculty Affairs & Academic Personnel Services ServiceNow > Knowledge > FA/APS Knowledge Articles > Offer Letter Templates > Departmentalized CSUs > Modified Service.
Modified Service contract terms:
Fixed term
Without tenure
Do not exceed one academic year in duration (short-term)
Academic Year contract includes long semesters (fall and/or spring) only - no summer
Should always be for one of the following date ranges:
Fall only: 8/16-12/31
Spring only: 1/1-5/15 (Note: the Workday End Employment Date can be August 15)
Fall and spring: 8/16-5/15 (Note: the Workday End Employment Date can be August 15)
Renewal of Modified Service contracts
Modified Service is intended to be temporary and should not continue in perpetuity. Renewals must be reviewed by the department annually, recommended by the department chair, and offered only if doing so is determined to be of significant benefit to the University.
Appointment to Modified Service may be renewed for successive terms of up to one academic year if the department chair/dean determines that such an appointment would be of significant benefit to the University.
Since Modified Service faculty jobs are terminated at conclusion of contract not to exceed one Academic Year, renewal requires rehire in Workday. The renewed contract should be based on the same EVPP template as for initial hire into Modified Service.
Scenarios
Scenario A: Faculty retiree is hired into Modified Service for Academic Year 2024-25. They are approved for Modified Service again in Academic Year 2025-26.
Offer a Modified Service contract for 8/16/2024-5/15/2025. Hire in Workday effective 8/16/2024 with an End Employment Date of 8/15/2025.
Terminate employment effective 8/15/2025 with reason “End of Assignment.”
Offer a Modified Service contract for 8/16/2025-5/15/2026. Hire in Workday effective 8/16/2025 with an End Employment Date of 8/15/2026.
Terminate employment effective 8/15/2026 with reason 'End of Assignment.”
Scenario B: Faculty retiree is hired into Modified Service for Academic Year 2024-25. They are approved to teach a course in summer 2025.
Offer a Modified Service contract for 8/16/2024-5/15/2025. Hire in Workday effective 8/16/2024 with an End Employment Date of 8/15/2025.
Process summer teaching Additional Job following guidance for Modified Service at COE: Summer Employment - Faculty. Offer a summer Modified Service contract.
End summer Additional Job effective on the last day of the summer contract.
Terminate employment effective 8/15/2025 with reason “End of Assignment.”
How to hire a faculty retiree into Modified Service in Workday
Reminder: A PAR (Prior Approval Request) is never used to hire retirees.
Review Modified Service guidance starting on page 4 at Faculty Retirement;
Follow detailed Workday instructions at Modified Service process to hire the retired faculty member in Workday, keeping in mind any needed service breaks.
Reminders:Use department chair’s JM sup org. Retiree position is always professional-track and Fixed Term.
Use the same Job Profile faculty member held at the time they retired.
Use costing center for professional-track faculty.
If the proposed work is for research-related activities, assign appropriate Scheduled Weekly Hours to allow effort certification.
DO NOT skip the “Maintain Employee Contract” subprocess, as this is the only indicator in Workday that the employee is on Modified Service.
Prepare a contract using the EVPP Modified Service (departmentalized) template and route for signatures.
One-year contracts for 9-month professional-track faculty (including faculty on Modified Service) should always end May 15. (The Workday End Employment Date can be August 15.)
Upload contract to Workday business process. See Maintain PTF Faculty Contracts W.I.G. for Workday instructions. For Retired-Active faculty, always use the following contract details:
Reason: Retiree
Contract Type: Faculty Modified Service
See Manage Non-Tenure Track Faculty - Workday Process Overview (WPO).
Please send suggested additions to this page and notifications about broken links to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.