Phased Retirement

Purpose:

To describe the College of Liberal Arts policies and procedures for initiating and executing a phased retirement contract on behalf of a faculty member.

Relevant Definitions:

Phased Retirement: a post-retirement arrangement whereby a faculty member is hired into a part-time, non-tenure track appointment, under conditions agreed to in a formal contract. As differentiated from Modified Service.

Associate Dean: For purposes of this article, refers to the Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs.

APS: Academic Personnel Services; an area of the Provost's Office that oversees faculty appointment processes & other related matters for UT.

Process:

Faculty member notifies Department Chair of interest in phased retirement.
Department Chair:
1. Reviews HOP 2-2420 on Phased Retirement, refers faculty member to the HOP, and reviews the HOP with the faculty member to ensure responsibilities and procedures are understood
2. Refers faculty member to the university’s general retirement checklist
Department Chair contacts the Associate Dean to request phased retirement for the faculty member. In particular, the Chair will be prepared to make the case as to why granting phased retirement for the faculty member is in the best interests of the university.
Department Chair notifies faculty member of discussion's outcome.
1. Additional negotiation among faculty member, Department Chair, and Associate Dean, may occur, as necessary.
Once faculty member decides to proceed with request, they should complete the contract template (Attachment A from HOP 2-2420, at the bottom).
1. Three items should be submitted via the Faculty Separations Portal for COLA HR review (items 2 & 3 may be combined in a single document):
  1. Phased retirement contract draft;
  2. Department Chair approval;
  3. Associate Dean approval.
COLA HR will review the draft and return to the department with any changes.
The faculty member should sign the contract, and then the signed contract should be uploaded to the Faculty Separations Portal.
COLA HR processes request in Service Now, which will route via the chair and associate dean for final approval by the Provost’s Office.
Meanwhile, the faculty member should proceed with their retirement plans, following the steps of the UT pre-retirement checklist.
1. The Department Manager (or delegate) processes the Termination BP in Workday, following normal separation procedures, once their retirement status has been confirmed by central HR, etc.
2. For faculty separating 8/15 and beginning phased retirement as of 8/16:
  1. Instead of terminating on 8/15, the Department Manager will process a BP reducing the retiring faculty member’s SWH to zero effective 8/16.
  2. Once the SWH reduction BP has been approved, the Termination BP would then processed effective 8/31.
APS executes phased retirement job in Workday, according to the terms of the approved phased retirement contract.

At the end of the phased retirement contract:

Department processes faculty member's final separation in Workday at end of phased retirement contract (Reason: End of assignment).
Note: if the faculty member has been awarded an Emeritus title, the Termination step must be final-approved before the Emeritus assignment can be processed. (See also Emeritus)
Note: Amendments to phased contract appointment dates require special handling. If a faculty member wishes to change their contract dates (i.e., end the agreement early), contact COLA HR and also refer to the Provost guidance on faculty retirement.

Note on Governance:

Departments may choose to require governing body review of faculty phased retirement requests. Department governance documents should specify whether phased retirement requests are reviewed by the department chair only or the department chair and the faculty governance committee.

Points of emphasis:

One of the most important things for faculty seeking phased retirement: They ought to proactively initiate their retirement process with Central HR. Faculty often lack awareness that phased retirement involves at least two distinct steps that must happen sequentially: 1) formal retirement, and then 2) re-hire into a phased-retiree job.
- Delays and complications most often occur from issues on the retirement end of things, rather than on the phased retirement contract side.
The key department responsibilities are
- To read the HOP on phased retirement and ensure communications with the faculty member comply with the requirements set forth in the HOP.
- Follow up with the faculty member to ensure the formal retirement process is underway.
- Ensure the draft contract, along with chair and associate dean approvals, are submitted to COLA HR for review

Policies:

COLA faculty will be approved for phased retirement contracts only following careful consideration by the dean, and only when a request is demonstrated to be in the college’s best interest.
Phased retirement requests in excess of one-year contracts will be considered in exceptional circumstances only.
HOP 2-2420 Modified Service and Phased Retirement