Faculty Retirement Planning Program
In This Guide
- Understanding the Faculty Retirement Planning Program
- Eligibility
- Current Retirement Pathways
- Process
- FAQs
Understanding the Faculty Retirement Planning Program
The Faculty Retirement Planning Program was created by the Provost Office, Deans, Faculty Senate, and the President's Office to provide a predictable and proactive guide toward retirement. The three pathways are beneficial to you the retiree, and the University as it allows both you and the department adequate time to plan for the future. These long-term retirement pathways help ensure a smooth transition and facilitate a transition process for new hiring needs.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Faculty Retirement Planning Program, you must qualify for one of the retiree classifications detail here and in the Retirement Benefits policy. You should determine your retiree status prior to determining your retirement pathway.
Current Retirement Pathways
Plan B One Year Contract (Retiring in May 2025)
Plan B is for faculty members who provide one year's academic notice of their intent to retire. The deadline for faculty members to opt into this plan is November 15, 2023.
Contract Terms
- Under the Plan B pathway, you will receive a 3.25% merit pay increase during the final academic year of service, providing the annual performance review is "effective" or better.
- During the last academic year, you will not be required to participate in University committees, but you may choose to continue serving. If you are on a departmental and school/college committee that is deemed essential by the Dean or department chair, you may still be required to participate.
- A retirement planning award of $7,500 is payable within 45 days of signing a memorandum of understanding and retirement contract (January or February)
- During the last academic semester, a 50% reduction of workload is offered, with pay still at the full contract amount. If you accept this reduction in workload, you will work with the dean or department chair to determine the workload distribution of teaching, research, and other activities.
Plan C Two Year Contract (Retiring in May 2026)
Plan C is for faculty who give a two academic year notice of their intent to retire. The deadline for faculty members to opt into this plan is November 15, 2023.
Contract Terms
- Under the Plan C pathway, you will receive a 3.25% merit pay increase for each of the final two academic years, providing the annual performance review is "effective" or better.
- During the last academic year, you will not be required to participate in University committees, but you may choose to continue serving. If you are on a departmental and school/college committee that is deemed essential by the Dean or department chair, you may still be required to participate.
- A retirement planning award of $7,500 is payable within 45 days of signing a memorandum of understanding and retirement contract (January or February).
- In the final spring semester, you are offered a retirement transition sabbatical (2 quarters), or a 50% reduction of workload during the full last contract year. In each case, pay is still at the full contractual amount. If you accept this reduction in workload, you will work with the dean or department chair to determine the workload distribution of teaching, research, and other activities.
Process
- FACULTY INITIATION: Faculty member should discuss their intent to retire with their department chair. Then the faculty member requests retirement by submitting the Faculty Retirement Program Interest Form by November 15, 2023. Please note, late submissions or requests for retirement dates outside of those indicated on the form will not be approved as part of the program.
- DEAN APPROVAL: HR will collect all retirement submissions and connect with the faculty member’s department Business Officer and Dean for their review and approval.
- ELIGIBILITY CONFIRMED: HR will verify that each faculty member that requested retirement is age 55 or older and has completed at least 5 consecutive years of service at Baylor.
- RETIREMENT CONTRACT: HR will generate a retirement contract (letter of appointment) and email to approved faculty member in December 2023.
- Any other elements requested by the Faculty member should be reviewed with the Chair/School and will not be included in the retirement contract.
- The faculty member will have 45 days to review the contract and return to HR via email. If faculty member does not return the signed contract within 45 days the faculty member will no longer be eligible for the program.
- When signed contract is returned to HR, the one-time payment of $7,500 will be processed during the January or February.
- AFTER CONTRACT SIGNATURE:
- Faculty member to receive annual 3.25% merit increase. Annual contracts and pay change statements will not continue. The retirement contract will be the last contract the faculty member will receive from Baylor.
- Faculty member invited to Retirement Planning info sessions hosted by HR. These sessions are held virtually and share additional resources.
- Faculty member will receive standard exit information from HR a few weeks prior to exit date.
- The Office of the Provost will provide boxes in which retiring faculty may pack books and other items when vacating their offices. Each retiring faculty member should work with his or her department to create a work order to obtain carts and assistance to move belongings from their office to the faculty member’s vehicle.
For additional questions, faculty members should consult with their Business Officer, Provost Office, or reach out to askHR@baylor.edu.
Additionally, financial planning resources are available through Captrust. For questions or more information about the program or retirement, contact the AskHR Service Center at askHR@baylor.edu or 254.710.2000.
FAQs
No. Participation in the faculty retirement program is completely voluntary. Whether a faculty member chooses to take advantage of this program is entirely at their discretion. Baylor recommends employees considering the opportunity consult with their own legal counsel and only accept the opportunity if they believe this opportunity is right for them and they are voluntarily entering into the program. Baylor employees are not required to accept the offer and there shall be no retaliation for those who decline the opportunity.
The decision to retire is up to you. Once a decision is made to accept the Program, you should notify your Chair as soon as possible.
For the purposes of the Faculty Retirement Program, the years of service calculation for each eligible employee was determined by using the continuous years of service in the Baylor Human Resource records.
Monthly paid employees will receive the payment on the January or February regularly scheduled pay check.
Yes. Eligible employees who choose to retire with through the Faculty Retirement Program will receive retiree benefits in which they are eligible for. More information is available on the Baylor Retiree website.
Faculty can continue to retire on a schedule that works best for them and their future however you will not be considered as part of the program. The additional lump sum payment or other benefit created through the program will not be awarded.
No, this timeline is designed to provide an appropriate planning opportunity to both employees and managers and must be applied consistently to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.
The state makes the determination on unemployment. Baylor will report reason for departure as retirement which normally negates unemployment compensation.
