Phased Retirement Program

The applicant for the Phased Retirement Program (PRP) must be a full-time tenure faculty member who at the time of entry into the program will be at least 60 years old and will have completed at least 15 full-time years of service at Le Moyne College. The goal of the program is to permit faculty members to reduce their teaching loads to one of the three options: two- thirds, one-half or one-third of normal time.

The Phased Retirement Program is voluntary but not an entitlement. Applications are reviewed by the department chair and academic dean. The final decision is made by the academic vice president on the basis of the data and recommendations submitted to him.

Once admitted to the program the faculty member cannot subsequently request to leave the program because the College will normally wish to hire new faculty in good faith. Entry into the Phased Retirement Program through any option implies the faculty member's intention to enter full retirement at age 70 or upon completion of three years from the start of li1e program, whichever occurs first. At this time, the faculty member ceases teaching and the College pays no further salary. In the program, the faculty member maintains the following monetary privileges:

a) Health Insurance with the College contribution proportion remaining the same as current full-time contracts.
b) Pension contribution at the same proportion as current full-time contracts.
c) Annual salary increment determined in the usual method.
d) Tuition remission benefits as stipulated in the policies for current full-time contracts.
e) Payment of FICA according to current Social Security regulations.
f) Protection as full-time, tenured member in any announced "reduction in force"
g) Voting and participation in department meetings.
h) Access to parking, mailbox, library, computer resources, and clerical services.
i) Faculty office, as available, consonant with the member's duties as well as departmental and College needs.

The maximum period of phased retirement is three years. At the end of this period retirement will be complete. During the phased retirement the faculty member may choose among three options subject to the following limitations. First, he or she may elect to move from one option to an option of lesser time commitment. However, the faculty member may not later elect an increased level of activity.

A faculty member in the phased retirement program may request full retirement at any time. Notification of this intent should be given no later than February 1, for the subsequent year .

The individual faculty member and the respective department chair or program director will each make a good faith effort to develop a mutually acceptable plan of active involvement by the faculty member during the period of phased retirement.

The phased retirement program provides for three levels of reduced faculty activity: two-thirds, one-half and one-third of normal time.

Two-thirds Option This option will provide 70% of the faculty member's prior year full-time equivalent salary, incremented by the current year's annual across-the-board increase. This option will normally involve active service during both the Fall and Spring terms. For those departments which define a full-time teaching load as seven courses per year, this option will normally require a teaching load of 5 courses per year . In cases where the standard full-time teaching load differs or where the number of credit hours per course may exceed three, appropriate adjustments will be made in the number of courses and the percent of full-time equivalent salary to be paid.

One-half Option This option will provide 50% of the faculty member's prior year full- time equivalent salary, incremented by the current year's annual across-the-board increase. Depending on the programmatic needs of a department or program, this option may involve either a reduced level of teaching during both the Fall and Spring terms, or essentially full-time service during on term. In the context of a normal full-time teaching load of seven courses per year, a faculty member may teach either two courses one term and one course the other or three courses in one term and zero courses the other, depending on programmatic needs. In cases where the standard full-time teaching load differs or where the number of credit hours per course may exceed three, appropriate adjustments will be made in the number of courses and the percent of full-time equivalent salary lo be paid.

One-third Option This option will provide 30% of the faculty member's prior year full- lime equivalent salary, incremented by the current year's annual across-the-board increase. Depending on the programmatic needs of a department or program, this option may involve either a reduced level of leaching during both the Fall and Spring terms or during one term only. In the context of a normal teaching load of seven courses per year , the faculty member may leach either one course each term or two courses in one term and zero courses the other. In cases where the standard full-lime teaching load differs or where the number of credit hours per courses may exceed three, appropriate adjustments will be made in the number of the courses and the percent of full-time equivalent salary to be paid.