LAS Specialized Retirement Incentive Program 2022

Executive Summary: As part of a plan for reimagining the future for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the university is offering a Specialized Retirement Incentive Program (SRIP) to eligible tenured faculty.

Eligibility

An active employee of the university will be eligible based on meeting the entirety of the following criteria:

  • The employee must have a primary academic appointment in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS) or in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) provided the CALS faculty member’s appointment resides in a dually administered department with LAS1;
  • The faculty member must hold a tenured appointment in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in a dually administered department with LAS;
  • The employee must currently have a medical benefits-eligible appointment with the university;
  • The employee must have continuous service and age that is equal to 70 and be at least sixty (60) years of age at the time of retirement;
  • The employee must not have already communicated and received approval to retire or resign prior to the announcement of the SRIP program;
  • The employee must not already be participating in another ISU retirement program (e.g., phased retirement);
  • Eligible retirement dates are December 31, 2022, May 15, 2023 or June 30, 2023.

Note, in order to comply with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act (OWBPA), faculty participating in the SRIP have 45 calendar days after having been advised that they are approved for the program to consider the RIO agreement.  After signing the agreement, the faculty member then has 7 calendar days to revoke.

  • The employee must submit an election form indicating interest no later than December 2, 2022; however, to comply with the rules above if the employee wishes to retire on December 31, 2022, Application must be made no later than November 1, 2022.
  • The employee agrees to fully retire within the parameters established for continuity of service, but no later than June 30, 2023;

1 Dually Administered Departments between LAS and CALS are: Roy J. Carver Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology; Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology; Department of Economics; Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology; Department of Sociology; and Department of Statistics.

Approval of Retirement Incentive

Any eligible employee may submit an election form indicating interest for the specialized retirement incentive. The decision to submit the election form is voluntary and initiated by the employee. Approval is at the discretion of the Dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences or the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, based on the tenure home of the faculty member.

Employees approved for the retirement incentive program would not be eligible to be rehired at the university while within the terms of the program and its incentive period. Any exceptions to the rehire parameter during this time would require an employee to repay the value of the incentives received.

Retirement Incentive Options

Eligible employees may choose one of two retirement incentive options:

  • Option 1: Two Years of Retirement Contributions Plus Health/Dental Coverage. For two years after the Employee’s Separation Date, the University agrees to pay continued monthly TIAA or AIG VALIC employer contributions equivalent to that received by active employees over the same time period as well as Employee’s medical and dental coverage based on retiree coverage election, up to “self and spouse/partner” plan level, including employee and employer premiums. IPERS plans will require a one-time, up-front payout equal to two years of employer contributions equivalent to that received by active employees as of the Employee's Separation Date. Eligibility for medical and dental contribution under this option requires 5 years of continuous participation in the plans prior to retirement.  Note: If/when you are Medicare eligible, you will be required to enroll in Medicare Part A and B and the ISU Wellmark plan will become secondary to Medicare. This SRIP option does not include any subsidy towards Medicare B premiums or B and D income related monthly adjustment amounts.  
  • Option 2: Three Years of Retirement Contributions. For three years after the Employee’s Separation Date, the University agrees to pay continued monthly TIAA or AIG VALIC employer contributions equivalent to that received by active employees over the same time period. IPERS plans will require a one-time, up-front payout equal to three years of employer contributions equivalent to that received by active employees as of the Employee's Separation Date.

In the event of the employee’s death, the university’s obligation to pay the benefit will cease on the first day of the month following the date of death. In the case of medical coverage, the employee’s surviving spouse or dependent may elect to continue coverage at their expense.

Important Program Dates

  • The SRIP will begin to accept employees’ expressions of interest in the program on October 3, 2022.
  • Deadline for expressing interest in SRIP participation is December 2, 2022.
    • November 1, 2022 if a December 31, 2022 retirement date is requested.
  • No requests will be accepted after 5:00PM on December 2, 2022.
  • The latest retirement date allowed will be June 30, 2023.

The SRIP Request Process

  • Login to Workday
  • In the Workday Search Bar type “Create Request”
  • In the Request Type Box enter “SRIP 2023” and hit enter
  • In the Describe Request box, type “SRIP 2023 Request for Retirement Incentive”
  • Enter one of the approved retirement dates
    • 9 month faculty can retire on 12/31/22 or 5/15/23
    • 12 month faculty can retire on 12/31/22 or 6/30/23
  • Select either Option 1 or Option 2
  • Read Terms & Conditions
  • Enter the date you complete your request
  • Click Submit