SUBJECT:  EARLY RETIREMENT OF FACULTY MEMBERS

APPLICABILITY:  FULL-TIME TENURED FACULTY

1.         Policy: 

It is the policy of the University to provide full-time tenured faculty members * the opportunity to take early retirement at age 55 or when the combined years of service and age equals 80, regardless of the retirement program.  The faculty member shall relinquish full-time status and tenure in exchange for a commitment on the part of UNT to pay a proportion of the salary at the time of retirement commensurate with the workload each academic year.  The assignment of workload must conform to the Policy on Academic Workloads (#15.1.9 in the UNT Policy Manual).  The proportion of salary and work load may be up to one-half during both fall and spring semesters or 100 percent during either (but not both) of a fall and spring semester of a single academic year (The agreement on workload and remuneration shall represent a commitment of five years.  Additional appointments may be made on a year-to-year basis, compensation becoming the responsibility of the employing department.) 

2.          General: 

2.1  During the period of modified service, the retired faculty member shall be eligible for salary adjustments and shall be accorded all of the usual privileges enjoyed by full-time faculty members. 

2.2  A retired faculty member may terminate any employment under this policy by giving written notice to his/her Dean at least 30 days prior to the beginning of a given semester. 

2.3  Any agreement made in connection with an early retirement is subject to all existing state and federal statutes and conditional upon the availability of funding by subsequent sessions of the legislature. 

For each individual on modified service due to early retirement during the fall and/or spring semester, the Dean shall prepare a report detailing both workload and compensation to be presented at the summer meeting of the Board of Regents. 

2.4  Prior to the early retirement of any individual faculty member, his/her Dean shall submit for approval a written document stipulating compliance with the academic work load policy. 

2.5  A TRS retiree is required by TRS to be off the payroll for at least one calendar month before reemployment after retirement may commence. 

2.6  This policy, as revised, shall be effective December 1, 2001.

* For the purpose of this policy “full-time tenured faculty members” includes librarians with five-year contracts.