Faculty Retirement 101: What Academic Professionals Should Know About Faculty Retirement Transitions Jean McLaughlin, Associate Director American Council

Faculty Retirement 101: What Academic Professionals Should Know About Faculty Retirement Transitions Jean McLaughlin, Associate Director American Council on Education November 7, 2014 Presentation to Upper Midwest HERC

Introduction The purpose of this presentation is to help faculty, administrators, and HR professionals understand faculty viewpoints on retirement transitions After attending this session, you will be armed with data to support your future endeavors in helping faculty transition into retirement Become aware of some best practices and other options that you might consider implementing in the future

Agenda 1.Faculty Retirement 101 quiz 2.Background on ACE/Sloan retirement project 3.Overview of issues surrounding faculty retirement 4.Faculty satisfaction and awareness of institutional programs and supports 5.Best practices in faculty retirement transitions 6.How HR can collaborate with their academic affairs office

Faculty Retirement 101 Quiz 1.What percentage of faculty plan to remain connected to their institution after their retirement? A.25% B.45% C.62% D.75% 2.Whom do faculty find the most helpful in discussing their career plans with? A.Fellow colleagues B.Department Chair C.Provost/Dean of the faculty D.Human Resources/Personnel

Faculty Retirement 101 Quiz 3. In our faculty study, which selection below represents the largest percentage of years served by faculty? A.6-10 years B.11-15 years C.16-20 years D.Over 20 years 4. Whom do faculty think values senior colleagues the most? A.Junior colleagues B.Students C.The administration

Faculty Retirement 101 Quiz 5. How do you know when someone has retired? A.They have moved to a warmer climate B.They turned 65 and are now on Social Security/Medicare C.They have accrued the appropriate years of service and/or age requirements D.They are now working for your competition 6. What do faculty feel are the best program(s) their institution offers them in making retirement easier? A.Financial Planning B.Part-time teaching after retirement C.Phased Retirement D.They dont know

Faculty Retirement 101 Quiz 7. What do faculty feel their institution can do better in making retirement easier? A.Discuss retirement more often and earlier in their career B.Create retiree center C.Improve post-tenure system D.They dont know 8. In our study of over 3300 faculty, what were faculty most likely to be dissatisfied about concerning retirement supports and transitions? A.(Lack of ) Office space on campus B.Senior colleagues being valued by the administration C.Opportunities to discuss their future career at their institution with their department chair or dean D.(Other) senior colleagues making the transition into retirement at the appropriate time

Faculty Retirement 101 Quiz 9. In our study of over 3300 faculty, faculty in which institutional type are most likely to be dissatisfied with their institutional supports for retirement transitions? A.Liberal Arts faculty B.Masters Large faculty (state schools/large regional or religious schools) C.Research Universities faculty 10. In our study of over 3300 faculty, which age group felt most satisfied with how senior colleagues were treated by their administration? A.30-39 years old B.40-49 years old C.50-59 years old D.60-69 years old

Background on ACE/Sloan Retirement Project

Project Background ACE has been partnering with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to investigate faculty career flexibility since 2003. In 2011, ACE launched a Sloan project to investigate faculty retirement transitions. Project activities included an extensive literature review, site visits, focus groups, an invitational conference, and an awards competition. Activities were designed to examine the perspectives from both faculty and administrators to learn on the campuses what these experiences are.

Competition Winners

Overview of Issues Surrounding Faculty Retirement

End of Mandatory Retirement From the institutions point of view: Negatives of end of mandatory retirement: Deadwood Cannot manage faculty composition in terms of age, diversity, popular majors, etc. Institutions are afraid of being sued for age discrimination Positives of end of mandatory retirement: Can keep those with institutional memory/reduce operational vulnerability Can keep stars who bring in large research grants Can keep great teachers

End of Mandatory Retirement

From the facultys point of view: Negatives of end of mandatory retirement: Realization/guilt over contributing to bottleneck Worried that their tenure line will disappear once they retire Feels safer to stay than to go Positives of end of mandatory retirement: Can continue to save for retirement Participate in shared governance without fear of dismissal Can continue to contribute to the public good

End of Mandatory Retirement Research from Fidelitys Retirement Wave publication Most faculty are not significantly delaying retirement (2013) because of the economy (69%) Of those delaying, 42% expect to pus their retirement date back 5 years or more (~13%) Research from Fidelitys Retirement Wave publication Most faculty are not significantly delaying retirement (2014) because of the economy (69%) Of those delaying, 42% expect to push their retirement date back 5 years or more (~13%)

Legal Aspects 3 types of laws create difficulties for campuses: 1.Age Discrimination Laws (both federal and state) 2.Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) 3.The IRS Code

Legal Aspects To avoid problems with the laws: Make sure that retirement decisions are voluntary. Use independent third parties to conduct financial planning seminars. Ask about an individuals retirement plan in the right way. Ask a broad range of faculty at the same time. Clarify that information is needed for institutional planning purposes and that they are not bound by their responses. Make inquiries in writing, so that eligible faculty can respond at their convenience, or not at all.

Legal Aspects Legal difficulties stem from institutional need to balance faculty compositions. In turn, the institution must make sure that retirement plans benefit both the institution and the faculty member. ACE identified several different types of retirement plans that are offered, with mixed reviews from faculty: Individual buy-outs (least popular) Age-based retirement plans Window plans Phased retirement plans (most popular)

Lack of Transparency ACE found that there is a lack of transparency in supports available for faculty. Most faculty are unaware of existing supports for faculty eligible for retirement. Faculty have trouble figuring out where to find information on retirementsome are looking in the wrong places, while others are getting misinformation from fellow colleagues. Faculty in private institutions emphasized that the process is very secretive. One faculty member stated that there was no information on where to go, how to negotiate, etc. and whether there is a spectrum of possibilities. It is an opaque black box.

Lack of Communication Faculty are used to having clear timelines and guidelines for their various career lifecycle transitionsi.e., tenure and promotion. They expect to receive the same clarity and support for retirement, and when this doesnt happen, they feel as though they are no longer valued or respected. Faculty are also used to communicating with the provost or academic affairs department when going through these career lifecycle transitions. Most are not familiar with their HR office, and feel that it is only focused on the hiring and termination of employees.

Faculty Satisfaction and Awareness of Institutional Programs and Supports

Faculty Survey Demographics N=3,382 Most participants were full professors (53%), associate professors (21%), or retired/emeritus (14%) 77% were tenured 81% were married The majority were long-serving: Over 20 years (53%) 16-20 years (10%) 11-15 years (13%)

Survey Design Asked to mark from Very Dissatisfied to Very Satisfied, included Dont Know and N/A. The Faculty Survey asked 37 questions on these areas: 1.Post tenure review and other pre-retirement opportunities 2.Phasing and transitioning supports [dont know about] 3.Campus culture regarding senior faculty [most happy] 4.Financial planning and medical insurance 5.Ongoing supports and opportunities in retirement

What are Faculty Satisfied About? 1.Senior colleagues are valued by their junior colleagues at my institution (69.7%) 2.Senior colleagues are valued by the students at my institution (68.5%) 3.Email privileges (62.6%) 4.Library privileges (61.2%) 5.Senior colleagues are valued by the administration at my institution (55.2%) 6.Ongoing opportunities to discuss my future career at this institution with my department chair/ dean (52.7%) 7.Participating in lectures/performing arts/international opportunities (50.4%)

What are Faculty Dissatisfied About? 1.(Lack of) office space on campus (in retirement) (21%) 2.Senior colleagues are valued by the administration at my institution (19.2%) 3.Ongoing opportunities to discuss my future career at this institution with my department chair/ dean (16.1%) 4.Senior colleagues make the transition into retirement at the appropriate times in their careers (16%) 5.14.8% wanted individual Financial Planning that is independent of retirement fund companies (14.8%) 6.11.6% feel that junior colleagues are not valued by senior colleagues 7.10.1% feel there are not opportunities for mentoring junior colleague

Differences by Institutional Type Faculty at liberal arts colleges were least satisfied with ability to phase, retirement transition counseling, and financial planning seminars, but felt they were most valued by students, enjoyed the parking privileges and liked to still teach/take part in international opportunities. Faculty at masters large institutions were least satisfied with retirement transition counseling [especially with family members included in the sessions], how their students valued them, and the ability to develop a legacy, while they liked how their junior colleagues treated them and the ability to mentor them, the time they had to phase into retirement, and ongoing access to the library. Faculty at research institutions were, on average, not dissatisfied with any of the items, although gave low satisfaction scores to retirement transition counseling, the ability to participate in continued health insurance, and legacy programs. They were satisfied with parking, ongoing teaching opportunities, and ongoing shared governance.

Desire to Remain Connected with Institution Post-Retirement

Themes from Open-Ended Responses

Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions Canisius College, faculty in the Alfred P. Sloan Emeritus Faculty Suite. Daniel Starr, Professor Emeritus of History; Anthony Bellia, Emeritus Dean; Frank Riga, Professor Emeritus of English.

Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions: Pre-Retirement Comprehensive one-stop-shop website for retirement Retirement checklist for faculty Communications campaign Discussing retirement process with senior faculty without violating age discrimination laws Financial planning with an outside expert Health insurance transition planning Individual counselinglife planning sessions

Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions: Retirement Phased retirement policy options Transparent policies Tracking usage of policies Legacy projects Acknowledgement and celebration of career upon retirement

Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions: Post-Retirement Creating a culture that includes retirees Ensuring that retired faculty can maintain connections to the campus Supports post-retirement (maintaining email, library privileges, shared office space) Retiree associations Encore career programs Volunteer options within the community Part-time teaching at campus

Where can I hear more?

How HR can Collaborate with their Academic Affairs Office

Be able to explain the value of the oftentimes transactional nature of faculty retirement options that HR offices provide Position your office as offering strategic recruitment and retention options to deans and department chairs, even for young faculty Mentality is I have time to make up my retirement portfolio Know who your faculty gatekeepers are. Befriend them!

Takeaways Faculty retirement should be a strategic HR issue. Institutions should adapt to the trend of faculty working longer, and should provide supports for them to do so, as well as make sure that the campus culture embraces senior faculty. Retired faculty can be a valuable, untapped resource for the campus.

The End! More questions or comments? ACEs Sloan Retirement Projects Webpage: http://www.acenet.edu/leadership/programs/ Pages/Faculty-Retirement-Transitions.aspx

Documents

Faculty Retirement 101: What Academic Professionals Should Know About Faculty Retirement Transitions Jean McLaughlin, Associate Director American Council