Faculty Rights Tip: Thinking about Retirement? Know Your Rights to the FERP and PRTB Programs
Our Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) provides two programs for tenured faculty who are close to retirement. Article 29 covers the provisions for the Faculty Early Retirement (FERP) program and Article 30 covers the Pre-Retirement Reduction in Time Base (PRTB) program.
The FERP program allows eligible faculty to retire and continue teaching for a time base of up to 50%. Participating faculty may draw their retirement and 50% of their annual salary for up to five years.
The PRTB program allows eligible faculty to phase into retirement through a reduction in time base before retiring while maintaining full retirement credit and other benefits for a maximum of five years.
Pre-tax income and sick leave are reduced proportionally during the period of participation in PRTB, but retirement service credit and final retirement benefits are calculated based on the full-time equivalent salary at the time of retirement.
Determining which program is the best fit for you will vary. You can read Articles 29 and 30 to see the specific provisions. To learn more, contact your campus human resources department.
Our immediate past Associate Vice President for Lecturers, North, and autodidact in the intricacies of retirement and FERP, Jonathan Karpf, has created this FAQ on retirement, with detailed answers to 21 common questions.
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