Phased Retirement Plan

Phased Retirement Program

A. Purpose.

The Phased Retirement Program (PRP) allows a Faculty member to retire at or before the age of 70 by means of a gradual transition from full-time teaching to full retirement while minimizing the financial losses incurred by participating in the program. The PRP will usually provide for the employment of a new Assistant Professor in the first two years after a senior Faculty member enters the program, thus allowing for some flexibility in staff assignments while the senior Faculty member participates in the program.

B. Eligibility.

To be eligible to participate in the PRP a Faculty member at Washington and Lee University must:

Have tenured faculty status in an academic department, academic program or the School of Law;
Have served a minimum of ten full-time equivalent years at Washington and Lee University with Faculty status as of July 1 prior to entering PRP;
Be between the ages of 59½ and 68.
Be aged 59 ½ before July 1, 2023 in order to participate in either the 4-year Maximum Phased Retirement Program OR the 3-Year Maximum Phased Retirement Program.
Faculty aged 59 ½ after July 1, 2023 are eligible to participate in the 3-year Maximum Phased Retirement Program ONLY.

C. Phased Retirement Period, Teaching Schedule, Salary, and Benefits.

A Faculty member becomes eligible to enter the program in the academic years in which they reach the ages of 59½ to 68. Having entered the program, the Faculty member will be given a half-time teaching assignment for the period of the PRP. Upon completing the period of half-time employment, the Faculty member will retire from Washington and Lee University not later than the end of the academic year in which the age of 70 is reached.

4-Year Maximum Phased Retirement Program - The PRP salary to be paid to the individual in the first year will be 75% of the base salary and 50% of the base salary for the remaining year(s) in the program. The base salary will be adjusted each subsequent academic year in the same manner that the base salary of all regular full-time Faculty members is adjusted. The faculty member may participate in the PRP up to 4-years.

3-Year Maximum Phased Retirement Program - The PRP salary to be paid to the individual in the first and second year of the program will be 75% of the base salary and 50% of the base salary in the third year of the program. The base salary will be adjusted each academic year in the same manner that the base salary of all regular full-time Faculty members is adjusted. The faculty member may participate in the PRP up to 3-years. For the purpose of determining the PRP salary, the individual's regular full-time salary in the academic year in which the program begins is called the base salary. A Faculty member participating in the program may choose to augment the Washington and Lee University salary by beginning to draw on their TIAA or Fidelity retirement-income.

In addition to the retirement salary, the University will continue during the PRP period to make premium contributions to the individual's regular TIAA or Fidelity retirement contract. Premium contributions will be based on the Washington and Lee salary for each academic year. The University will also continue to pay its portion of social security contributions and its share of the premiums for health, life, and disability insurance coverage.

D. Other Benefits.

A Faculty member participating in PRP will remain eligible for the college tuition benefit, for travel support, and for both Lenfest Summer Grant and Law Center (half grant).

E. Notification of Participation.

An individual planning to enter PRP must notify in writing the department head and the appropriate dean not later than July 1 of the year prior to the academic year in which they plan to enter the program. For faculty aged 59 ½ prior to July 1, 2023, please notify the dean of the desired 4-year or 3-Year Maximum PRP. Once an individual officially enters the Program (July 1 of the first year), the only means of withdrawing from it is through full retirement.

F. Additional Information.

Questions concerning eligibility and application procedures and requests for additional information should be directed to the appropriate dean. Questions concerning the retirement salary and benefits should be directed to the Executive Director of Human Resources.

G. Definitions.

Following are definitions or explanations of terms used above in the description of PRP

Faculty Status - tenured faculty who teach full time in an academic department or in the School of Law.

Academic Department - includes all academic departments and established interdisciplinary programs as described in the University Catalog.

Base Salary - is defined as the Faculty member's full-time salary which would have been earned the first year of participation in PRP.

Years of Service - will be counted on a full-time equivalent basis and need not be consecutive years of service

Half-time Teaching Assignment - will be interpreted in the College and Williams School as half the prevailing teaching load at the time a faculty member enters phased retirement; in the School of Law, it will be interpreted as six semester hours per year.