Skip to main content

Working at Cornell

Contract College Tenured Faculty Phased Retirement

Eligible faculty members may choose to reduce their job duties and scheduled hours prior to retirement, to make a gradual transition before their official retirement date. This process is a mutual agreement between the faculty member and their department. 

The university's Phased Retirement Program for Contract College Faculty permits eligible full-time tenured faculty members in the contract colleges to reduce their teaching, research, and administrative duties prior to retirement. This Program allows a gradual transition of a specified duration of time (up to five years) to retirement for both the faculty member and his or her department and allows for a planned recruitment of new faculty members.

This Program was developed and endorsed by the Provost and approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees at their December 1998 meeting.

We are currently updating the details for this page regarding participation, benefits-eligibility, forms and agreements. Please contact Gordon Barger, Senior Director of Benefits Strategy and Initiatives, at glb73@cornell.edu with questions regarding the Phased Programs.

Eligibility

  1. From January 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000, phased retirement was available to all full-time tenured faculty members who are age 55 and above who have held full-time appointments at the university for at least ten years.
  2. Effective July 1, 2000, phased retirement was available to all full-time tenured faculty members between the ages of 55 and 70 who have held full-time appointments at the university for at least ten years.
  3. Effective July 1, 2000, any full-time tenured faculty member who fails to qualify for a phased retirement agreement under point 2 solely because the individual reaches ten years of service after age 70 will be eligible for a phased retirement agreement for twelve months after he or she achieves ten years of service.
  4. Interested faculty members should discuss plans with their department chair and/or dean's representative to develop a mutually agreeable set of duties, appointment dates and duration. Appointments must be at least half-time for one term each academic year. Normally, appointments should not exceed half-time for the full academic year. Most agreements are established to be half-time each academic year as appointments less than half-time impact benefits eligibility, as noted below.

Participation

Once a formal written agreement has been completed, the faculty member's department will be required to submit notification of the member's change in employment status. This should occur at least 90 days in advance of the beginning of the phased retirement period.