Chapter 11 – Retirement

(Amended 9/93; 7/02; 6/05; 4/09; 1/11; 5/14; 10/15; 9/16; 5/18; 4/2/19; 7/1/23)

Effective July 1, 2023, this policy has been revised. For individual changes, see the redlined version of III-11.7.

11.1 General

The mention of specific ages in the statement of retirement policies in the succeeding paragraphs of this section does not preclude raising the question of capacity to perform required work during the course of any person's employment with the University. In addition, the mention of specific retirement ages does not deprive the University of the right to terminate employment at any time for good and sufficient reason.

11.2 (Reserved for future use)

11.3 Phased Retirement Program

(Regents 12/16/81; amended 6/17/82, 6/20/84, 3/11/87, and 6/17/92; 4/09)

 University faculty, professional and scientific, and merit system staff members holding permanent appointments of 50-percent time or greater are eligible to participate in the University's phased retirement program. Initiation of a Phased Retirement Agreement can only occur if all parties are mutually satisfied with the arrangements. Approval of the appropriate dean and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost is necessary for faculty. Approval of the appropriate dean, vice president, or Director of University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics, as well as the Chief Human Resources Officer or designee, is necessary for professional and scientific and merit system staff. There is no right to enter the phased retirement program without the approval of all parties designated above. The phased retirement program is made available by the Board of Regents and can be modified or eliminated at any time. If this program is eliminated or modified, the terms of the program at the point of which an agreement is entered into will prevail, and those who have entered into an agreement with the University will be permitted to complete the terms of that agreement. An individual or department wishing information on the phased retirement program may obtain it by contacting the University Benefits Office, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, or the Chief Human Resources Officer.

11.4 University Funded Retirement Plan

(Regents amended 6/24/71; 1/11; 10/15)

All University faculty and staff members (except students, fellows, house staff, adjunct faculty and others) must participate in a retirement plan and may elect to participate in the Funded Retirement Plan (TIAA) in lieu of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS). For details of these plans, see the Retirement section of the University Benefits Office website.

11.6 Supplemental Retirement Annuities

(Amended 4/09; 1/11)

Each staff member has an opportunity to participate in the Voluntary Retirement Savings Program in addition to the University's retirement program. Information concerning this program is available in the Retirement section of the University Benefits Office website.

11.7 Emeritus Status for Retirees

(Regents 12/10/71; amended 7/01; 6/05; 5/14; 9/16; 5/18; 4/2/19; 7/1/23)

Effective July 1, 2023, this policy has been revised. For individual changes, see the redlined version

The status and title of "Emeritus" are not entitlements; rather they are conferred upon certain faculty and staff members, described below, who retire after having served the University under honorable circumstances for a significant period of time, or in other cases may be conferred by central administration or the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

  1. Definitions.
    1. "Retire" means to terminate service from the University and be eligible to immediately receive retirement benefits under any approved University retirement plan.
    2. "Regular faculty," when used in this section, means tenured faculty or salaried clinical, research, or instructional track faculty at any rank.
    3. "Research scientists" means assistant, associate, and research scientists.
    4. "Research engineers" means assistant, associate, and research engineers.
    5. "Librarian/Law Librarian" means those holding the job titles Specialist Librarian, Expert Librarian, Senior Librarian, Associate Director, and University Librarian.
    6. "Honorable circumstances" means that the faculty or staff member was not terminated for cause.
    7. "Significant period of time" normally shall be construed as 10 or more years of continuous service.
  2. Automatic conferral of emeritus faculty status. The following shall be accorded emeritus faculty status automatically when they retire from the University under honorable circumstances, including Long Term Disability, after serving the University for a significant period of time: 1) regular faculty, and 2) central administrative officers, deans, and directors, provided they also hold regular faculty status.
  3. Automatic conferral of emeritus staff status. The following shall be accorded emeritus staff status automatically when they retire from the University under honorable circumstances, including Long Term Disability, after serving the University for a significant period of time: 1) research scientists, 2) research engineers, and 3) Librarians/Law Librarians.
  4. Permissive conferral of emeritus status.
    1. Presidents. Presidents who do not qualify for emeritus status automatically under paragraph b may receive emeritus faculty status, as appropriate, by action of the Board of Regents.
    2. Upon the recommendation of the dean(s) of the college(s) in which the faculty member served and with the approval of the Executive Vice President and Provost, the following may be accorded emeritus faculty status:
      1. Regular faculty who retire from the University under honorable circumstances before having served a significant period of time;
      2. Regular faculty who terminate their service to the University under honorable circumstances whether or not they have served a significant period of time;
      3. Non-regular faculty (e.g., adjunct faculty) of the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor who terminate their service to the University under honorable circumstances after serving a significant period of time.
    3. The Executive Vice President and Provost may grant emeritus faculty status to central administrative officers, deans, and directors who otherwise would be eligible for emeritus status under paragraph b, except that they retire or terminate their service to the University either before having served a significant period of time.
    4. The Chief Human Resources Officer, in consultation with the Executive Vice President and Provost, may grant emeritus staff status to those who otherwise would be eligible for emeritus status under paragraph c, except that they retire or terminate their service to the University before having served a significant period of time.
    5. In all cases recommended under paragraphs d(2), d(3), or d(4), the relevant administrator shall confer with appropriate faculty (e.g., Faculty Senate, Emeritus Faculty Council) or staff (e.g., Staff Council) bodies and shall accord great weight to the opinions of those faculty or staff bodies before determining emeritus status.
  5. Titles. The title conferred upon achievement of emeritus status shall be the last held before retirement followed by "Emeritus." For example, an Associate Professor would become Associate Professor Emeritus, an Adjunct Professor would become Adjunct Professor Emeritus, a Dean would become Dean Emeritus, an Assistant Research Scientist would become an Assistant Research Scientist Emeritus, and a Librarian/Law Librarian would become Librarian Emeritus. However, central administrative officers, deans, and directors, provided they also hold faculty status, may select either the administrative or faculty rank title followed by "Emeritus," regardless of whether they retire directly from the administrative position or return to the faculty before retirement. Those who attain emeritus status may notify the University that they wish to use "Emerita," and the University will do so under circumstances in which it otherwise would use "Emeritus."
  6. Process. Appointments to emeritus status (and deletions due to deaths) shall be included in the Register of Personnel Changes and shall be reported through appropriate channels for personnel changes to the Human Resources Office.
  7. Revocation. The University may revoke emeritus status, however conferred, at any time for good cause.
  8. Limitations. Conferral and revocation of emeritus status is not subject to review under any of the University's grievance procedures.