Colleagues,
The Board of Trustees will consider a voluntary retirement incentive program for University of Tennessee, Knoxville, faculty when the board meets later this month. The proposal will be heard by the Finance and Administration Committee on October 21 and by the full board on October 22.
The proposed program is completely voluntary and applies only to faculty. Information about the program will be included in the October Board of Trustees meeting agenda, which will be posted next week on the board’s website.
I wanted to let you know in advance and assure you that details and outreach will be coming soon if the plan is approved.
The purpose of the plan is to create flexibility for the university to align resources with new strategic vision goals related to teaching, research, and engagement and to provide a benefit to faculty eligible under the program.
If approved by the board, the incentive program will be open to UT Knoxville faculty—including UTIA and UTSI faculty—who hold a regular faculty appointment, including regular faculty serving in administrative roles.
To be eligible, faculty must meet one of the following criteria as of June 30, 2022:
- Eligible for either service retirement or early retirement under the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System or the Joint Contributory Retirement System with at least 20 years of service
or - A participant in the Optional Retirement Program with at least 20 years of service
The plan proposes incentive payments of six months of base salary for 20–25 years of service, nine months of base salary for 26–29 years of service, and 12 months of base salary for 30 or more years of service.
Should the plan be approved, the Office of Human Resources and the Office of the Provost will work closely with faculty to ensure that they can ask questions, understand the process, and have the details they need to make an informed decision.
Thank you,
John Zomchick
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor