Voluntary retirement program offered to faculty, staff

Pitt announced Monday that faculty and staff have been offered voluntary retirement programs in an effort to reduce costs for the University during budget uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The programs will provide participants with a one-time financial incentive along with immediate ability to access Pitt’s standard retirement benefits package, which includes health care and education benefits for partners and dependents.

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said last week that the University’s budget will be “tight” next year and is looking to avoid layoffs or furloughs for faculty and staff.

The Faculty Retirement Incentive Program is available to faculty in participating schools and regional campuses who have reached 10 continuous years of service at the University and are at least 65 years of age, as of Aug. 1. The schools of Nursing and Medicine are not participating in the program.

Faculty in administrative positions — such as administrators, deans, campus presidents, associate deans, vice presidents or department chairs — are not eligible for this program. The following categories of faculty are eligible for the program:

• Full-time tenured, tenured-stream faculty and appointment stream faculty
• Faculty who are currently in a phased retirement (with a signed “transition to retirement” agreement in place)
• Full-time faculty librarians

Pitt said faculty members who meet eligibility requirements have been notified via email and postal mail. Faculty members who would like to opt in to the program should contact Stephen Wisniewski, the vice provost for budget and analytics at stevewis@pitt.edu. The deadline for eligible faculty to submit a form indicating interest in the program is July 1.

The Staff Early Retirement Program is open to all regular staff who have served a minimum of 10 continuous years at the University and have reached 59 ½ years of age by the time of retirement. Pitt said program details have not yet been finalized for staff, but the Office of Human Resources will contact eligible individuals directly in the coming weeks. As SERP details are being finalized, interested staff members can contact the Office of Human Resources.