The Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program (VRIP) is a voluntary retirement program offered to ƷSMӰƬ faculty and staff who are eligible to retire based on age and length of service. This program cannot be forced upon any employee and there is no guarantee this program will be offered again, nor is application approval guaranteed.
The application period will open on September 4, 2024, and the deadline to apply is September 30, 2024.
Filling out an application does not mean an applicant can automatically retire. An application needs to be submitted with a business case from the applicant's departmentto justify the VRIP application and applicant.
The application for VRIP must be submitted by September 30, 2024.
You have two retirement options: Your last day of employmentcan be December 31, 2024, the first day of retirement Jan. 1, 2025,or last day of employment, May 31, 2025, with June 1, 2025, the first day of retirement.You must meet ƷSMӰƬ 401A or PERA criteria by the date you leave the institution.
If your retirement is through the ƷSMӰƬ 401A plan, you will receive an ememo from Employee Services after applying communicatingif you are retirement benefits eligible or not. This approval or denial email is not approval to VRIP, but to certify if you are retirement benefits eligible or not.The email communication willexplain retirement details, options, etc. You can respond to this email with follow-up questions and concerns. Please note,meetings are scheduled with a retirement specialist three months before your retirement date. Individuals who choosea January 1, 2025 retirement date will be able to have consultations with the retirement counselorsbefore the June 1, 2025 applicants.
If your retirement benefits are with PERA, you will need to reach out to them directly for next steps and information.
No, not every application will be approved. Applications will be reviewed on an individual case-by-case basis withthe strategic needs of the university in mind. Business cases must demonstrate a cost savings to the university. For example, the role will not be backfilled, or the vacancy will allow the university to reclassify/restructure the unit to further the mission of the unit.Please see our
application process page for more information.
Business cases must demonstrate a cost savings to the university. For example, the role will not be backfilled, or the vacancy will allow the university to reclassify/restructure the unit to further its mission.
- The cost savings can be a full or partial savings to the unit
- Creates an opportunity for the unit to restructure, which allows a unit to advance a university priority forward or results in cost savings
- Allows for the ability to modify teaching schedules
- Units are responsible for funding the incentives each unit will need to track employees.
- Case #1: Human Resources will divide and reassign Ralphie Buffalo's ($70K) work to three other HR Operations team members and will cease providing payroll audits centrally.HR plans to provide a $10K pay increase per colleague, in addition to reclassifying roles to reflect the change to their scope of work. This realignment of work will result in a $40K savings to the department.
- Case #2: Finance will not pursue a backfill of Chip Folsom's role. Chip's position will be assumed by the Anaplan technology upgrade and his training function will move to an online module, maintained by his peer analyst team.
Start with our Then reference our contact information and eligibility page for more information.
- Roles that are funded by soft funds
- Adjunct faculty
- University officers
- Individuals who have officially initiatedtheir retirementwith PERA or the CU System Office before the announcement of this program are noteligible to apply for the VRIP.Verbally declaring you are going to retiredoes notconstitute an official declaration.
It has to be 5+ years before any part-time, contract, or full-time faculty or staff member can return to work, with the caveat that if the employee secures a position with the universitythat is fully funded through soft dollars, they can be rehired as a retiree, not benefits eligible. Please note, there has to be a 30-day break in service based on IRS guidelines before returning as a soft-funded retiree.
The contractprohibitionrefers to any type of employment or contractual work with ƷSMӰƬ; contract also pertains to an individual who would return to ƷSMӰƬ as a third-party contractor.
Campus units are responsible for funding the incentive for the employee who is retiring.
- Systemuses a calculator that uses years, months, and days. When someone is at 6 months into their service year (after 5 years of service) theyround up to the next year.For example, 6 years and 6 months are rounded to 7 years. This is the same calculation for all employees (faculty, staff, classified).
- The differences in eligibility criteria are dependent on their mandatory retirement plan - 401(a) has to be at least 55 years old and have a minimum of 5 years of eligible service, then theyapply the 75/70 rule (age plus years of service = 75 regular retirement, 70-74 early retirement).
- PERA has to be at least 50 years old and have between 5-20 years of eligible service (20 years regular retirement, 5-19 early retirement).
No supervisor, department, or campus leader can require or coerce you to participate in VRIP.
No, the program isopen only to employees who have not previously formally stated their intent to retire. It has to be a formally initiated application to retire with Employee Services or PERA, or a signed Retirement Agreement.Verbally declaring you are going to retire does not constitute stating your intent to retire.
No, you can still apply. The retirement memo is NOT binding until the Retirement Agreement isdrafted and signed. Once the Retirement Agreement has been signed, the faculty member is not eligible for the VRIP.
There is no guarantee this program will be offered in the future.
- January retirees will be paid their final paycheck and sick and vacation leave, if applicable on December 31, 2024. Their incentive payment will be paid on January 8, 2025, taxable in 2025.
- June 1 retirement lump sum paid in the final paycheck, May 31,2025, taxable in 2025
- Annual leave payout is payable on the last day of work, in the final paycheck, Dec. 31 or May 31.
Yes, sick and vacation leave is taxed, at the supplemental tax rates for IRS guidelines, which is 22% federal withholding.
The regular employee fringe rate will be reduced by half to account for benefits that will not be assessed on the one-time incentive cash payout (i.e. employer paid premiums on flat-rate monthly benefits and CU retirement contributions).
Employee Type
|
Regular, FT Faculty
|
Regular, FT Staff
|
AD/Coaches
|
Police
|
FY25 Fringe Rate
|
31%
|
40%
|
16.5%
|
35.7%
|
FY25 VRIP Fringe Rate
|
15.5%
|
20%
|
8.25%
|
17.85%
|
- Support Units: Yes, if a retiring employee receives a January 2025 across-the-board or merit increase, you will receive the general fund continuing budget for the increase amount from the campus during the spring compensation budget allocation process.
- Academic Units: All general fund compensation and merit increase budgets are included in the initial fiscal year allocation to the school/college. Please work with the school/college budget team to understand your internal allocation process.
Please consult with retirement counselors from both PERA and TIAA. You can start with the benefits department at ƷSMӰƬ,
benefits@cu.edu, and reference our
contact information page for providers' information.
You can still pursue retirement if you meet the eligibility criteria under the CU 401A or PERA retirement plans. However, you will not be eligible to receive the incentive under the VRIP program.
Your CU health benefitswill end on the last day of employment, December 31, 2024, or May 31, 2025. You must meet with your CU retirement/benefits counselor or PERA counselor to enroll in retirement healthcare and if eligible, possibly Medicare. Health insurance options post-retirement will be unique for each person.
Employees can receive a payout for up to 352 hours of accrued vacation time, which is 14.67 hours per month multiplied by 24 months. Employees can't receive pay for vacation time while employed at CU.
Employees who meet the age and service requirements for their retirement plan (CU 401(a) or PERA) can receive a payout for unused sick leave. The payout is one-fourth of unused sick leave accrual, up to a maximum of one-fourth of 120 days' accrual, which is 30 days of compensation. Employees with more than 960 unused sick hours as of May 1, 2001 are entitled to receive 25% of their sick leave balance.
9-month faculty are not eligible for sick or vacation leave payouts.
Once the VRIP application is approved, the employee has 45 days tosign their separation agreement.Once signed, the employeehas another seven days to rescind their signature and not voluntarily retire from ƷSMӰƬ.
No, incentives do not qualify. Only regular wages and vacation/sick leave payouts may be deferred.
If they are under age 65 they are not eligible for Medicare. If they are PERA , 65, and eligible for Medicare at retirement, they are not eligible for CU medical and dental benefits but are eligible for life insurance. They must work with PERA for their PERA CARE health insurance options.
Based on , faculty members who accept a sabbatical leave are required to return to work for the university: “In accepting a sabbatical assignment, the faculty member shall agree to return to the university upon completion of the sabbatical and work for the university for at least two semesters for 9-month faculty and one year for 12-month faculty.” Due to this policy, a faculty member who is on sabbatical during Fall 2024 is not eligible for the VRIP. In addition, if a faculty member is approved for a sabbatical leave for Spring 2025 and wants to apply for the VRIP, they would need to forego the sabbatical leave.
Individuals who apply and are approved for a retirement incentive for June 1, 2025, will continue to be eligible for the merit or across-the-board increases on January 1, 2025, and will see that increased rate of pay used for their retirement incentive.
No, an employee's status or employee group at the time of the VRIP announcement is how an incentive will be determined. For example, a classified employee cannot change classification to university staff and qualify.
If someone wants to adjust the date on their application, they should discuss the change with their unit leader to determine if the business case can support the date change. However, once a separation agreement is signed the date of separation is locked.
Yes, you can. You cannot return and work at the ƷSMӰƬ campus, but you can work at any of our other campuses.