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Retirement & Reemployment at the UW

This guide consolidates essential administrative guidance provided as part of a joint presentation by the Office of Academic Personnel & UW Human Resources Benefits, given January 2025.

Agenda Overview

UW Retirement Benefits Information

  • Eligibility
  • Applying to retire
  • Retirement plan restrictions on reemployment

Academic Personnel Reemployment Information

  • Emeritus appointments
  • Academic personnel policies

UW Retirement Benefits

Important Disclaimers

  • Information is current as of the presentation date
  • Informational only; not exhaustive
  • Plan rules summarized for clarity
  • Do not rely solely on examples for planning
  • Final limits determined by the applicable retirement plan

Retirement Eligibility

Eligibility depends on the retirement plan:

Applying To Retire

UW Retirement Application Requirements

  • Online application required
  • May submit:
    • No earlier than 6 months before UW separation date
    • No later than 60 days after leaving employment
      • Applications submitted after 60 days = not a UW retiree
    • TRS/PERS participants must also submit a DRS Retirement Application
    • UW Retirement Checklist (PDF)

Retirement vs. Termination Dates

  • Termination date: last day worked
  • Retirement date: first day of the next month
    • June 15 → July 1
    • December 31 → January 1
  • Contact UWHR Benefits if termination falls on a weekend/holiday

Reemployment After Retirement – Benefits Rules

UW Retirement Plan (UWRP) Retirees

  • Must identify as a UWRP retiree
  • No waiting period to return to work
  • Immediate return may delay retirement fund access
  • Limited to 40% FTE per calendar year (Jan–Dec)

Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) Retirees

(Applies to TRS, PERS, and other DRS plans)

  • Must identify as a DRS retiree
  • 30-day waiting period after retirement date
  • Returning early:
    • TRS 3 benefit reduced 5.5% per 7 hours/month
    • Reduction continues until 30 consecutive days without work
  • Returning before retirement date cancels DRS application
  • Maximum 867 hours per calendar year
    • Exceeding limit stops monthly benefit
    • Benefits resume when employment ends or next calendar year begins

Washington State Department of Retirement Systems

Retirement Education & Workshops

Academic personnel are strongly encouraged to attend a retirement workshop.

Academic Personnel: Working After Retirement

Giving Notice of Retirement

Guidance published on APF’s Leaving the UW page:

  • Faculty & Librarians: written notice to dean/chancellor as soon as possible (preferably 1 quarter ahead)
  • Other academic personnel: written notice to supervisor (preferably at least 2 weeks ahead)

Academic Reemployment

  • Reemployed faculty must have:
    • An emeritus appointment, or
    • A retiree-version of their pre-retirement title
  • Reemployment is at the unit’s discretion, unless vested right applies

Pro Tip:
Run Workday Report R0749 to confirm no outstanding sabbatical service obligation.

Emeritus Status

What Is Emeritus?

A lifelong honorary designation recognizing achievements and service.

Eligibility

  • Retiring faculty at full or associate professor rank (tenure, WOT, research, teaching, clinical)
  • Retiring librarians with permanent or continuing status
  • 10+ years of meritorious service

Emeritus Appointment Basics

  • Requested at time of retirement
  • May begin:
    • Day after retirement, or
    • No later than 1 year after retirement
  • Lifetime appointment
  • May be paid or unpaid

Vested Right To Reemploy (Faculty)

Who Has a Vested Right?

  • Faculty retiring from a tenured associate or full professor role
  • Age 62 or older at retirement

Limitations

  • Limited to 40% of tenure value
  • Applies only to the 5 years following retirement
  • Applies only to classroom teaching
  • Subject to:
    • State FTE limits
    • UW compensation rules

Additional Considerations

  • Retiring early does not extend the 5‑year window
  • Skipping years does not extend eligibility
  • Faculty retiring before age 62 lose vested right
  • No vested right for faculty on DRS retirement plans
  • UW may discontinue reemployment due to:
    • Performance concerns
    • Program elimination
    • Financial emergency

Compensation & Reemployment Policies

  • Total compensation limited to 40% of base salary at retirement
  • Applies across all funding sources
  • Base salary must match retirement base
  • Academic year considered July 1 – June 30
  • 9‑month appointees may request inclusion of summer salary history
  • No merit-based salary increases for reemployed retirees

Rehiring In Workday – Resources

Key Contacts & Resources

Reappointments, Retention Salary Adjustments, and Leave

This guide consolidates essential administrative guidance related to reappointments, compensation, A/B retention salary adjustments, and sabbatical leave as presented in the October 2024 and April 2025 Administrators Forums, Office for Academic Personnel & Faculty (APF).

Reappointments

Core Definition

Reappointment applies to fixed‑term academic personnel and includes:

  • A unit decision to reappoint or end an appointment
  • Written notification to the individual
  • Updating Workday records

Reappointment is not:

  • A promotion or academic review
  • A rank/title change requiring the promotion process
  • An action after a break in service (that is a rehire)

Voting and Decision‑Making

  • Eligible voting members vote on whether to reappoint
  • Authority may be delegated for specific appointment types (e.g., affiliate, annual clinical, part‑time lecturers)
  • Committees must include more than one person and may not include the chair or dean
  • Dean/chancellor makes the final decision
  • All outcomes must be communicated in writing

Voting Guidelines:

Notification Deadlines

  • Faculty Code 24‑41 requires advance written notice of reappointment decisions
  • Without timely notice, the default outcome is reappointment
  • Notification deadlines vary by service period and appointment type

Faculty Code Chapter:

Reappointment Process Changes (Clinical & Affiliate Faculty)

  • Annually appointed clinical faculty and affiliate faculty are no longer eligible for Provost‑level promotion review
  • Rank changes for these populations occur during reappointment
  • Final decisions are made by the dean or chancellor

A/B Retention Salary Adjustments

Policy Highlights

  • Uniform tri‑campus policy
  • Unified form for standard and A/B retention requests
  • Reduced responsibility is not required if faculty were 100% tenure‑eligible at hire
  • New “Unfunded B Component” codes forthcoming
  • A/B retention moratorium has been lifted

Resources

Sabbaticals (Paid Professional Leave)

Overview

Sabbatical leave is a privilege, not a guarantee, intended as a release from regular academic duties to focus on research, scholarship, and professional development.

Governing Policies

Eligibility Highlights

  • Eligible no earlier than the 7th year since hire or return from a prior sabbatical
  • May apply in the 6th year
  • Clock‑managed faculty may apply but cannot take a sabbatical until promotion/tenure is effective
  • Leave of absence can affect future accrual
  • Use Sabbatical Eligibility Assessment Report R0878

Duration and Salary Support

  • 1 quarter: 100% salary
  • 2 quarters: 75% salary
  • Full academic year: 67% salary
  • Statutory limit for 2025–26: $20,228 (state and local funds)

Faculty and librarians may supplement sabbatical salary up to full base salary using allowable funding sources. H‑1B faculty must maintain salary levels consistent with visa requirements.

Outside Work and Compensation

  • No remunerative employment or for‑credit teaching elsewhere
  • Outside work approvals under EO 57 must be separate from the sabbatical
  • Supplemental funding must not interfere with the approved sabbatical plan

Completion and Return to Service

  • Post‑sabbatical report required and submitted to: APLeaves@uw.edu
  • Return to service obligation applies following sabbatical leave
  • Failure to return may trigger a repayment obligation

Audit Tool:

  • R0749 Post‑Sabbatical Service Obligation Audit

This handout is intended for ongoing reference, onboarding, and staff training.

Executive Order 59

This guide contains content related to Executive Order 59 (EO 59) as presented during the Administrators Forum on January 30, 2025. It is intended as a practical reference for administrators responsible for authorizing, initiating, or reviewing faculty additional compensation.

EO 59 Overview

Executive Order 59 (EO59) governs additional compensation for faculty. While the policy is specific to faculty, it is used as a model for reviewing and approving all requests for academic personnel additional compensation where it is appropriate to do so. EO59 limits additional compensation in any given month to the equivalent of 25% of the regular monthly base salary. It also defines approval authority, sets expectations that units will have established standards, and specifies compensation types and activities that are exempt from the policy.

EO 59 – Purpose and Scope

EO 59 governs additional faculty compensation for work that is:

  • Temporary, and
  • Beyond normal job duties, and
  • Necessary to maintain essential University operations and standards of excellence.

Core Policy Expectations

Redistribution Before Compensation

  • Units are expected to attempt redistribution of existing duties first.
  • Every effort should be made to schedule faculty work within normal duties before awarding additional pay.

Effort Limits

  • Policy goal is not to exceed 125% total effort.
  • Temporary Pay Supplement (TPS) is capped at:25% of monthly base salary in any given month.

Approval Authority

  • ≤ 25% of monthly base salary
    • Approved by the Dean or Chancellor
  • 25% of monthly base salary
    • Requires Provost approval

Why EO 59 Was Updated

1. To Clarify Exemptions from the 25% Limit

The following are not subject to the 25% cap:

  • Administrative duty supplements
  • Clinical coverage overload payments
  • Practice plan compensation
  • Compensation associated with academic honors
    • g., endowed professorships, university awards
  • Non-effort-based compensation
    • g., relocation incentives, mobile service agreements
  • Reimbursements allowed under University policy
  • Approved outside work under Executive Order 57

2. To Increase Transparency in Compensation

Key transparency-related changes:

Submission and Timing Requirements

When submitting EO 59–related requests:

  • Requests must be approved before work begins
  • Initiate the Workday business process at least one month in advance when possible
  • Use the comments section to clearly document:
    • Nature of the work
    • Payment amount
    • Duration
    • Justification if compensation exceeds 25%

EO 59 – Compliance & Compensation

Scope of Impact

EO 59 compliance work aligns academic appointment profiles and compensation plans across the following areas:

  • Academic appointments
  • Administrative Supplements (ADS)
  • Clinical Coverage Overload (CCO)
  • Temporary Pay Supplements (TPS)

Key Requirements

  • Administrative academic appointments must have an end date no more than five (5) years in the future
  • Individuals receiving ADS must hold an administrative academic appointment
  • Expired academic appointments must be formally ended
  • ADS compensation:
    • Requires defined start and end dates
    • End date limited to no more than five (5) years
  • CCO compensation:
    • Requires defined start and end dates
    • Typically limited to the current academic year
  • TPS compensation:
    • Requires defined start and end dates
    • End date limited to no more than two (2) years

Compensation Policy Resources

Key Takeaways for Administrators

  • EO 59 focuses on temporary, beyond-normal duties
  • 25% is a monthly cap, not a request-based cap
  • Transparency and documentation are emphasized
  • Advance planning is critical to avoid retroactive work
  • Provost approval is required for compensation exceeding 25%