Working Longer, Working Smarter: Planning and Supporting Faculty Retirements

Transcription

1 Working Longer, Working Smarter: Planning and Supporting Faculty Retirements Jean McLaughlin Formerly of the American Council on Education May 20, 2016 Presentation to Greater Oregon HERC #FacultyTransitions

2 The Forever Professors: Academics who don t retire are greedy, selfish, and bad for students - The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 14, 2014 RETIRE ALREADY!

3 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supported ACE s work on senior academic careers and retirement

4 This work is important. Academic institutions employ a disproportionally higher percentage of persons age 55 and older and are on the forefront of the workforce challenges presented by the aging American population. By identifying trends and best practices associated with workplace longevity and viable retirement pathways, the results of this study can be translated into value-added programs and services for academic institutions across the country. Moreover, given that many academic institutions constitute their community s largest employer and assume a critical role in local economies (Garrido-Yserte and Gallo-Rivera, 2010), understanding how institutions elect to replace, retain, and retire aging workers will be of great interest to the leadership of these local communities. Last, knowing more about the programs and pathways offered by universities and colleges may provide valuable insights for other large organizations across the country that face similar challenges presented by a rapidly aging workforce.

5 Overview of Issues Surrounding the Senior Stages of Faculty and Academic Careers

6 How we got here: Name of Generation Years of Generation Span Age Range of Generation in 1967 Age Range of Generation in 1982 Age Range of Generation in 1994 Age Range of Generation in 2015 Greatest Generation Over 90 Silent Generation Baby Boomer Generation Generation X > 6 > Generation Y N/A > 1 > Dates of major legislation 1967: ADEA--Age in Employment Discrimination Act (protects y.o. only) 1982: Delayed date for implementation of mandatory retirement before 70 y.o. 1994: Total elimination of mandatory retirement in higher education

7 Looking from the top down Presidents are both moving into and leaving the academic workforce later in life than prior generations 59% of presidents go on to another job after they leave their current institution 79% of CAOs go on to another job after they leave their current position Because of demographics, tomorrow s administrators will generally have less experience at the time of their advancement than today s administrators Life gets in the way!

8 American College Presidency Survey 70% Work-Life Considerations 60% 60% 53% 50% 47% 40% 34% 30% 20% 20% 27% 21% 20% 24% 10% 10% 10% 11% 0% Male Presidents Female Presidents Male CAOs Female CAOs Altered career for Dependent Care (DC), Partner, Parent Altered career for Partner's career Partner altered career for me

9 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation supported work on senior academic careers and retirement Top Issues for Senior & Retiring Academics For institutions: Legal For faculty: Psycho-social Lack of Communication Lack of Transparency HR office is for staff

10 Psycho-Social Issues Most senior faculty have been with the institution for over 20 years, and are passionate about their research and teaching. These elements of the academic workforce means that for many, retiring can lead to a loss of identity. It can be difficult to understand themselves outside of the identity forged by their academic role. Intellectually, faculty know that what they do does not define who they are, but emotionally, a crater is left by the absence of work. What do I do tomorrow?

11 Lack of Communication Faculty are used to having clear timelines and guidelines for their various career lifecycle transitions i.e., tenure and promotion. They expect to receive the same clarity and support for retirement, and when this doesn t happen, they feel as though they are no longer valued or respected. Faculty are also used to communicating with the provost or academic affairs department when going through these career lifecycle transitions. Most are not familiar with their HR office, and feel that it is only focused on the hiring and termination of employees.

12 Lack of Transparency ACE found that there is a lack of transparency in supports available for faculty. Most faculty are unaware of existing supports for faculty eligible for retirement. Faculty have trouble figuring out where to find information on retirement some are looking in the wrong places, while others are getting misinformation from fellow colleagues. Faculty in private institutions emphasized that the process is very secretive. One faculty member stated that there was no information on where to go, how to negotiate, etc. and whether there is a spectrum of possibilities. It is an opaque black box.

13 Faculty Satisfaction and Awareness of Institutional Programs and Supports

14 Faculty Survey of Satisfaction and Supports The competition was open to Research Universities, Master s Large Institutions, and Liberal Arts Institutions. Winter of 2012: Institutional and Faculty surveys were conducted. For the Faculty survey, ACE had over 3,300 tenured, tenure-track and retired faculty nation-wide of participating schools. Most were Full Professors (53.4%), Associate Professors (20.9%) or Retired/emeritus (14%); Tenured (77.1%); Married (80.7%). The majority were long-serving: Over 20 years (53.1%) years (9.8%) years (13%)

15 Faculty Survey of Satisfaction and Supports Asked to mark from Very Dissatisfied to Very Satisfied, included Don t Know and N/A. The Faculty survey asked 37 questions on these areas: 1. Post tenure review and other pre-retirement opportunities 2. Phasing and transitioning supports [don t know about] 3. Campus culture regarding senior faculty [most happy] 4. Financial planning and medical insurance 5. Ongoing supports and opportunities in retirement

16 What do Faculty Not Know About? 1. Medical Bridge Program (53.1%) 2. Legacy Programs (46.2% to 50.8%) 3. Tools (e.g., calculators/comparison charts/demos) (46.1%) 4. Retirement Transition Counseling (36.2% to 45.8%) 5. Employee Assistance Program (used for retirement transitions) (43.5% to 45.4%) 6. Ability to participate in tuition remission for partner/dependents in post-retirement (42.6%) 7. Ability to participate in continued health insurance (40.1%) 8. Ability to have my spouse/partner/family be included in retirement conversations and opportunities (33.2%) 9. Individual Financial Planning that is independent of retirement fund companies (32.7%) 10. Amount of time given to senior colleagues to phase into retirement (31.4%) 16

17 What are Faculty Satisfied About? 1. Senior colleagues are valued by their junior colleagues at my institution (69.7%) 2. Senior colleagues are valued by the students at my institution (68.5%) 3. privileges (62.6%) 4. Library privileges (61.2%) 5. Senior colleagues are valued by the administration at my institution (55.2%) 6. Ongoing opportunities to discuss my future career at this institution with my department chair/ dean (52.7%) 7. Participating in lectures/performing arts/international opportunities (50.4%)

18 What are Faculty Dissatisfied About? 1. (Lack of) office space on campus (in retirement) (21%) 2. Senior colleagues are valued by the administration at my institution (19.2%) 3. Ongoing opportunities to discuss my future career at this institution with my department chair/ dean (16.1%) 4. Senior colleagues make the transition into retirement at the appropriate times in their careers (16%) % wanted individual Financial Planning that is independent of retirement fund companies % feel that senior colleagues are not valued by junior colleagues % feel there are not opportunities for mentoring junior colleagues 18

19 What are the best things that your institution does to make the retirement transition smoother for faculty? Total Number of Theme Responses (N=2017) Don t know 672 Phased retirement program 491 Retirement counseling/seminars/lectures 241 Campus benefits after retirement (office space, access to library, computer 158 support, etc.) Active/helpful Human Resources office and website 90 Encouraging and fostering a very active retired faculty community to stay 78 connected to the institution Willingness to work with each individual/flexible 72 Financial benefits 71 Having a retiree center 63 Continuing medical insurance and health care benefits 53 Senior leadership s communication of options/commitment to faculty on this topic 44 Financial planning 44 Part-time teaching after retirement 43 Offering emeriti status/emeriti benefits/teaching by emeriti 34 19

20 What are some ways your institution can make retirement more manageable and smoother for faculty? Total Number of Theme Responses (N=1779) Don t know 257 Discuss retirement more/improve communications/provide more information 228 about options earlier in career Improve health care benefits 162 Implement/improve phased retirement program 132 Improve retirement workshops/seminars/counseling options 114 Nothing more the institution can do/the institution does a good job 109 Offer more campus benefits for retired faculty (office space, parking, library 108 privileges) Create more opportunities for retired faculty to stay involved with the institution 86 Improve financial incentives/benefits 75 Allow for retired faculty to teach part-time 43 Acknowledge/value/respect faculty contributions 34 Put a formal, transparent institutional retirement policy/process in place 30 Provide greater flexibility during retirement transition 25 Improve Human Resources office and website 24 20

21 Faculty Plans to Stay Involved Post-Retirement No, I have other commitments that will prevent me from staying active with my institution post-retirement (11.8%) No, there are no or few opportunities for me to remain involved after retirement (13.2%) Yes, I plan to stay connected with my department or discipline (32.3%) Yes, I plan on staying connected with my department and other parts of the academic community (42.7%) Therefore, 75% of faculty plan to stay connected to their institution in some capacity. 21

22 Faculty Desire to Remain Connected with Institution Post-Retirement 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 13% 88% 9% 12% 13% 13% 10% 4% 9% 13% 13% 17% 44% 27% 38% 33% 30% 50% 44% 42% 41% 41% No, I have other commitments that will prevent me from staying active with my institution post retirement No, there are no or few opportunities for me to remain involved after retirement Yes, I plan to stay connected with my department or discipline Yes, I plan on staying connected with my department and other parts of the academic community 0% Under 30 years old (n= 8) years old (n= 251) years old (n= 518) years old (n= 849) years old (n= 1083) Over 70 years old (n= 512)

23 Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions Mentoring program partnering retired and new faculty Life-planning seminars Online tool for evaluating financial plans Emeriti center and emeriti college Dedicated and private office and laboratory space Transition grants, which faculty can use to complete specific projects before retirement Post-retirement opportunities both on campus and within the community, such as encore careers 23

24 Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions Pre-Retirement Comprehensive one-stop-shop website for retirement Retirement checklist for faculty Communications campaign Discussing retirement process with senior faculty without violating age discrimination laws Financial planning with an outside expert Health insurance transition planning Individual counseling life planning sessions 24

25 Retirement Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions Phased retirement policy options Transparent policies Tracking usage of policies Legacy projects Acknowledgement and celebration of career upon retirement 25

26 Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions Post-Retirement Creating a culture that includes retirees Ensuring that retired faculty can maintain connections to the campus Supports post-retirement (maintaining , library privileges, shared office space) Retiree associations Encore career programs Volunteer options within the community Part-time teaching at campus 26

27 Best Practices in Faculty Retirement Transitions Culture in academe prides itself on agency and selfreliance retirement or transitioning out is seen as weak and having lost power. When you make sure your emeriti are treated well, you reinforce a culture where people naturally make the decision to retire, because they re not giving up what s made them a successful member of the community for so long.» Steven Poskanzer, Carleton College - Living Legend Videos - Guided Autobiographies - Retiree Associations - Community Endeavors - Spiritual Legacy Programs/ Second 50

28 The Challenges Ahead The Challenge of Working with Academic Affairs: Institutions worry that their outreach to faculty may be perceived as discriminatory, so institutions do little to no outreach. Since the institution has worked with the faculty to manage their careers up to this point, the faculty feel that the administration should continue to reach out to them to support them in their retirement transition as well. Each campus needs to determine how to communicate to faculty at this stage in ways that are transparent, humane, and legally compliant. 28

29 The Challenges Ahead Be able to explain the transformational value of the oftentimes transactional nature of faculty retirement options that HR offices provide Position your office as offering strategic recruitment and retention options to deans and department chairs, even for young faculty Mentality is I have time to make up my retirement portfolio Know who your faculty gatekeepers are. Befriend them! 29

30 Takeaways Academe employs a high number of older workers; an opportunity to be on the forefront of the challenge! Advancement & retirement are key to diversifying higher ed, but no one seems to have figured out how to do it Culture in academe affects all career transitions Going forward, everyone will have less time to make a legacy

31 Q & A More questions or comments? ACE s Retirement Projects Webpage: Retirement-Transitions.aspx ACE s Retirement Toolkit: Faculty-Retirement.aspx