The Phased Retirement Program is designed to give eligible professional personnel and staff personnel an opportunity for pre-retirement reduction of full-time service while phasing into retirement over a period of up to three years. The Program allows eligible employees to reduce their regular appointments to pursue personal or professional interests while continuing their academic and professional lives in gainful part-time employment.

The original Phased Retirement Program was a direct request from the Salary and Benefits Committee (Senate). The Program is designed to provide an opportunity for eligible employees to transition to retirement. The Program provides an opportunity for individual career flexibility and forms an important part of the long-term personnel resource management of the University.

The Program is designed for full-time professional and full-time staff employees. Applicants must be eligible for emeritus status (tenure track faculty and continuing contract professional personnel), honoratus/honorata status (professional personnel), or retirement status (staff personnel) by no later than the applicant's agreed upon retirement date under the Program. Please see the Phased Retirement Program policy (PDF) for further details.

The term of the Phased Retirement Agreement may be for a period of at least one year but no more than three years.

After consulting with their immediate supervisor, an employee wishing to participate in the Phased Retirement Program will submit a Request to Participate through the following online form.

The reduced assignment for each year of participation in the Program must be between 50% and 75% of a full-time assignment, but not below 1,000 hours for staff personnel.

No, under Indiana law you cannot be paid if you are not actively at work (exception is a paid sabbatical). You will receive full pay and full retirement plan contributions for the semester you work full time. During the alternate semester, when you are not working, you will receive only the incentive due for that semester under the Phased Retirement Program.

You would treat the retirement process the same as regular retirees by contacting the Retirement Benefits Specialist at 5-8470 a few months ahead of your separation date.

At the sole discretion of the participant, the term of an Agreement may be accelerated (i.e., the participant may retire earlier than scheduled under the Agreement) with at least sixty (60) days' prior written notice to the applicable vice president. In order to avoid unintended benefit issues, alert Employee Benefits a few months ahead of your separation date.

A participant in the Phased Retirement Program will continue to receive the University's contribution to his or her University retirement plan based on the participant's reduced salary or rate of pay under the Program.

An incentive will be paid, in addition to base salary pay, in consideration of the reduced contributions to a participant’s retirement plan resulting from their participation in the Phased Retirement Program and as an additional incentive to participate in the program. As outlined in the Phased Retirement Program (PDF), the amount of the incentive will be calculated, by the Employee Benefits office and will depend on the participant’s salary, retirement plan and workload percentage under their phased retirement agreement.

We provide Phased Retirement Program incentive calculators based on your retirement plan participation:

We cannot definitively say how your retirement benefits will be impacted if you participate in the Phased Retirement Program. The circumstances affecting the TRF benefit can vary due to individual circumstances so we recommend running estimates of your benefit and meeting with TRF to discuss your benefits. Learn more.

Your Alternate Pension Plan (APP) contribution rate will remain the same. Contributions will be made on your actual compensation paid to you. Learn more.

If you are a participant in either the Alternate Pension Plan (APP) and/or Tax Deferred Account (TDA), you will have access to the funds accumulated in these Ball State University retirement plans.

Please see Retiree Benefits and Medical and Prescription Plans to address the following questions:

  • What benefits are associated with Emeritus Status?
  • Is continuation of healthcare coverage into retirement an option if I choose to participate in the Phased Retirement Program?
  • If I am currently over the age of 65, will I be able to keep my Ball State health care coverage when I retire and qualify for Medicare? Does this also apply to my spouse?
  • How long can my spouse and I keep our Ball State Health insurance?

You may contact Employee Benefits at (765) 285-1834.

Supervisor or Organizational Unit Approver Questions

The Program is intended to support the University's tradition of excellence. It permits the University to retain the services and contributions of experienced professional and staff personnel while enabling participants in the Program to remain in their profession and build additional financial security for the future. These questions reflect the discretion that organizational unit leaders can exercise in creating arrangements that suit the needs of professional, and staff personnel while serving the mission of the University.

  • If an individual is eligible for the Phased Retirement Program but has responsibilities that are not compatible with the work schedule proposed, am I required to approve the Phased Retirement Program participation request?
    No. A Phased Retirement arrangement must align with the needs of the organization unit. There is no requirement to approve a request. Discussions about work assignments and availability of other resources to maintain programs and operations are essential before an agreement is endorsed and approved.