The Pathway Agreement

A Pathway to Retirement agreement is a formal agreement between a senate faculty member and the University of California, including pre- and post-retirement provisions. The specific provisions will vary from agreement to agreement, as they are designed around the specific needs of the faculty considering retirement, the needs and resources of the department and/or division. The sample agreement below may be used as a template.

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Pre-retirement Provisions

Pre-retirement provisions should be made with the use of a Pathway agreement. When a faculty member has made a commitment to retire, it becomes appropriate for the University to make special provisions for faculty members who are still in active service. These mutual commitments are made in language that, while somewhat technical, serves to record and clarify the ways in which both the faculty member and the University are binding themselves.

Pre-retirement items could include, among other things:

• Deferral of Academic Review: Chairs, with the dean’s approval, may agree to defer an academic review for up to one year immediately preceding separation; this may be advantageous in cases of reduced scholarly output. This deferral may be offered as an exception (with proper approval from the relevant authorities) even if the faculty member is at the end of five years without a review.
• Modified duties: The agreement should take care to emphasize that these are modified, not reduced duties. For example, for the year preceding the retirement date, teaching release might be granted for the retiring faculty so that they can provide special administrative services, organize their teaching materials for the future instructors of their courses, conclude unfinished research or service, etc.
• Research funds: Some additional research funds might be granted to help with various research related tasks (e.g., conference travel, field work, graduate student support).

Post-retirement Provisions

Faculty members and their chairs or deans may agree to post-retirement provisions formally or informally, with or without creating a Pathway to Retirement agreement. Such provisions can help to ensure that emeriti continue to be warmly included in their academic communities as contributing scholars, teachers, and colleagues.

Post-retirement items could include, among other things:

• Recall Faculty (recall agreements cannot be made in writing prior to separation unless the employee is age 65+): Recall appointments are one of the main ways to ensure continued engagement and a smooth transition into retirement, and while recall is usually for teaching, it can be for service or research as well, or a combination of activities. Recalls for teaching should be based on programmatic need, budgetary capacity, and continued successful performance of duties. The Pathway agreement should specify the course(s) to be taught or other services to be rendered in detail (including quarters / years) and the rate of compensation, as well as (additional) teaching support (e.g., TAs, readers) if needed / agreed upon. For recall teaching, a negotiated flat rate, rather than a percentage based recall is recommended. Faculty with active research programs may be recalled on a percentage basis to continue research activities up to 43% time, with pay charged to research grants. Emeriti may be recalled for up to 43% per month, with total compensation in a 12-month period may not exceed 43% of the faculty member’s annualized salary at retirement, range-adjusted forward as applicable. Refer to relevant policies, such as APM 205 and CAPM 500.205 - Recall of Academic Appointees, for details.
• Conferral of Research Professor working title upon recall, for use when applying for grants.
• Office and/or lab space. When/where available, the University will provide office, laboratory, and/or studio space to professors emerita/emeritus/emer. who need space to continue their scholarly or creative work. These items will vary according to departmental and divisional resource availability and practices; therefore the need and purpose should be discussed with deans as well as chairs.
• Research funds. Funds may be subject to availability and division-specific practices. Use of funds must be in accordance with applicable university policy.

Key Concepts

There are several key concepts all parties to a Pathway Agreement should understand:

• The faculty member’s department chair and dean must agree to all pre- and post-retirement provisions, and are responsible for providing the funding.
• The Pathway faculty liaison is available for confidential discussions about possible provisions.
• The agreed-upon separation date must be no more than two years after the date of the agreement.
• Once approved, this Agreement cannot be modified / withdrawn as it is a binding contract. The faculty will have tendered their future resignation, and the University will have accepted an obligation to adhere to the specific terms listed in the Agreement.
• A Pathway Agreement is about transitioning out of a full-time active faculty position. There are additional steps needed to elect retirement and to receive retiree health and pension benefits, which need to be pursued independently of the Agreement.

Sample Agreement

(copy and paste the following into a document to use as a template)

Pathways to Retirement Agreement 

Acknowledgement

Prior to the final approval of the Agreement below, the faculty member must read and initial the following four statements:

____ I understand that when this Agreement has been finalized, I am irrevocably bound to separate no later than the date indicated in the agreement.

____ I understand that when this Agreement has been finalized, the University is obliged to fulfill the provisions set forth below.

____ I understand that while my separation on the named date is self-executing when this Agreement has been finalized, I must take further steps in order to retire and receive retiree health care benefits and benefits under the University of California Retirement Program.

____ I understand that, in the event of a future finding of substantiated misconduct, the University is not precluded from imposing disciplinary sanctions pursuant to APM 015 and 016, even if by doing so the terms of this Agreement are altered. In such a case, the unaltered terms of the Agreement remain in effect.

Agreement

On or about _______, at their/her/his own initiation, _______ expressed an interest in developing a Pathway to Retirement, including negotiation of a specific date for separation from University employment. In response, the parties negotiated this Agreement.

As of the date of the Dean’s approval of this Agreement, ______ irrevocably resigns from University employment, with a separation date of _____. This resignation and separation are self-executing and require no further act of either party for full force or effect. The University hereby accepts the resignation as of the date of the Dean’s approval. The retiring faculty member understands the need to complete additional paperwork to retire and to receive benefits under the University of California Retirement Program.

In reliance of this irrevocable resignation, the University agrees that _________ shall be provided with the following:

[Insert list of terms here or as an appendix]

This Agreement is contingent upon the written approval of the Dean and will have no force and effect without that approval. Once approved, this Agreement cannot be modified / withdrawn as it is a binding contract.

Signatures

                              Requesting Faculty                   Department Chair                  Divisional Dean Approval

Signature:
Date:
Name:
Title: