Retirement Resources for Faculty Members

Please visit the “Guide to Retirement” web page on the Penn State Human Resources website. This page provides information about the retirement process and considerations related to your retirement plan, medical benefits, and more, including how to participate in a live “Preparing for Retirement” webinar.

Human Resources plays a critical role in supporting employees throughout their retirement journey, from plan design to post-employment assistance. If you have any specific questions or need further details, please contact your unit HR office.

Eligible faculty members may request a phased retirement of one to three years in length. A phased retirement allows you to reduce your effort in one or more areas of your job responsibilities as you approach retirement. If you are interested in exploring a phased retirement, you should first speak with your unit HRSP and then work with your academic unit head to propose a reduction in responsibilities that both meets your goals and satisfies your unit’s needs. More information is available on the Human Resources Phased Retirement website and in Policy HR29.

If you are eligible for emeritus status per Policy AC25, then your unit HR office will ask your unit executive (dean/chancellor) whether they approve awarding emeritus status to you. Once dean/chancellor approval is granted, final approval rests with the President. There is no action you need to take; if you have been awarded emeritus status, then you will receive a letter and certificate in the mail approximately 30 to 60 days after your retirement date. If you are unsure whether you are eligible for emeritus status, please check with your unit HR office.

If you have been awarded emeritus status and wish to continue your engagement with your scholarly work and with Penn State, then you may wish to apply for membership in Penn State’s Emeritus Academy. The Emeritus Academy is a program for emeritus faculty (tenure-line or non-tenure-line) who are completing scholarly projects. Applications are accepted year-round. Learn more at https://vpfa.psu.edu/emeritus-academy.

Access to Penn State Email and Office 365 Applications

If you are retiring with emeritus status, then you will retain access to the same resources to which you had access as an active faculty member as long as you log into your Penn State account at least once a year.

If you are retiring and will not have emeritus status, then you can continue to use your Penn State email on the web as long as you log into it at least once a year. You can continue to use Office 365 apps for 14 days after your termination date; after that, you will no longer have access to the Outlook desktop email application, OneDrive, Teams, or any other Office 365 application. It is recommended that you identify personal storage, for instance, external drives or a personal cloud storage account, to save personal file and personal web space data. For more information, please visit https://security.psu.edu/services/penn-state-accts/after-i-leave.

Release of Email to Retired Faculty and Family Members

Per Policy AD99, “University Provided Email Policy,” the University will not release the email of any retired faculty member to a third party, including family members, absent a subpoena, search warrant, or court order. This includes personal photos, messages, and other personal items.

It is strongly recommended that you move Penn State emails that you would want family members or others to have access to in the event of your passing to a personal email account or to identify another storage method.

SRTE/SEEQ Data

If you think you might ever want to teach for another institution, download your SRTE/SEEQ results. There are two pdf options – one with written feedback and one without.

Before you retire, it is important for you to evaluate your current grants and contracts, including NDAs and other non-financial agreements such as data use agreements. Make plans to hand these off to others. If you wish to continue to serve as an investigator on a grant, please see the next section, “Continuing Your Research in Retirement.” 

You and your academic unit head should review the Checklist for Departing Researchers, which covers items related to research data, equipment, IRB protocols, Intellectual Property, and more. if you have questions about the items on the checklist, please contact John Hanold, associate vice president for research and director, Office of Sponsored Programs (jhh6@psu.edu).

Access to Library Resources

All retirees retain faculty/staff borrowing privileges at all Penn State libraries and you may continue to use your PSU ID card to borrow materials. Retirees with emeritus status also retain remote access to electronic resources. More information about library access and privileges is available on the Penn State University Libraries Borrowing Privileges page and on the Interlibrary Loan and Delivery Services guide.

If you wish to continue to serve as an investigator on a grant, then you will need to seek the approval of your department head (if applicable) and dean per Policy RA03, “Eligibility to Serve as a Principal Investigator.” In addition, continued ad hoc and annual disclosure in COINS will be required, per Policy RP06, of any investigator continuing to conduct research during their retirement.

Policy RAG03, “Retired Faculty Participation,” describes compensation for work performed under a sponsored project. You will need to determine whether your work should continue on a non-compensated basis, a compensated basis – reemployment, or a compensated basis – independent contractor.

Retiring tenure-line and non-tenure-line faculty are invited to complete an exit survey about their experiences at Penn State. In addition, tenure-line faculty may participate in an exit interview. This interview may take place with your unit’s Exit Interview Officer or with a Senior Faculty Mentor in the Office of Educational Equity.

The exit interview and survey provide Penn State with valuable information about faculty members’ experiences within their academic unit and at Penn State in general. This information is used to develop and enhance services, policies, and programs that enhance faculty success.

Your Exit Interview Officer should reach out to you, prior to your retirement, with more information about the survey and interview. Please see https://vpfa.psu.edu/faculty-exit-feedback for more information and for a list of Exit Interview Officers.

You may want to, or be asked to, work for Penn State again in some capacity after your retirement. Your ability to do so depends upon University need as described in Policy HR45, your retirement plan (SERS or TIAA), and the purpose and length of the proposed work.

Depending upon University need, if you participate in the Penn State Alternate Retirement Plan (TIAA), then you may be employed by the University in a full-time or a part-time position. Please note that re-employment may limit access to this plan.

If you participate in the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS), then you may not be employed by the University, either full- or part-time, and continue to receive annuity payments, except under the provisions outlined in Policy HR45, “Post-Retirement Appointments.” Generally speaking, the hiring unit must be encountering an “emergency situation” that requires the hire  and must submit an application to Penn State Benefits for consideration.

If you are eligible for the Retirement Health Savings Plan, this account will be unavailable to you while re-employed.

For more detailed information, please see Policy HR45.

*Please note that employees who depart the University as part of the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP) offered in 2024 are subject to different re-employment guidelines. Employees who choose to participate in the VSIP will be prohibited from being employed by the University in any capacity or serving as a consultant to the University, directly or indirectly, for a period of 36 calendar months from their separation date

Emeritus Academy

Penn State University Retirees Association

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute