Since 2000, the AAUP’s Committee on Retirement has initiated two major nationwide surveys of faculty retirement policies. The surveys cover early retirement incentive plans, phased retirement plans, and health insurance coverage for retirees. The first survey, published in 2000, responds particularly to concerns raised in the 1990s that the elimination of mandatory retirement would slow voluntary retirement, making it hard for institutions to secure resources for new appointments.
The second survey, published in 2007, explores how policies changed since the 2000 survey in light of the fact that a large wave of faculty retirements is anticipated, or may in fact already be occurring.
2007 survey co-sponsors are the American Council on Education, the American Association of Community Colleges, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the American Association of University Professors, the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
The TIAA-CREF Institute, the research foundation of faculty retirement insurance provider TIAA-CREF, generously financed both surveys. The Cornell Higher Education Research Institute helped to support the current survey.
Note: Some of the changes reported in the 2000 study arose from provisions in the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1998 that allow institutions to offer faculty voluntary retirement incentives. See a related article explaining the 1998 provisions.
(updated 3/07)