Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program Provisions:
To be eligible for the incentive payment, the employee must be a current member of the Washington State University Retirement Plan (WSURP), must have been a member of the WSURP for at least 10 years, must be 55 or older before the effective date of retirement, and must begin receiving a retirement payment as a result of their retirement.
Eligible employees who wish to receive the incentive payment must submit their application for retirement to WSU Human Resource Services and apply for the incentive no earlier than March 1, 2009, and no later than May 31, 2009. Retirement must be effective no later than July 1, 2009.
WSU will make a one-time payment of $18,000 into the account of a retiring employee in a tax exempt medical expense plan that qualifies under Section 501(c)(9) of the Internal Revenue Code for any employee who retires under the WSURP because of this incentive program.
The incentive payment is not to be considered income for purposes of calculating retirement benefits, and an employee who accepts this incentive payment is not eligible for unemployment compensation.
Employees who prior to the adoption of this Plan had already submitted their notice of retirement or who had signed an agreement that identifies a retirement date are not eligible for the incentive unless they receive approval from the Provost and Executive Vice President to change their retirement date, and the cost savings to WSU of accelerating their retirement date exceeds the amount of the incentive.
An employee who receives this incentive payment may not return to service at WSU within five years of the date of retirement. However, employees who retire under this program may be eligible for temporary employment not to exceed .4 FTE, if such temporary employment is approved in advance by the Provost and Executive Vice President.
An employee’s decision to participate in this program is entirely voluntary. Any employee accepting an incentive payment under this program must sign a form that states their decision to participate in this program is entirely voluntary and they fully understand the re-employment and other restrictions applicable to participation in the program.
Applications for the VERI program will be available beginning March 1, 2009. To request an application call Human Resource Services at 335-4521 or email hrs@wsu.edu. The application may be requested beginning March 1, 2009 and no later than May 31, 2009.
