The University is pleased to announce that we recently concluded an agreement with the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY (“PSC”) on the implementation of a three-year pilot program of voluntary Phased Retirement for eligible members of the PSC-represented teaching and non- teaching instructional staff.1 The pilot program is effective from the 2013-2014 academic year through the 2015-2016 academic year.2
This Program will enable long-standing members of the faculty and staff to continue to work for the University on a part-time basis while they transition into retirement or explore new opportunities. Inasmuch as phasing is contingent upon the employee’s irrevocable commitment to retire at the end of his/her phasing period, the phasing program will also provide the colleges with advance notice of an employee’s departure and will facilitate appropriate planning.
This memorandum contains a brief overview of the phased retirement program. The complete program is set forth in the letter of agreement and accompanying side-letter, which may be accessed through the following link:
http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/lr.html
Eligibility Criteria
- Tenured faculty, including Librarians and Counselors, and Lecturers with a Certificate of Continuous Employment (“CCE”) who will have attained the age of 65 years and will have completed 15 or more years of full-time, continuous service as of the start of their phasing period are eligible to participate. Higher Education Officer (“HEO”) title series employees who hold a Certificate of Continual Administrative Service (“13.3b”) and tenured employees in the College Laboratory Technician (“CLT”) series must meet the same age and service requirements.
- Eligible faculty and staff must be participants in the Optional Retirement Program, that is, TIAA-CREF (including the alternative funding vehicles MetLife and Guardian), in order to apply. This program is not available to members of the Teachers’ Retirement System.
- A faculty member serving as a Department Chair or as an Executive Officer of a Ph.D. program is not eligible to participate while serving in such a position; he/she may apply to participate, and upon approval of his/her phased retirement application, he/she must submit his/her resignation from the Department Chair/Executive Officer position.
- A faculty member who is serving in a predominantly administrative position, such as Director of an Institute or Center, and wishes to enter phased retirement, must consult with the College President or his/her designee to determine the feasibility of a mutually acceptable phasing arrangement of an appropriate configuration and duration, as set forth in the side-letter agreement.
Work Commitment and Salary during the Phasing Period
- Faculty Members – 50% of the contractual full-time workload for their titles (that is, 50% of the teaching load and 50% of other professional responsibilities). Salary shall be 50% of the full-time salary.
- HEO- or CLT-series employees – 80% of the contractual full-time workload for their titles. Salary shall be 80% of the full-time salary.
L ength of the Phasing Period
- Faculty Members – May elect to phase for one, two, or three years and must begin their phasing period on the first day of the fall semester. Travia Leave may be scheduled in the final spring semester of the phasing period or be paid out in a lump sum following the phasing period. The combined period of phasing and Travia Leave, however, may not exceed three years.
- HEO- or CLT-series employees – May elect to phase for either six months or one year and may apply to phase starting on the first day of the fall or spring semester. Travia Leave may be scheduled after the phasing period or be paid in a lump sum at the end of the phasing period.
Application/Review Process
The respective application/review processes for the faculty and professional staff are spelled out in the letter agreement. The College President has final authority to approve or disapprove an employee’s application to phase. However, if a faculty member’s initial request to phase is denied, he/she has the right to begin phasing one-year later, as originally requested. The decisions made by Department Chairs and other College administrators, including the President, in the review process are not grievable.
- This program is not available to members of the ECP or other instructional staff in titles/functions that are excluded from representation by the PSC.
- The agreement with the PSC provides that the program is to continue unless one of the parties provides written notice to the other by June 30, 2015, that it is electing to terminate the program effective the end of the 2015 -2016 academic year.
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REMINDER FOR THOSE PARTICIPANTS IN CUNY’s COMMUTER PROGRAM WHO HAD POST-TAX CONTRIBUTIONS IN 2012.
Based on the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA), signed on January 2, 2013, Congress has increased the amount of the transportation benefit that can be excluded from earnings from $125.00 to $240.00 retroactive to January 2012 for the calendar year 2012. In response to ATRA, The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) will issue a revised Form W-2 within the next six to eight weeks to participants who had a post-tax commuter benefit deduction on any 2012 pay statement. All affected participants should have received communication from OSC advising them of this matter.
The revised Form W-2 will reflect a reduced taxable income once the maximum biweekly post-tax contributions are recharacterized as pre-tax contributions for 2012. If you would like The Office of The State Comptroller (OSC) to file for, on your behalf, a refund of the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld on the total amount of the pre-tax adjustment that is reflected on the corrected Form W-2 you receive, please complete section B of the Prior Year Social Security and Medicare Tax Refund Certification form that you received from the OSC. Please return it as soon as possible, but no later than March 18, 2013.
Also, as you may already know, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has approved fare hikes effective March 1, 2013 with the following increases:
- The cost of a single ride will rise from $2.25 to $2.50.
- The cost of a 7-day unlimited ride Metrocard will rise from $29 to $30.
- The cost of a 30-day unlimited ride Metrocard will rise from $104 to $112.
The MTA will also begin charging a $1.00 “new card fee” for the purchase of a new Metrocard effective March 3, 2013. By refilling and reusing your current Metrocard, you will avoid this additional fee. For up-to-date transit fare information, please visit the MTA’s website
here.
If you wish to change your monthly transit deduction due to the increased monthly pre-tax limit as well as the impending transit fare increase, please complete the attached Transit Form and return it to your Benefits Office Contact.
Read More at CUNY OHRM.
Schedule an appointment today with a TIAA-CREF consultant who will be available to answer questions about your financial matters.
Space is limited, so please RSVP as soon as you can by calling THERESA BURKE at 800 842-2733, extension 23-5058.
TIAA-CREF Sessions: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
| Date | Room |
| May 22, 2013 | 8.106 |
| June 11, 2013 | 8.106 |
| June 27, 2013 | 8.106 |
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