YUFA

Collective Agreement

 2006-2009

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Article 14
Retirement

Preamble

The clauses of Article 14, which govern the retirement of full-time faculty and professional librarian employees, are premised on the principle that the timing of an individual’s retirement from the University, and the assumption of any part-time responsibilities following retirement shall in the normal case be influenced primarily by the wishes of the individual.

Note: Faculty who retired under the Article 14.02(d) provisions of predecessor Collective Agreements will be entitled to the enriched rate of $16,238 for any remaining courses which they are entitled to teach at the enriched rate as per the provisions of the relevant predecessor Collective Agreement.

General Conditions and Definitions

14.01

1. “Retirement” means the voluntary termination of an individual’s full-time status at York University at any time after that individual would, if a member of the York Pension Plan, be eligible to receive a pension from the York Pension Plan (i.e., anytime after attainment of age 55). Continuation in a part-time capacity, or as “professor emeritus” or “librarian emeritus” or “senior scholar” is not inconsistent with the use of the term “retirement”.
2. Normal retirement date shall be defined as 1 July coincident with or next following an employee’s 65th birthday.
3. Employees shall be eligible to retire from the University and (assuming that they have been members of the York Pension Plan) shall be eligible to receive a York Pension, at any time following attainment of age 55.
4. The parties agree to establish a joint committee to study pension plan and retirement provisions to look at all aspects, including possible pension improvements, improving the minimum guarantee, full benefits for same-sex spouses, credit for years of service, and portability.

Irrevocable Reduced-Load Status

(b) Bargaining unit employees who provide written irrevocable notice of their intention to retire on 1 July following attainment of age 55 may voluntarily elect irrevocable reduced-load status on the basis set out below.

Irrevocable workload reduction (with an equivalent teaching load reduction) for a maximum period of ten (10) years ending no later than 30 June in the year in which payment of pension is mandatory and corresponding salary rate reduction of up to 80% of normal load and normal salary, with the Employer's contribution to pension and salary based benefits to be at 100% of nominal base salary rate, and the Employer to contribute also the amount required to bring the employee’s contributions up to 100% of full nominal rate. An employee with this status who elects a workload reduction and corresponding salary reduction of greater than 20% of normal load and normal salary in the first year may further reduce her/his load (with an equivalent teaching load reduction) in subsequent years to a minimum of 20% of normal load and normal salary on the giving of nine (9) months advance written notice, and with the written agreement of the Dean/Principal/University Librarian. Such agreement shall not be unreasonably denied and such reasonable denial will normally be based on budgetary reasons. For clarity, the irrevocable reduced-load can decline but cannot increase from any year to the next year (for example, Year 1 80%, Year 2 60%, and Year 3 40% would be permissible but Year 1 60%, Year 2 80%, and Year 3 40% would not be permissible or Year 1 and 2 80%, Year 3 60%, Year 4 40%, and Year 5 20% would be permissible but Year 1 60%, Year 2 80%, Year 3 40%, Year 4 60%, and Year 5 20% would not be permissible).

Retirement from the University

(c) All employees who retire from the University shall be accorded the status of “continuing members of the University” pursuant to Article 14.08 and shall be entitled to all the benefits associated with that status.

Retirement shall normally be followed by assumption of any of the following opt:

1. No regular paid or unpaid responsibilities; such irregular non-teaching academic or service responsibilities as may be agreed between the “continuing member of the University” and the Employer;
2. A part-time teaching or professional librarian appointment (with associated scholarship responsibilities);
3. Designation as a “Senior Scholar”.

(d) Employees who wish voluntarily to retire on a date no later than five (5) years from their normal retirement date shall be offered the opportunities below for a period of no more than six (6) years from the date they retire.

Faculty

(i) Faculty who retire no later than their normal retirement date shall be offered the opportunity to teach five (5) full courses to a maximum of two (2) courses per year on a part-time basis. This offer shall, in any year, be contingent upon sufficient enrolment in the assigned course. When an appointment which has been offered in writing is cancelled for reasons of insufficient enrolment in the course in question, and no reasonable and equivalent alternative position is found for the employee, he/she shall receive one-eighth of the salary for the position as severance pay.

Employees with this right shall provide their academic unit with nine (9) months’ notice preceding the date of commencement of teaching of their intention to teach or not teach in each year until their entitlement is exhausted.

Faculty members offered appointment on a part-time basis following retirement shall be offered the five (5) full courses at the salary rate of $16,238.

(ii) Faculty who retire following their normal retirement date will be offered the opportunity to teach on a part-time basis, according to the following schedule:

Librarians

(iii) Professional librarians who retire no later than their normal retirement date shall be offered the opportunity to fulfil professional librarian responsibilities on a part-time basis following retirement for up to five (5) one-third time appointments at the salary rate of one-fifth of the salary floor for Senior Librarian, or the part-time librarian rate, whichever is greater. 

(iv) Professional librarians who retire following their normal retirement date will be offered the opportunity to fulfil professional librarian responsibilities on a part-time basis, according to the following schedule:

Notwithstanding the above, a maximum will be applied to any retired employee’s payments for part-time employment at York, such that the total remuneration for part-time employment plus the York Pension Plan payments for which he/she is eligible shall not exceed the full-time salary which would have been paid had he/she continued employment on a full-time basis.

Such employees shall, notwithstanding their formal status as part-time employees of the University, be permitted to use the title which they held at the time of their retirement.

Employees in this category will be considered to be in the YUFA bargaining unit. The Employer will provide a list of members teaching under 14.02(d) as soon as practicable after the official enrolment reporting dates.

(e) Faculty who have retired, who have an appointment in a Graduate Program, and who are eligible for principal supervision of masters theses and/or doctoral dissertations according to OCGS and FGS regulations and, if applicable, the Graduate Program regulations, may be reimbursed for such principal supervision at the rate of 1/6^th the value of a Course Directorship at the prevailing CUPE 3903 Unit 2 rate for each year of each principal supervision (e.g., six (6) principal supervisions would equal the value of one (1) Course Directorship).

Retired faculty who are teaching up to five (5) courses at the enriched rate of $16,238 as per Article 14.02(d) may be reimbursed for such principal supervision at 1/6^th of the enriched rate of $16,238 – such principal supervisions will be applied against the teaching of up to five (5) courses at the enriched rate (e.g., the faculty member could have six (6) principal supervisions and teach one (1) course in year 1, six (6) principal supervisions and teach one (1) course in year 2, and teach one (1) course in year 3 and thereby exhaust the five (5) courses at the enriched rate).

The remaining three (3) courses under Article 14.02(d) of the 2003-2006 Collective Agreement taught at the prevailing CUPE 3903 Unit 2 Course Director rate will similarly be reduced per each principal supervision (e.g., after exhausting the five (5) courses at the enriched rate, a faculty member may have six (6) principal supervisions and teach two (2) courses and thereby exhausting the remaining three (3) courses at the CUPE 3903 Unit 2 Course Director Rate).

Eligibility

14.03 

To be eligible for options (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) as defined in Article 14.02 (above), an employee shall hold tenured/continuing appointment status and have normally held his/her appointment at York for at least five years of active service (i.e., including sabbatical, but not LOAWOP), prior to the commencement of the selected option, or normal retirement date, whichever date occurs first.

Senior Scholar/Professor Emeritus

14.04 

Employees who retire from the University shall carry the “emeritus” title appropriate to their rank, and may by notification to the Dean and Associate Vice-President (Research) elect designation also as “Senior Scholar”. In addition to entitlement of “continuing members of the University”, “Senior Scholars” shall be entitled to:

1. use of an office on a dedicated or shared basis, depending upon availability;
2. access to secretarial services, subject to availability;
3. laboratory/studio space, subject to availability;
4. computer time, subject to availability;
5. a Professional Expenses Reimbursement at the same rate as active employees for reimbursement of expenses incurred in pursuing professional scholarship, until and including the sixth year after normal retirement date.

The entitlement in (a)-(d) shall be annually reviewable by the Dean and Associate Vice-President with respect to their availability. The parties agree to investigate, through the JCOAA, the most appropriate means of establishing what priority “Senior Scholars” shall have, in comparison with others in the University, for the allocation of facilities which are to be provided subject to availability

Senior Scholars are eligible to apply for conference travel funds on the same basis as full-time faculty.

Special Conditions

Sabbaticals

14.05 

(a) 

(i) Employees taking their last sabbatical leave within the last five (5) years before their normal retirement date as defined in the York Pension Plan and choosing to take that sabbatical leave for one (1) full year, shall be entitled to receive Pension Plan contributions by the Employer based on their full academic base salary, rather than their actual sabbatical salary, if they elect to make their own pension contributions on the basis of the full academic base salary. When contributions are made on the basis of the full academic base salary rate, that salary shall be used in the Pension Plan’s computation of the individual’s average of five (5) highest years of earnings.

(ii) For employees who retire on or after 1 August 1996, there will be no entitlement to payments in respect of accrued sabbatical credits.

(iii) An employee who will have accumulated three (3) to five (5) years of credit towards a sabbatical leave as of his/her normal retirement date will be entitled to take a six-month sabbatical at 80% of his/her academic base salary or one (1) course-release at 100% academic base salary, in the academic year immediately preceding his/her normal retirement date.

An employee who will have accumulated six (6) or more years of credit towards a sabbatical leave as of his/her normal retirement date will be entitled to take a one (1) year sabbatical at 80% of his/her academic base salary, in the academic year immediately preceding his/her normal retirement date, or a six-month sabbatical at 100% of his/her academic base salary, in the academic year immediately preceding his/her normal retirement date.

See "Agreement Reached on Sabbatical Opportunities before Normal Retirement Date"

Eligibility for Salary Increments

(b) An employee who continues on full-time or full-time reduced-load basis past normal retirement date shall be eligible for general adjustment increments to his/her annual salary, as negotiated by YUFA, and for any merit increments, and Progress-through-the-Ranks increments.

Implications for Long-Term Disability Insurance

(c) The Employer agrees to extend LTSCP coverage for employees continuing full-time or full-time reduced-load past normal retirement date until he/she reaches the age at which receipt of pension payments becomes mandatory.

Retirement Planning Centre

14.06

The parties agree to establish the budget for the Retirement Planning Centre at $97,383 including salary and benefits, and that the Association will contribute ten (10) percent of the Centre’s budget in 1992/93, in order to fund the activities of the Retirement Planning Centre for University employees. The Centre shall be administered by an advisory board consisting of representatives from the Employer and various employee groups. Concerning the advisory board, the parties agree that:

1. the Association shall have the right to name at least two representatives;
2. the Association shall have representation at least equal to that of the Employer;
3. at least 50% of the membership of the advisory board shall be representatives of unionized employee groups; and
4. at least one (1) appointee of the Association and one (1) appointee of the Employer shall be York retirees or employees within five (5) years of achieving normal retirement date.

The services of the Centre shall include, but not be limited to, pension and financial consultation, the provision of bibliographic materials, information and advice on retirement options, and programmes on retirement planning.

Any funds not expended from the monies available to the Centre in a given year shall be carried forward to the subsequent year and made available for the purposes of the Centre.

14.07 

The Employer agrees to provide funds sufficient to ensure that employees eligible to retire will have made available to them, through the Retirement Planning Centre, individual financial counselling, to a maximum cumulative expense of $850 per employee.

Continuing Members

14.08 

(a) Subsequent to their retirement, former employees shall be designated as “continuing members of York University” and of their respective Faculties/Libraries, and shall be accorded continuation of:

1. faculty library privileges;
2. University affiliation for external research grant application purposes.

(b) “Continuing members” of the University, as defined above, shall be eligible for:

1. free athletic memberships;
2. limited extended health care and dental plan coverage (Appendix F).

The Employer agrees to continue the YUFA retirees’ benefits coverage for the term of the Collective Agreement, provided that the total available funding for the program, including the Employer’s annual contribution of $700,000 and the premiums paid by retirees, is sufficient to cover the costs of the program. The parties agree to discuss benefit issues for retirees in the Joint Committee on the Administration of the Agreement from time to time.

The parties shall continue to monitor the available balance of the retirees’ benefits program funding against expenditures charged to it. The Employer shall provide the Association with regular cost projections. Should such projections establish that expenditures will significantly exceed the available funding, the Joint Subcommittee on Benefits will meet to discuss how the retirees’ benefits program can be adjusted to keep the expenditures within the funds available. The parties reserve the right to reduce the coverage to a level consistent with the funding available for the program. Any significant amendments to the coverage shall be announced to retired employees no later than four (4) months prior to its implementation.

(c) Where a child of a faculty member was dependent (as defined in Article 26.12) at the time of the faculty member’s retirement, that child is eligible for tuition waiver at the domestic tuition rate provided that the child commences and continues in a degree programme at York University prior to attaining twenty-one (21) years of age.

The spouse of a faculty member at the time of that faculty member’s retirement is eligible for tuition waiver (at the domestic tuition rate) unless the spouse becomes the spouse of another.

(d) Within ninety (90) days of signing the 2003-2006 Collective Agreement, the Association shall receive the full text of the benefit plan provisions concerning existing retiree benefits. Further, in the event of any subsequent changes to the retiree benefits plan agreed to by the parties, the Employer will forward to the Association within sixty (60) days an addendum to the full text of the benefit plan provisions concerning retiree benefits and will facilitate the provision to the Association of a revised full text of the benefit plan provisions as expeditiously as practicable.

Phased-In and Early Retirement Options

14.09 

(a) Definitions: “Voluntary separation” is defined as the resignation of an employee in return for a severance payment by the Employer to the employee.

“Severance payment” may include, but is not restricted to, a monetary payment, leaves of absence on a paid and/or unpaid basis, medical and pension benefit arrangements.

(b) The Employer undertakes to make known to Association bargaining unit members that voluntary separation agreements may be entered into provided the Employer and the employee reach agreement as to the terms of such a voluntary separation. Further, the Employer agrees to consider, with an individual employee, the possibilities for voluntary separation of that employee from his/her employment at York University. Subject to paragraph (c), below, it is understood that the Employer and the employee each have the discretion to refuse to agree to any particular voluntary separation agreement proposal.

(c) An employee with tenure/continuing appointment who retires from the University between the age of X (X = 60, 61 ... 65) and normal retirement date shall receive as financial assistance in his/her retirement from the University an amount equal to:

The average academic base salary rate
 for bargaining unit members of age X
 in his/her stream in the academic year
 immediately preceding retirement,
 Times
 the number of years and part years*
 (e.g., one (1) year and six (6) months equals 1.5)
 remaining from time of retirement
 to normal retirement date,
 divided by
 5.

*Note that the number of years and part years remaining until the normal retirement date for the purpose of this Article will be calculated in terms of a 1 July or 1 January retirement date, i.e., the number of years remaining until the normal retirement date will be calculated in whole and half years. If an employee fails to provide a minimum of nine (9) months’ written notice of the date on which she/he plans to retire early as required by Article 14.02(a), the employee’s number of years and part years for the purposes of the formula above will be reduced by six (6) months (e.g., if an employee retiring 1 July with two (2) years remaining until the normal retirement date fails to provide nine (9) months’ notice, his/her “number of years and part years” will be 1.5 rather than 2 for the purposes of the formula).

To be eligible for such payment, the employee must:

1. hold a tenured/continuing appointment;
2. have active service at York University, including sabbatical but not LOAWOP, of at least twice the number of years remaining from the time of retirement to normal retirement date, to a maximum of eight (8) such years.

These sums shall be paid to the employee in whatever form the employee designates and is acceptable under the regulations of Canada Revenue Agency. Financial counselling will be available to the employee, pursuant to Article 14.07.

Irrevocable Reduced-Load and Employees Who Had Low Projected Pensions

14.10 

Employees who had low projected pensions as defined in Article 14.01(b) of the 2003-2006 Collective Agreement and who elected to move to irrevocable reduced-load status under that Article on or before 1 July 2006 and who are still on irrevocable reduced-load status will be offered a one time opportunity to decide if they wish to return to full-load status effective 1 July 2007.