A voluntary early retirement program, similar to those offered earlier this year to faculty and staff, has been created for Pitt employees who are represented by unions.
The represented employee voluntary early retirement program provides eligible employees the option of retiring from the University and receiving a one-time financial incentive along with immediate ability to access Pitt’s standard retirement benefits package, which includes health care and education benefits for spouse/domestic partner and dependents.
Eligibility for the program is limited to represented employees who have served a minimum of 10 consecutive years of full-time service at the University and who reached age 59 by Sept. 1, 2020. The Office of Human Resources is currently finalizing an eligibility list and other program details.
About 800 people represented by six different unions work at Pitt.
Beginning in December, eligible employees will be sent details of the program via email, including a general timeline, key dates, information on how to participate, and more about the incentive and other benefits. The targeted retirement date for those who choose to take the package is May 1, 2021.
In June, Pitt announced a voluntary retirement incentive program for faculty 65 and older and an early retirement program for staff members who were 59.5 and older.
Of the 230 faculty members who were eligible for the retirement incentive program, 55 decided to take the deal. The final day for faculty to retire was Aug. 31.
About 59 percent of the 840 staff members who were eligible took the retirement package, Their last day at Pitt was Sept. 30, although David DeJong, vice chancellor for Human Resources, said around 150 of the 453 who chose to retire were back at the University as All-Temps to complete specific projects.
The retirement packages are part of Pitt’s efforts to respond to the significant costs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to give employees maximum flexibility in unprecedented times.
— Susan Jones
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