Section A. Eligibility
. Severance pay shall be granted to faculty
members in accordance with the following provisions.
Subd. 1. All faculty members who have accrued twenty (20) years of service in the Minnesota State Universities shall receive severance pay upon separation from the Minnesota State Universities.
Subd. 2. Probationary and tenured faculty members who have fewer than twenty (20) years of service in the Minnesota State Universities shall receive severance pay upon mandatory retirement , death, permanent layoff, or receipt of separation incentive. Faculty members on non-tenure track or fixed-term appointment , other than those funded by monies from an outside jurisdiction or agency which may terminate such funding in a manner beyond the control of the Employer , who have at least ten (10) years of service in the Minnesota State Universities shall receive severance pay upon mandatory retirement, death, or discontinuance of employment. Fixed-term faculty members in positions funded by monies from an outside jurisdiction or agency which may terminate such funding in a manner beyond the control of the Employer may, after ten (10) years of service in the State Universities, receive severance pay upon mandatory retirement, death, or discontinuance of employment to the extent the funding source permits. In the event of death, such benefits shall be made to the beneficiary designated by the faculty member under a State retirement program.
Subd. 3. Faculty members who separate from the Minnesota State Universities after ten (10) years of service and whose combined years of service and age equal sixty-eight (68) shall also receive severance pay.
Section B. Computation . Severance pay shall be computed at forty percent (40%) of the faculty member ’s regularly accumulated but unused sick leave balance multiplied by the faculty member ’s regular daily rate of pay at the time of separation. Effective fiscal year 1996, severance pay for faculty with twenty-five (25) or more years of service shall be computed at forty-five percent (45%), with an increase of one percent (1%) per year for each additional year of service beyond twenty-five (25) years to a maximum percentage of fifty percent (50%). The base for computing severance pay shall not exceed one hundred twenty-five (125) days. Should the faculty member have less than one hundred twenty-five (125) days of regular sick leave accumulated, the difference may be transferred from lapsed sick leave for purposes of calculation of severance pay.
Section C. Reappointment . In the event a faculty member who has received severance pay is subsequently reappointed to the Minnesota State Universities, future severance pay for that individual shall be computed upon the difference between the amount of accumulated sick leave restored to the faculty member ’s credit at the time of reemployment and the amount of unused sick leave at the time of the faculty member’s subsequent eligibility .
Section D. Early Separation Incentive .
Subd. 1. Eligibility . In addition to the above a faculty member who has served at least fifteen (15) years in the Minnesota State Universities and is at least fifty-five (55) years of age shall be eligible for early separation.
Subd. 2. Sunset . Faculty members hired after June 30, 1996 shall not be eligible for this early separation incentive.
Subd. 3. Individual Eligibility .
a. An eligible faculty member who elects early separation through resignation or early retirement by October 1, to be effective the beginning of the subsequent academic year , or a date mutually agreed upon by the faculty member and the Administration , except those faculty qualifying under paragraph b. below, shall receive compensation equal to his/her base salary minus ten percent (10%) of his/her base salary for each year beyond age fifty-five (55). The faculty member shall receive the compensation in two (2) equal annual payments, the first at the beginning of the ensuing fiscal year and the second in the following fiscal year. If the separation payment is less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), it will be paid to the faculty member in a lump sum. In no circumstance shall a faculty member eligible for an early separation payment receive such payment in any one fiscal year which would result in compensation in excess of one hundred percent (100%) of total salary, exclusive of overload and summer sessions. In the event a faculty member who is otherwise eligible for the separation incentive described in this Section, and has provided the advanced notice of his/her intention to retire as provided in this Section, dies before his/her separation date, the incentive payment shall be made to his/her estate.
b. If a faculty member is older than age fifty-five (55) when s/he completes the fifteen (15) years of service requirement, the faculty member shall receive the full benefit of one year’s base salary if s/he: 1) applies within one hundred and eighty (180) days of meeting the age and service requirement, and 2) the separation will occur no later than one hundred and eighty-one (181) days following the date of application for the benefit. Any faculty member eligible under this subdivision who does not elect early retirement during this window but chooses to apply later will be compensated under the schedule set forth in paragraph a.
Subd. 4. Institutional Designation . After meeting and conferring with the Association , the President may designate departments or programs in which faculty members choosing the incentive shall receive compensation equal to their full base salary. The President’s designation will be based on reasons that are in the best interest of the university . Payments will be made in a manner consistent with Subdivision 3.
Subd. 5. Maintenance
of Benefits
Contribution
. A faculty member
qualifying for an early separation incentive
payment(s) as provided in this Section The separated
faculty member shall
have an amount equivalent to the Employer
contribution for one year’s health insurance
premiums deposited in his/her post-retirement health
care expense
account savings
plan at the time of separation.
Subd. 6. Persons choosing early separation shall have eligibility for early retirement payments determined in accordance with appropriate statutes and regulations.
Section
E. Postretirement Health Care Savings Plan
.
Subd. 1. The employer shall arrange for
the creation of a tax-free postretirement post-separation health care trust savings
plan in accordance with Minnesota Statutes
,
Sections 352.98 and 356.24. This program
will be administered through the Minnesota State Retirement System
.
The
employer shall establish within the plan an individual account for each
faculty member
.
trust
Subd. 2. Upon separation from service
by a faculty member
, all
severance payments made pursuant to Sections A and B of this Article shall be
deposited into the Health
Care Savings Plan (HCSP), as described in Subdivision 1. If the
severance payment is less than $500, the amount shall be paid as a lump sum to
the faculty member
. In
the event of the death of the faculty member eligible to receive severance
under Sections A and B, payment shall be made pursuant to Section A. If an employee
eligible for severance pay provides the Employer
with evidence of his/her receipt of a written
exception to participation in the HCSP from the Plan Administrator
prior to the time that deposit of severance
pay is made to the employee’s HCSP account, the employee shall receive the
entire severance amount as a lump-sum payment.
employee’s
post-retirement health care savings account