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Overview: employment after retirement

See also HR: Employment After Retirement.

TRS retirees must have service break of at least one month from Workday retirement date before returning to work under Modified Service or a Phased Retirement Contract. Texas ORP retirees may return to work at any time without restrictions on employment. The retiree is responsible for checking with their retirement program provider about any possible ramifications before returning to service.

TRS retirees are capped at 50% FTE across all positions; ORP retirees have no restrictions on number of hours appointed.

Retirees coming back to teach are hired into the position from which they retired. Note that once a tenured faculty member retires, they forfeit tenure. Any post-retirement employment is considered Non-Tenure Track, Fixed Term, should be in a JM supervisory organization, and should be funded accordingly.

Note that if the proposed work is for research-related activities, the job in Workday will require assignment of scheduled weekly hours to allow effort certification.

A copy of the signed contract/offer letter must always be uploaded at the contract step to the Workday Hire business process.

TRS retirees should also review the TRS: Employment After Retirement brochure (PDF).

Hiring retired faculty

PARs are never used to hire retirees. Instead, Modified Service may be an option (see below).

Employment of emeriti

Review EVPP: Faculty Retirement Guidance, pages 4-6.

Payments cannot be made in Workday to Emeritus nor Interim Emeritus appointments, as they are Academic Appointments only. If there are no currently active worker positions in Workday, the Emeritus/Interim Emeritus must first be rehired into an active worker position in order to receive payment. This can be done while the faculty member's emeritus request is still pending approval and they are in "Interim Emeritus" status - it is not necessary to wait for the Emeritus appointment to first be approved before initiating the rehire process. Follow the instructions for Modified Service (using revised dates effective 8/16/2024) to rehire the Emeritus or Interim Emeritus by hiring them into a fixed-term job in the appropriate JM supervisory organization, using the same Job Profile they were in at the time of retirement. 

If the proposed employment is in a department different from the Emeritus' home department, use the Workday: Faculty Additional Employment Decision Tree to determine whether to add a Faculty Associate position in the other department. See more at COE: Additional Employment and Allowances.

Note that if the proposed work is for research-related activities, the job in Workday will require assignment of scheduled weekly hours to allow effort certification.

A copy of the signed contract/offer letter must always be uploaded at the contract step to the Workday Hire business process. Use the EVPP departmentalized offer letter template for Non-Tenured Modified Service.

A PAR is never needed for faculty retiree.

See additional information about emeritus faculty at COE: Emeritus Faculty.

Modified Service

Review:

• EVPP: Faculty Retirement, pages 4-5, "Modified Service"

• HOP 2-2420: Modified Service and Phased Retirement for Faculty

The Board of Regents may appoint a faculty member who has retired to modified service. Recommendation for and appointment to modified service shall be made only if it has been determined that there is both justifiable instructional need, and that the individual's service will significantly benefit the university. Appointment to modified service is without tenure, limited to half-time, and spans no more than one academic year.

A faculty member who wishes to be considered for appointment to Modified Service should submit a request in writing to the department chair during the fiscal year in which they have decided to retire, before the budget is prepared for the following year. Requests for renewals of modified service appointments should be submitted to the chair each successive year. Review HOP 2-2420: Modified Service for prior approval procedures and additional information.

A retired faculty member returning to Modified Service after termination (retirement) must be rehired following APS guidance. A faculty retiree in Modified Service must have an active, unexpired contract in Workday.

Criteria for Modified Service appointments

• Without tenure

• No more than 50% time

• Do not exceed one academic year

• Must include compensation

Appointment to modified service may be renewed in writing for successive terms of one academic year if the University determines that it is of significant benefit.

Faculty should not be considered for appointment to modified service to teach during a summer session. If no other qualified, active faculty member is available, APS may consider an exception.

See HR: Employment After Retirement for additional information.

Modified Service hire process

1. Process the faculty member's retirement in Workday. 

2. Rehire the faculty member in Workday, keeping in mind any needed service breaks. A PAR (Prior Approval Request) is never used for retirees.

Notes:

• Faculty retirees are considered non-tenure track, and should always be hired into a JM supervisory organization, with a fixed term and end date. Their Job Profile will default from the one they held at time of retirement.

• Do not skip the "Maintain Employee Contract" sub-process, as this is the only indicator in Workday that the employee is on Modified Service.

• Use contract reason "Modified Service".

• Attach a copy of the contract/signed offer letter into the Contract step. Use the EVPP Modified Service (departmentalized) template.

See detailed Workday instructions at Box: Modified Service process (PDF).

Renewing or revising a Modified Service appointment

If processing a Change Job to extend the Modified Service contract and/or change the Scheduled Weekly Hours, attach a new signed contract/offer letter to the business process showing the updated information.

Contracts for Retired-Active faculty

Contracts are required for retired faculty who are rehired into professional-track positions through Modified Service or a Phased Retirement Agreement. 

One-year contracts for 9-month professional track faculty (including faculty on Modified Service) should always end May 15. The Workday End Employment Date can be August 15.  

For more information, refer to the Maintain Non-Tenure Track Faculty Contracts - Workday Instructional Guide (WIG) and Manage Non-Tenure Track Faculty - Workday Process Overview (WPO).

Add or renew contract

1. Review instructions at Maintain NTT Faculty Contracts - WIG.docx | Powered by Box.

2. Go to Worker Profile > Actions > Job Change > Employee Contracts.

3. Click “Add”.

4. Complete Contract Details. For Retired-Active faculty, always use:

   • Reason: Retiree

   • Contract Type: Faculty Modified Service

5. Upload contract.

Please send suggested additions to this page and notifications about broken links to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.