Resources and Reports

• When to retire is a personal decision. For most emeriti, formal retirement does not amount to withdrawal from University activities. Although retirement may result in some reduction of income, this can often be supplemented in various ways, including Recall to Active Duty (see below). For many emeriti, lessening of income may be more than compensated by the greater freedom that retirement brings

• The financial aspects of retirement are complex, and some decisions are irrevocable (for example, the choice of payment options/contingent annuitant). It is important to consider and select options carefully.

• Below are some helpful links for assessing retirement readiness or projecting retirement readiness.
• https://rasc.universityofcalifornia.edu/ - UC Santa Barbara does not offer benefits and retirement counseling. This service is provided by the UC Retirement Administrative Service Center (RASC). RASC can be of assistance with respect to the financial aspects of the decision. Financial information includes projections for UCRP income, consideration of tax issues, eligibility/costs for continuation of UC medical and dental plans, and general Medicare/UC Plan coordination. If age 65 or older at the time of retirement, the member/spouse will be required to apply and enroll in Medicare (if eligible).
• http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/forms/pdf/retirement-handbook.pdf - The University of California Retirement Handbook provides information regarding how benefits are calculated, payment options, tax provisions and future cost-of-living adjustments. Eligibility for continuation of health/welfare benefits is outlined along with other UC-sponsored insurance plans.
• See this video from RASC on preparing for retirement.
• https://ap.ucsb.edu/compensation.and.benefits/ucsb.salary.scales/ - Many faculty find having a link to the Academic Salary Scales as they begin to deliberate about the best time to retire.
• https://ssa.gov - Questions regarding Social Security benefits should be referred to the Social Security Administration.
• Retirement At Your Service-UCRAYS - Use the UCOP Retirement At Your Service site UCRAYS for viewing your service credit, seeing the UCRP retirement estimator for your benefits, accessing retirement status tracker and document upload features, editing contact information, and adjusting your beneficiaries.
• At Your Service - While many retirement-related features have transitioned to UCRAYS, At Your Service will continue to house information about historical W2s before the transition to UC PATH and historical paycheck information.
• My UC Retirement - Well before retirement, many appointees are interested in seeing how to maximize their pensions in the golden years. Visit this page for information on saving and investing. A useful projection tool is the Retirement Review feature on this page.
• Fidelity Retirement Services: Fidelity Retirement Services is the record-keeping and account services company for the UC Retirement Savings Program [Defined Contribution, Tax-Deferred 403(b), and 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans]. Fidelity can provide account balances and other information about your accounts. In addition, it has interactive planning tools and other information to help you plan for your financial needs in retirement. UC Santa Barbara appointees can schedule a one-on-one meeting with a Fidelity Planning and Advice Consultant by requesting a consultation at 1 (800) 343-0860 or by contacting Andrew Fung, the Fidelity advisor for UCSB: Andrew.Fung@fidelity.com
• UCnet Retirement Benefits - Visit the UC-wide retirement page for many resources, including a Retirement planning resources page with links to online tools, schedules for retirement benefit classes and webinars, and contact information for the UC Retirement Administration Service Center (RASC). You may also read about plan eligibilities and retirement plan provisions by date of hire, learn how to designate beneficiaries, and see the UC Retirement Handbook for more helpful guidance.
• UCnet Retiree Health and Welfare Benefits - UC Net's page on continuation and change of benefits post-retirement is helpful.

• You will have to apply for and navigate through the retirement process yourself, online at the UCRAYS website. UCSB staff will guide you through the process as best they can, but cannot do it for you.
• Neither the campus Human Resources, Academic Personnel, nor Emeriti Association has a direct role in the UC retirement process, which is completely centralized at the Office of the President’s Retirement Administrative Service center “RASC.” No campus-based individuals have any direct access to your retirement records.
• You cannot begin this formal process until three months before your retirement date, but we urge you to learn about your options well in advance and then begin the formal process as soon as possible. While the average confirmation time at UCSB is 30 days, the confirmation time can be much longer depending on the complexity of the individual's retirement situation.
• Remember that you will not receive your retirement benefits unless you have been separated by your department and you have successfully completed the UC Retirement Process.

• The end of the academic year is usually best. Technically you "separate" from your regular position on the penultimate weekday of June, and then "retire into" your UC pension and other retirement benefits on July 1. Because of the way the UC Pension cost of living adjustments (COLAs) are calculated, you pick up at least one and possibly two annual COLAs, compared to retiring at other times of the year.
• The end of June is also the only point in the Academic Year when the end of a quarter coincides with the end of a pay period for academic year ("nine month") employees paid over 12 months. If you retire at the end of the Fall or Winter Quarters, your last pay check will be on October 31 or February 28, respectively, neither of which coincides with the last work day of that quarter. Generally, you can only retire at the end of a pay period.

• To institute UCSB Retirement: Birth evidence is required for a retiree’s contingent annuitant (if named). A contingent annuitant is identified during the Personal Retirement Profile/Election process. A contingent annuitant will receive retirement income if the retiree passes away first. The retiree reduces their monthly income to provide income for the contingent annuitant. Several payment options are offered. Acceptable forms of evidence include a birth certificate, passport, or certificate of naturalization.
• Marriage evidence is required if the retiring individual is married and elects monthly retirement income. If you were eligible for UCRP membership before July 1, 2013, the post-retirement survivor benefit is automatic.
• Survivor benefits could be paid to a domestic partner if the retiree elects monthly income. Evidence of the partnership is required. The post-retirement survivor benefit is automatically 25%. If UCRP membership was before July 1, 2013 and correct documentation is provided to UC prior to retirement, higher percentages are available with a reduction in the monthly pension payment. Acceptable forms of partnership evidence include a copy of the California state form filed with the Secretary of State; or if no state form, UC Declaration of Domestic Partnership (UBEN250). The form is within the booklet Benefits for Domestic Partners, which can be found at https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/wp-content/uploads/forms/pdf/benefits-for-domestic-partners.pdf.
• The completed form should be sent to UC Benefits along with three supporting documents. (A list of acceptable documents is listed on the form.) Your domestic partnership must have existed for at least one year at the time of your retirement and continuously until your death. In addition, you must submit documentation establishing your domestic partnership to UC before you retire.
• For Social Security and Medicare: Birth certificate, California driver’s license, Social Security card, name and address of employer, and most recent pay stub are required. If desired, registration for Social Security can be handled entirely by telephone, in which case the required documents are furnished by mail and will be returned. You may call the U.S. Social Security Administration, an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, at (800) 772-1213 between 7 AM and 7 PM, Monday through Friday, to make an appointment for a telephone interview which may last as long as an hour. Registration for Social Security benefits may also be processed online. The website for the Social Security Administration is http://www.ssa.gov/ and the Social Security Benefit Application form can be completed on the following secure web site: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-1.html#:~:text=Medicare-,Form%20SSA%2D1%20%7C%20Information%20You%20Need%20To%20Apply%20For%20Retirement,your%20local%20Social%20Security%20office.
• The Social Security Administration says, "You should apply no later than the month in which you want your benefits to start. You can file up to four months before that…"
• AARP says, "You’re eligible for Medicare at 65, but enrollment isn’t always automatic." If you’ve received Social Security retirement benefits for at least four months before your 65th birthday, you’ll be enrolled automatically in Medicare Part A and Part B at the beginning of the month you turn 65. If your birthday is on the first day of a month, your coverage will start a month earlier.
• Since the full retirement age is 66 or older for people born in 1943 or later, most people haven’t signed up for Social Security benefits by 65. That means they need to take steps to enroll in Medicare.

• When a faculty member or academic appointee is ready to retire, an important step in the process is providing communication about a projected date of retirement to the appointee’s chair. There is no campus or systemwide policy requirement to provide written notice of one’s intention to retire, although some departments or divisions may require it. The Red Binder just specifies that once a department chair is aware of an impending retirement, they need to notify their dean and the Office of Academic Personnel.
• For Senate faculty, until an appointee provides notice of intent, the department may not request an emergency replacement FTE or plan for a replacement recruitment, so it's helpful if this notice is provided as early as possible, preferably a year in advance.
• Whenever possible, early discussion of intent is a best practice to facilitate both preparing for replacement recruitments and orchestrating curricular planning. While some retirement dates are more common than others, official notice of intent to retire can be provided at any time.
• Although UCSB does not have a formal "pathways to retirement" program like some other UC campuses, it is a good idea to initiate a discussion with your department early on about such topics as recall teaching and research appointments, post-retirement space availability, and departmental voting rights.

• An academic appointee who has retired may be recalled to meet short term teaching, research, or administrative needs. Recall also provides opportunities to remain engaged in teaching and research and to augment post-retirement income. https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-205.pdf
• Retired faculty are recalled at the discretion of the University. Reappointments of recalled faculty are subject to annual administrative review, where appropriate, and to final approval by the cognizant divisional dean, associate vice chancellor, or executive vice chancellor. Requests for recall appointments originate with the department and are submitted via the Academic Recall Appointment Form hyperlinked in Section I-70 of the Red Binder. Questions regarding these policies may be addressed to the faculty member’s department, the divisional dean’s office, or to the Academic Personnel Office.
• Retired faculty may be recalled to active teaching duty for one quarter or more. They may also be recalled for research activity. A faculty member may be recalled 90 days after the date of retirement, or after receipt of the first retirement payment, whichever occurs first. However, in no case may a faculty member be recalled sooner than 30 days after the retirement date. Appointments may not exceed 43% time, alone or in combination with other recall appointments. Exceptions to this limit may be granted only by the Chancellor and will rarely occur.
• Recall appointments that begin less than 6 months after separation, or that exceed 43% time, may have complex consequences with respect to retiree benefits. A faculty member considering returning on a recall basis in the quarter immediately following retirement should consult with the benefits office in Human Resources.
• Requests for recall appointments are made using the Academic Recall Appointment Form. https://ap.ucsb.edu/forms/academic.recall.appointment.form/

1. Teaching Appointments
   • The appropriate annual salary for the recall appointment is the annual rate at the time of retirement, range adjusted forward. A retired faculty member may be recalled to teach one quarter or more. If recalled for only one quarter, the appointment should be on a 9/9 basis. If the appointment is for one full year it may be made on a 9/12 basis. Appointments will be entered into UCPath using the Recall Teaching title.
2. Research Appointments
   • A retired Senate Faculty member who is recalled to serve in an extramurally funded research capacity may be appointed as a Research Professor. The title is used when an emeritus faculty member is doing research for which they still need to be paid, or if they are administering funds from an external source that requires them to hold a current appointment. It is not an honorary title. Appointment as a Research Professor is normally a year-to-year appointment. Appointments may also be made for shorter periods of time. The terms and conditions of employment for a faculty member who is recalled for research parallel those of a faculty member who is recalled to teach. In the event that a Senate Faculty member is recalled both to teach and for extramurally funded research in the same department for the same time period, the Research Professor title will be used. Requests for appointment as Research Professor may be sent directly from the employing unit to Academic Personnel. Paid appointments as Research Professor are made on an 11/12 rate. The appropriate annual rate at the time of retirement is range adjusted forward, converted to an 11/12 basis (multiply the current 9/12 rate x 1.16). Appointments will be entered into UCPath using the Recall Faculty title.
3. Administrative Appointments
   • Recall appointments will be approved for administrative service only in rare and unusual circumstances and may be approved only by the Executive Vice Chancellor after consultation with the Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel. Terms of such appointments will be individually set based on the nature of the service. The Academic Personnel office should be consulted to determine the appropriate annualized salary rate. Appointments will be entered into UCPath using the Recall Faculty title.
4. Approval Authority

• The Emerita/us Title and Academic Senate Membership
  • All members of the Academic Senate continue to be Senate members after they retire (Regents Standing Order 105.1a).
  • Emeriti retain their Senate voting rights and the right to hold Senate office and serve on Senate committees.
  • Senate members with the title Professor or Associate Professor automatically gain the right to the Emerita/us suffix upon retirement. At UCSB Senate members with other titles (e.g. Lecturer with Security of Employment, Professor-in-Residence, University Librarian) also qualify for the Emerita/us suffix upon retirement.
  • Academics who are not Senate members (e.g. Continuing Lecturers) can apply for conferral of the “Emerita/us” suffix to use with their non-Senate titles. The criteria and procedures for conferral are summarized in APM 120: https://www.ucop.edu/academic-personnel-programs/_files/apm/apm-120.pdf
  • See UCSB Policy 1100 and the website of the UCSB Emeriti and Retirees Center for information about non-academic privileges, including continued eligibility for UC-sponsored insurance plans, library privileges, a University email account and free parking on campus.
    • https://www.policy.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/docs/policies/emeriti.pdf
    • https://www.hr.ucsb.edu/emeriti-retirees-center

• Four Important Notes:
  • The Emerita/us title is an honorific title which in itself provides few actual privileges beyond the right to add “Emerita/us” to the job title held at the time of retirement. Most important professional rights often associated with the Emerita/us title actually emanate from continuing membership in the Academic Senate.
  • The Emerita/us title is not required for a retired academic to be recalled to part-time academic service.
  • Conferral of the Emerita/us title to non-Senate academics does not convey the rights of Senate membership; only those retired academics who were Senate members at the time they retired have those rights.
  • All Senate members automatically become members of the UCSB Emeriti Association upon retirement, as do retired Librarians, Continuing Lecturers, and professional Researchers.

• Departmental Membership and Participation After Retirement
  • Retired Senate faculty - often referred to as "emeriti professors" - continue to be listed on their departmental websites, often in a separate Emeriti listing. They also retain their departmental email addresses. Some departments provide time-limited and/or shared office space and some other basic services, though these depend on departmental resources and traditions.
  • At UCSB emeriti professors have the right to receive notice of and participate in non-personnel departmental meetings but not the automatic right to vote - see Santa Barbara Senate Divisional Bylaw 205-D: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12lPQTmK8myLd3ZxeqfOFj4i1MEe94WUr9rPTc0oZM4o/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.xpu6r2183jb8
  • Some departments have extended the right to attend personnel meetings to emeriti and a few have extended the right to vote on personnel and/or policy matters. Check your department’s bylaws for details.
  • Emeriti may serve as a member or chair of a student's master's or doctoral committee at the department's discretion. Graduate Council approval is not required.
  • https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/academic-services/committees#emeriti
  • Emeriti retain full library privileges. These include local checkout of materials, Interlibrary Loan, and access to restricted remote databases. Retired academics who have not been granted the emeritus title retain local checkout privileges and Interlibrary Loan, but do not retain access to the restricted remote databases. Upon retirement, one should first obtain an emeriti identification card from the Coordinator of the UCSB Emeriti & Retirees Center, then speak to a Library staff member in order to insure continued use of Library services.
• Recall to Service
  • Retired UC academics - whether or not they have the Emerita/us title - can be recalled for teaching, research, administrative service or some combination of the three. See RECALL TO SERVICE, above.
  • Approved Recall status is required if you teach a class, serve in an administrative capacity, or manage a research team or facility. This is true even if you are not being paid. Recall - paid or unpaid - is not just an administrative formality: it protects both you and the University.
  • Retired academic appointees are eligible to teach Discovery Seminars, in the College of Letters & Science, which requires Recall status.

• There is no University of California Policy on the use of earned, but unexpended research funds upon retirement (e.g., funds received for teaching Discovery Seminars, for Senate service, startup and retention funds, Senate Research and Travel grants, funds granted by Federal or State agencies). Policies and practices may vary depending on the granting agency and the division or college in which the faculty member’s FTE resides. Faculty planning to retire should check with the granting agency and the department chair well in advance of retirement.

The University of California makes two annual awards to emeriti.

• Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award
  • This systemwide award was created in 1983 by a bequest from Constantine Panunzio, longtime Professor of Sociology at UCLA (1931-1952). Described as the architect of the UC Retirement System, Professor Panunzio is remembered for having played a decisive role in the expansion of UC emeriti benefits.
  • The Constantine Panunzio Distinguished Emeriti Award honors outstanding scholarly work or educational service performed since retirement by an emeritus or emerita in the humanities or social sciences. The award includes a cash prize and a certificate of recognition.
• Nominations
  • Each fall quarter, a call for nominations is made by the Executive Dean of the College of Letters & Science and by the President of the UCSB Emeriti Association.
  • Nominations should be sent directly to the UCSB Emeriti Association.
  • The nomination should include:
    • A letter outlining the distinctive contribution in scholarship and/or educational service made by the nominee since retirement
    • The curriculum vitae of the nominee
    • An endorsement by the department chair
    • A minimum of two supporting letters from leaders in the field commenting specifically on the nominee’s achievements since retirement
• Procedures
  • The nominations will be reviewed by the Emeriti Association and by the Executive Dean.
  • One UCSB campus nominee will be selected from among the nominations received.
  • The nomination packet, including a cover letter written jointly by the President of the Emeriti Association and the Executive Dean, will be sent to the selection committee based at UCLA.
  • The recipient(s) of the Award will be announced in spring quarter.
• Past Panunzio Award Recipients
  • https://emeriti.errc.ucla.edu/file/c4ce1f31-ba37-44ea-b662-91ccae5dbb5e
• Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorship
  • The Dickson Emeritus Awards are granted to UCSB emeriti from any campus department who have, during their formal retirement years, continued their distinguished academic pursuits.
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Edward A. Dickson served as a Regent of the University of California from 1913 to 1946, the longest tenure of any Regent. In 1955, Mr. Dickson presented the University with a gift endowment which enables each campus to award The Dickson Emeriti Professorship on an annual basis for a term of one academic year. The funds associated with the Professorship may be used to support research or creative activity, recall teaching appointment, or public service. A stipend of approximately $15,000 will be provided. Past Dickson Emeriti Professors have used this appointment to pursue research and creative projects, contribute to the curriculum, and pursue collaborations with faculty and students.
  • The Dickson Emeriti Professorship is administered by the Executive Vice Chancellor. Each spring quarter, the Executive Vice Chancellor invites departmental chairs to submit nominations. The departmental recommendation should explain the benefit that the proposed appointment would provide to the department, the campus, or University as a whole, as well as a detailed budget. Recommendations should be submitted to the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor via the appropriate Dean. The Executive Vice Chancellor, in consultation with the Dean, appoints The Dickson Emeriti Professor for the following year. Questions may be directed to the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor.