Retirement
Planning and saving for retirement is an important responsibility throughout your working years. PNW offers a variety of retirement plans, depending on the type of position you hold, to help you prepare for the financial aspects of retirement.
Explore Retirement Transition Options
See Official Retiree Requirements
Retirement Plans
Purdue offers a variety of retirement plans, depending upon the type of position you hold, to help you prepare for the financial aspects of retirement.
University Funded Retirement Plans
- Purdue Standard Retirement and Savings Plans (PSRS)
- For benefit-eligible tenure-track faculty, instructors, and senior management/professional staff members upon date of employment.
- Purdue Matching Retirement and Savings Plans (PMRS)
- For biweekly paid employees hired on or after September 9, 2013.
- Public Employees Retirement Fund (PERF)
- For benefits-eligible service and support staff members hired before September 9, 2013.
- Police Officer and Firefighter Retirement Plan
- For police officers and firefighters employed by Purdue University.
- Police Officers and Firefighters Pension Summary
- Pension Program for police officers and firefighters employed by Purdue to be comparable to those available in Indiana for municipal police and fire personnel.
Retirement Resources
Manage Your Retirement Plan
Access resources, tools and information for your retirement plans.
Voluntary Retirement Savings Plans
Voluntary Savings plans are tax-favored retirement plans that allow employees of non-profit organizations to save for retirement and supplement income from other pension sources.
University Policy – Status and Privileges of Retired Faculty and Staff
Purdue University provides benefits for faculty and staff who are Official Retirees. The University also provides benefits to Qualifying Surviving Spouses and Qualifying Surviving Children of deceased Purdue faculty and staff.
Retire Smart Booklet
As you begin to make your retirement plans, we want to do everything possible to assist in your transition to retirement.
Retirement Readiness
Explore resources on ensuring that you are prepared for retirement.
Benefits Information for Official Retirees
Once you are a retiree or a former employee, your benefits coverage – including premiums – changes in regard to your classification and age.
Purdue University Retirees Association
The Purdue University Retirees Association (PURA) represents all former Purdue employees, connecting them with the university, offering a variety of benefits and keeps retirees engaged with the university community and each other.
Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration administers benefits like Retirement, Disability, Survivor and Family.
Retirement Transition Options
Transitioning into retirement is a significant decision that may require a phased approach for some. The University recognizes this need with its offering of retirement transition program options:
Eligibility
To participate in one of these options, you must:
- Be a faculty, executive, or management/professional employee
- Be a participant in the Purdue Standard Retirement Savings (PSRS) plan
- Meet the criteria for official retiree designation — at least 55 years of age and at least 10 years of benefit-eligible service
Voluntary Partial Retirement
Voluntary Partial Retirement (VPR) is a phased retirement program that enables individuals to transition into retirement through a phased approach, allowing them to gradually reduce their working time before retiring fully.
VPR schedules allow for flexibility during the transition. Some individuals have a year-round part-time arrangement. Others will schedule their time so all work falls into one semester, allowing for full-time away from campus during the other semester.
- Discuss schedule options with your supervisor. The proposed arrangement must align with the business needs of the department.
- A VPR agreement may span up to three years. The duration cannot be lengthened, nor can the FTE be increased once agreement is established. Both may decrease with mutual consent, however.
- Full retirement is required upon completion of the VPR timeframe.
- Eligibility to participate in the PSRS plan is required throughout the duration of the VPR.
- Must maintain Fair Labor Standards Act exemption status from overtime, including the minimum salary test throughout the entirety of the VPR.
- Reduced schedule must be no greater than 80% and no less than 50% effort.
- All revisions to the schedule require a revised VPR agreement.
- Ideal AY faculty schedules include:
- Fall: 0%, Spring: 100% work effort
- Fall: 100%, Spring: 0% work effort
- Ideal FY faculty and staff schedules include:
- A set percent of work time throughout the life of the VPR, such as 50% or 75% FTE
During the period of reduced employment, the University will:
- Continue healthcare, life insurance and long-term disability based on full-time salary.
- Contribute to the 403(b) Base retirement plan based on the employee’s full-time basic annual budgeted salary. Employee contributes 4% to 401(a) Mandatory based on actual pay.
- Allow distributions from University retirement.
- Allow vacation and sick leave accrual at the reduced FTE.
After discussing with your supervisor and coming to a general agreement, click the DocuSign VPR Request form below to begin the application/approval process. Should you have questions, please contact PNW Human Resources at x2251.
Advanced Retirement Declaration
An advanced retirement declaration (ARD) enables faculty and staff nearing the end of their careers access to additional resources to prepare financially for their retirement years. Normally, faculty and professional/management staff must separate from service before retirement funds may be distributed. With ARD, an individual may receive cash withdrawals or annuity payments from their retirement accumulations while employed.
Submit a letter requesting to implement the Advanced Retirement Declaration option to PNW Human Resources at hr@pnw.edu. In the subject line, indicate “ARD Request.”
See a Sample Letter for Guidance
Official University Retirees
You qualify to be an Official Retiree if you meet the requirements outlined in any of the categories below.
A faculty or staff member who meets the following qualifications:
- Age 55 or older and
- Employed by Purdue University in a benefits-eligible position for 10 or more years.
OR
- Employed by Purdue University in a benefits-eligible position, and
- Received income replacement benefits under the University’s long-term disability program (LTD) until the age limit at which LTD benefits ended and
- Was continuously employed with the University for five years or more prior to qualifying for LTD.
The surviving spouse and surviving children of a person who:
- Was an Official Retiree of the University
OR
- Was a Purdue employee at the time of his or her death and was continuously employed by the University in a benefits-eligible position for five or more years immediately prior to death.