CSCU Retirement Incentive Program

All criteria must be met to be eligible

• Employees must be employed as of February 1, 2024, and retire on or before June 1, 2024.
• Employees aged 60 or older as of retirement date.
• Those with 10 or more years of vested state service as of retirement date.
• Eligible for normal retirement under their respective retirement plans (see Question 20 below).
• Either a full-time management/confidential employee, or a member of an unclassified bargaining unit, subject to the respective union's agreement.
   

Eligible employees can choose between:

1. A lump sum of $30,000; or
2. An amount calculated as 1% of current base salary multiplied by years of state service, as defined by retirement plans.

Note: Applicable deductions and withholdings will be applied.

Written notification must be made to your respective HR Department indicating your intent to retire and designating your selected retirement date. You will then be directed to complete a simple electronic Teams form notifying System Office of your intent to participate in the Retirement Incentive Program. 

A retiree may be asked to serve as a rehired retiree, subject to the individual’s agreement and existing State guidelines and CSCU policy.

• Enrollment Period Opens: February 1, 2024
• Enrollment Deadline: April 1, 2024
• Retirement Date: on or before June 1, 2024 (last day worked on or before May 31, 2024)
• Incentive Payment Issued (anticipated): January 2025

• April 1, 2024 (must submit notice of retirement to your Human Resources department by March 1, 2024)
• May 1, 2024
• June 1, 2024

The Board of Regents statutory authority to offer the retirement incentive program is limited to its unclassified and management/confidential personnel.

Classified employees are represented by statewide unions.  These unions are listed here: https://portal.ct.gov/OPM/OLR-Publications/Contracts/Office-of-Labor-Relations-Contracts.

Unclassified employees include management/confidential employees as well as faculty and administrative employees.  Unclassified employees who are not management/confidential are represented by the following unions: https://www.ct.edu/hr/labor.

Yes, as long as you have not retired.  You may need to rescind your original notice of retirement and submit a revised one, depending on what the original retirement date was, to qualify for the retirement incentive program.

Yes.  It is up to the employee whether they would like to participate in the Retirement Incentive Program.

You will need to rescind your retirement prior to its effective date.

No, an employee must work a minimum of 35 hours per week to qualify.

You should contact your Human Resources department to confirm your eligibility, which is subject to a final audit by the State Comptroller’s Office.

No. The salary used in the calculation is based on an employee’s annual base pay as of your retirement date.

No. The payment will be subject to all applicable deductions and withholdings.

Contact your respective Human Resources department.

Yes, Empower will assist individuals with making decisions about their defined contribution accounts, including ARP, 403(b), and 457 plans. You can access your account and the online tools via the Empower website here: WORK SAVE Play: State of Connecticut Defined Contribution Plans (ctdcp.com)

You will also have access to the normal assistance that an employee is given by the Human Resources department when an employee retires.  There are also several materials and videos available on the State Comptroller’s website to assist you in preparing for retirement.  These items can be accessed at the following website address: https://osc.ct.gov/retirement/sers/counseling/

In addition, CSCU Human Resources hosts group retirement sessions to review the retirement plans, eligibility requirements, application process, provide answers to the most frequently asked questions and answer live questions from participants. More information on these sessions can be found here: https://www.ct.edu/hr/retirement#sessions

It will be based on completed years and months.

You can locate your retirement plan by logging into Core-CT and viewing your most recent pay stub. The retirement plan will be listed as a before-tax deduction.

Normal retirement is defined by the respective state retirement plans and is summarized below:

SERS Tier I

• Age 55 with 25 years Service Credit
• Age 65 with 10 years Service Credit
• Age 70 with 5 years Service Credit

SERS Tier II

Current “Normal”:

• Age 63 with 25 years Vested Service
• Age 65 with at least 10 years Vested Service

Grandfathered “Normal”:

• Age 60 with 25 years Vested Service
• Age 62 with at least 10 years Vested Service
• Age 62 with 5 years Actual State Service (effective 7/1/97)
• Age 70 with 5 years Vested Service

SERS Tier IIA

Current “Normal”:

• Age 63 with 25 years Vested Service
• Age 65 with at least 10 years Vested Service

Grandfathered “Normal”:

• Age 60 with 25 years Vested Service
• Age 62 with at least 10 years Vested Service
• Age 62 with 5 years Actual State Service (effective 7/1/97)

SERS Tier III

• Age 63 with 25 years Vested Service
• Age 65 with at least 10 years Vested Service

Alternate Retirement Program (ARP)

• Age 65 with at least 10 years participation

CT Teachers’ Retirement Board Program (TRB)

• Age 60 with 20 years of eligible CT service
• Any age with at least 35 years of service (25 of those years must be eligible CT service)

Before-Tax Deduction on Pay Advice:

Look for a deduction labeled "RetGrfSERS" or "RetGrfthHy" on your paystub. This deduction indicates that you are grandfathered under the previous retirement rules.

OR

Automatic Grandfathering Due to Age and Service:

If you were either age 60 with 25 years of service or age 62 with 10 years of service by July 1, 2022, you would have been automatically grandfathered with no deduction required on your paystub.

For further confirmation or if you have any questions, you should contact your Human Resources department. They can provide definitive information based on your individual employment records.