Faculty Early Retirement Program Workload

FERP Period of Employment

While participating in FERP, your post-retirement employment will be limited by both the CBA and PERS. Article 29 of the CBA limits your total CSU employment to 90 days per fiscal year or 50% of your regular timebase in the year preceding retirement. Faculty may choose to work full-time for one semester, which is almost equivalent to the ninety (90) days of total CSU employment allowed by Article 29 (a semester is typically 84-87 days long), or faculty may choose to work half-time both semesters of an academic year while participating in FERP.

• 50% -- Teaching full-time one (1) semester each academic year
• 50% -- Teaching half-time both semesters each academic year

The period of employment during each campus academic year shall be based on the needs of the department and must be approved by the Dean and specified in an appointment letter to the participant.

Faculty can elect a lesser time base than stated above but cannot increase their time base throughout the five-year period.

Librarian Faculty

Librarians in 12-month appointments may remain in a 12-month appointment for FERP. The period of employment for librarians during each campus academic year is approved by the Dean specified in an appointment letter to the participant. The period of employment may be full-time for a duration not to exceed fifty percent of the librarian’s work year in the year immediately preceding retirement, or fifty percent of the librarian’s regular time base in the year immediately preceding retirement. In either case, the period of FERP employment shall not exceed the CalPERS limit of 960 hours.

• Full-time employment (40 hours per week) not to exceed 960 hours (in slight excess of 5 months).
• Half-time (20 hours per week) not to exceed 960 hours or approximately 11 months.
• Half-time employment in the 10-month classification with 2 months off per year.

Librarian faculty can elect a lesser time base than stated above but cannot increase their time base throughout the five-year period.

Librarians continue to earn vacation while on FERP and are encouraged to use vacation credits during their FERP employment.

FERP after a Pre-Retirement Reduction in Timebase

A FERP participant who was in the Pre-Retirement Reduction in Timebase (PRTB) program prior to retirement and who elects the FERP employment option of fifty (50) percent of the regular timebase in the year preceding retirement, would be limited to fifty (50) percent of the PRTB timebase.

Reducing FERP Timebase or Requesting a Change in FERP Period of Employment

Per CBA Article 29.12: A participant may request that the time base of the FERP appointment be reduced. The President shall determine if such a request shall be granted. Such a reduction in time base shall continue for the duration of FERP appointment.

FERP Participants may request a reduction in timebase and/or a change in their period of employment by submitting the Request for Change in FERP Period of Employment form. The completed form should be submitted to the college/unit AA/S for routing through Adobe Sign.

Additional Employment During FERP

FERP faculty may only work 50% of their employment before retirement so they may not teach summer or winter courses through RCE without permanently reducing their academic year appointment. FERP faculty may not receive stateside additional appointments for additional work or be paid to participate in faculty development activities. FERP faculty may have employment through CSE, which is not CalPERS employment.

Working After Completing or Separating from FERP

In post retirement/FERP employment, Government Code section 21227 permits a retiree to be appointed as a Rehired Annuitant to an academic position, but the employment in a fiscal year may not exceed 960 hours or 50 percent of the hours the member was employed during the last fiscal year prior to retirement, whichever is less. The hourly restriction is cumulative for all CalPERS’ covered employers.

*Please note that the FERP article in the CSU-CFA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is more restrictive and limits FERP employment to 90 days or 50 percent of the employee’s regular time base in the year preceding retirement. For questions regarding employment limits during FERP, please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs and Success.