Early Retirement

425.01  Early Retirement

The College provides for an early retirement incentive program as follows:

1. Eligibility: This program shall be open to all full-time College employees (i) who are at least fifty-five (55) years of age but who have not reached sixty (60) years of age on the date of retirement; (ii) who have ten (10) or more years of service at Sauk Valley Community College, and (iii) who have been employed by the College on a full-time basis during each of the two (2) years preceding the date which their early retirement shall commence.
2. Application Procedures: A written request to participate in the retirement incentive program must be submitted and received by the President of the College no later than May 1 of the year prior to the year of actual retirement.
3. Provisions: A leave of absence will not be considered as years of service for the purpose of determining eligibility for early retirement.  In the event of death of the early retiree prior to the effective date of retirement, the College shall have no obligation to make any remuneration under this plan.
4. Incentive
   1. The College will make a payment to the retiree calculated on the retiree's contractual base salary as of the effective date of retirement, based upon the participant's age on the date of retirement. The contribution percentage shall be calculated under the following provision with a lump sum payment, based upon age and a percentage of retiree's base contractual salary:
      

      Age   Percentage
      55      45%
      56      40%
      57      35%
      58      30%
      59      25%

      The lump sum payment will, at the retiree's option, be paid either as of the effective date of the retirement or as of January 31 following the actual date of retirement.  

   2. Base contractual salary is further defined for the following:
      1. Instructional Staff: Base contractual salary to be received from the College for the academic year. 
      2. Administration and Support Staff: Computation for early retirement incentive is based upon base contract salary to be received from the College during the fiscal year (12 month) contract or other pro-rated contracts as appropriate.
   3. Base contract salary shall not include summer school pay, overload pay, overtime pay or other non-regular salary or earnings. An employee may not participate in the College's early retirement plan and also participate in any other state early retirement incentive plan. If any other state early retirement incentive plan is elected, the College plan shall not be available. For the purpose of this paragraph, a state early retirement "incentive plan" is defined as any state retirement plan which requires the College to pay more dollar benefits on behalf of an individual employee than is required under the normal SURS early retirement plan without discount, as provided in 40 ILCS 5/15-136.2.
   4. The number of retirees retiring under this policy may be limited by the Board depending upon budgetary conditions but shall not be limited to less than 15% of those eligible per year. The right to elect early retirement hereunder shall be allocated on the basis of priority of receipt by the College of notice of intent to retire in the event early retirement limitations must be applied.

Revised:

• 01-23-1984
• 03-23-1987
• 11-22-1993
• 05-27-1997
• 07-24-2000

Cabinet Reviewed:

• 04-10-2024