FAQs for Eligible Employees

No, you are not obligated to discuss decisions to retire with your manager or any others in your unit. Decisions about retirement can be significant, are personal to each individual, and must be carefully considered. Additionally, as this is a voluntary retirement incentive, managers are not to provide their input or opinion as to whether any of their employees should or should not take the incentive.

Managers will be notified in mid-March by Human Resources of individuals in their unit who have elected to retire and have been sent their VSRI Agreement specifying their retirement date. Once retirement dates are shared, you and your manager should work together to create a plan for transitioning your work and responsibilities. In addition, you should discuss an agreed-upon plan for notifying other team members of your retirement when you are ready to do so.

Voluntary separations of service are not usually covered by unemployment benefits. However, that determination is made by the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) and retirees may check directly with IDES about eligibility. If your primary work location is outside of Illinois, please contact the Unemployment Office of the state in which you reside/work.

Per University HR Policy 509 and HR Policy 511, upon separation, employees will be paid for accrued unused vacation time together with unused personal holidays accrued within the calendar year in the paycheck for the last pay period in which they work. Per HR Policy 512, accrued sick leave is not paid out upon separation from employment.

Please review the VSRI Benefits Upon Separation document on the UChicago Intranet for information on what happens to your benefits when you retire. You are also encouraged to attend one of the VSRI Information Sessions to learn more about all the benefits upon separation under the VSRI.

The eligibility criteria for the VSRI is aligned with that of the Retiree Medical Plan however to inquire specifically about your eligibility for Retiree Medical, you can contact the Benefits Office at benefits@uchicago.edu or review the information on the Human Resources website.

No. If you are eligible for the Retiree Medical Plan when you retire and elect or postpone coverage within 31 days of your retirement date, you will be able to have coverage under the Retiree Medical Plan either upon retirement or at a later date, regardless of whether you were enrolled in a University medical plan while you were actively employed.

Your UChicago ID, building and systems access will end on your retirement date. This includes access to your UChicago email, which will end when your employment ends. On the day after your last day of employment, Information Technology Services will begin the Account Closure Process, which is a 45-day period in which your systems access, email and accounts, and other privileges will be terminated. You will receive notice of these actions. For more information and an exit checklist, please see HR Policy 208. Note that certain categories of individuals, like alumni, may retain select services after their accounts are closed, such as their email address.

To ensure that you receive benefits-related information after your retirement, before your retirement date, you will need to log in to Workday to confirm that your mailing address is up-to-date and that you have provided a personal email address via Workday.

The VSRI Program is one of several cost containment measures aimed at reducing the University’s structural budget deficit. Certain positions that are funded by external grants or gifts or that generate clinical revenue are not included in the VSRI because they would not further the University’s progress in reaching that goal. Other positions that are critical to the safety and security of the university and the Financial Systems Transformation (FST) program are also excluded from the VSRI Program.

Your position is listed in Workday and can be located by following the steps below:

Click on the profile icon at the top right of the Workday home screen
Select View Profile
Review your "Job Profile" on the Summary tab

If you are unsure as to whether you hold an externally-funded position as defined in the VSRI Program Plan document, please contact the Benefits Office. Note that in all cases, the actual eligibility determination date is January 2, 2024.

Yes, the Benefits Office will be offering virtual and in-person information sessions to the VSRI Program eligible participants. Please see the schedule and registration information noted below.

Online Information Sessions (via Zoom Webinar)

Each of the following online information sessions will be available via Zoom Webinar. Please click “Register” to sign-up for a specific session below:

In-Person Information Sessions (December 12, 2023)

In addition to the Zoom webinars, the University’s Benefits Office will host three in-person information sessions on December 12, 2023 (9:30 a.m. CT, 11:00 a.m. CT, and 1:00 p.m. CT) at the Reva and David Logan Center (915 E. 60th St., Chicago) in room 201. Benefits specialists will be available throughout the day to help answer your questions.

Employees who elect to participate in the VSRI Program will continue to be eligible to utilize counseling services through the Staff and Faculty Assistance Program (offered through Perspectives Ltd.) and financial planning assistance through TIAA. Employees who are in need of outplacement assistance should contact Talent Acquisition at talentacquisition@uchicago.edu.

No. This restriction under the VSRI Program is limited to employment and independent contractor arrangements with the University of Chicago only. Following retirement under the VSRI, an individual can go on to work (as an employee or independent contractor) at other University of Chicago affiliates.

No. An employee’s retirement must take place on the date specified in their individualized retirement agreement (provided to them in March) and is not subject to subsequent negotiation by the employee and/or manager. As a reminder, an employee does have until May 1 to withdraw from the VSRI Program, in which case they can decide to retire on a different date, but they will not receive any benefits under the VSRI Program.

No, if you retire under the VSRI program, the retirement date must be July 1, 2024 (or such later date as approved in accordance with the VSRI Program).

No. In the unfortunate event of an employee’s death prior to their retirement date, no retirement incentive will be paid as part of the VSRI Program.

No. In order to be eligible for the VSRI Program, an employee must meet the criteria as of January 2, 2024.

For employees retiring under the VSRI Program, their separation date is also the date of their last day worked. For example, employees with a VSRI Program separation date of July 1, 2024, their last day worked will be July 1, 2024. Employees will be paid for working on July 1, 2024.