Provost Mary Ann Swain initiated the Bartle Professorship/Librarianship program in 1996. The primary purpose of the program was to enable constructive, mutual exploration of retirement plans between faculty and their respective deans. The program was setup to foster a smooth transition to retirement for Binghamton University's valued senior faculty. Bartle Professorships/Librarianships were designed to retain the important contributions of Binghamton's senior faculty while enabling them to reduce the level of their responsibilities.
Additionally, the University can use salary dollars released through this program to hire faculty while at the same time benefiting from significant services offered by Bartle Professors, thus promoting good academic planning. The program has been successful in helping faculty make a smooth transition from being engaged full time within the University to pursing chosen avocations full time.
To be appointed a Bartle Professor/Librarian, a faculty member retires from the University with the rank he or she has earned. The faculty member who has chosen to participate in this program is then rehired with a local title of Bartle Professor/Librarian. Bartle Professor/Librarians retain all faculty rights and privileges, including full participation in hiring, promotion, and tenure committees, directing dissertations, and eligibility for travel funds and other kinds of support.
Appointments to Bartle Professorships/Librarianships will be for a period to be negotiated by the faculty member and the dean but in no case will they be for more than three years. Compensation as a Bartle Professor is set at the maximum permitted by the laws governing retirement earnings, not to exceed 20% of annual salary. A Bartle Professor/Librarian's assignments in any given year are negotiated with the dean and depend on that individual's possible contributions to the full range of the University's mission. At the conclusion of his or her term of service as Bartle Professor/Librarian, the faculty member assumes emeritus status at the rank at which he or she retired. Emeritus faculty have the opportunity to teach at least one course each year by mutual agreement with the University and, while they are active, will continue to enjoy routine University privileges.
Our goal in continuing to support this program is effective retirement planning for faculty and for the university. Decisions about retirement are intensely personal and the intent of this program is to facilitate open and constructive discussions of options beneficial both to faculty members and to their home units. Faculty who are interested in becoming a Bartle Professor/Librarian should talk with their department chair, dean, or director.
Bartle Compensation and Social Security Limits
The compensation for those retirees employed under the Provost's Bartle Faculty plan will be the compensation available under sections 21 I and 212 of the NYS Social Security and Retirement Law or 20% of the annual salary at the time of retirement, whichever is less. The section 211 limits is the difference between the salary rate at the time of retirement and the maximum retirement allowance available. If, for example, a faculty member were to retire at an annual salary (calendar year) of $63,000 and qualified for a single life annuity of $47,000 from TIAA-CREF or from an alternate funding carrier, the section 211 limit would allow earnings up to $16,000. This section 211 limit must be calculated individually by the Office of Human Resources based upon the final salary and the amount of the single life annuity option at retirement for each faculty member interested in a Bartle Professorship.
Retirees collecting Social Security benefits and returning to work need to be aware of the Social Security earnings limits. Social Security recipients exceeding these annual earning limits are subject to a reduction of their Social Security benefits as follows:
- Under age 65 - $11,520 limit; reduction of $1 for every $2 over limit during Calendar year; then from January l until the first day of the 65th birthday month, a $30,720 limit with a reduction of $1 for every $3 over limit
- Age 65 and above - no limit.
More specific information is available at www.ssa.gov
Retired employees who are eligible for Medicare must enroll in both Pa1is A & B. Thus, Medicare is the primary insurance. If you return as a Bartle and have Medicare as your primary insurance, please contact Employee Benefits at x7-4850 concerning potential implications.
