Many members have worked at York as contract faculty for decades, and may be thinking about retirement. Are you thinking about retiring? Long-serving U2 members who have joined the York University Pension Plan may be eligible to retire.
If you are a member who is considering retirement, you can book a consultation with a Pension and Benefits representative to discuss retirement plans.
Joining the Pension Plan
Unit 2 members can join the York University Pension Plan if they are not part of another full-time plan. To be eligible, you must have taught at least one Type 1 (e.g., course directorship) or equivalent in each of the two preceding years. Eligible members should receive notification of their eligibility and an example of the pension calculations by October 31 of each year. If you have questions about the Pension Plan, contact the Pension and Benefits Office at askpb@yorku.ca or 416-736-5853, or visit the Pension and Benefits website.
Notice of Retirement
You have 12 months from the date of your last contract to give notice of your retirement, and you must provide notice at least three months before your retirement date. Retiring fully severs your employment relationship with the university (i.e., it renders your seniority count null).
Post-Retirement Benefits
Members who are in the Pension Plan and retire are eligible for the following post-retirement benefits:
- a health benefit spending account of $2200 per year,
- a retiree email account, and
- a retiree YU Card providing ongoing library access.
To be eligible, you must give notice to retire, activate your Pension Plan, and apply in writing to the Pension and Benefits office, specifically requesting your health benefit spending account, your retiree email account, and your retiree YU Card. (You may choose either a physical YU Card or a mobile version.)
Severance and Long Service Guarantee
For Unit 2 members with at least 10 years of service, you may be eligible for severance if you are offered less than 50% of your average course load over the last 10 years. To be eligible, you must not work full-time at York or elsewhere, and have held, on average, two Type 1 or equivalent positions per year over the last 10 years and at least one Type 1 or equivalent position in eight of the last 10 years. If you meet those requirements, you are eligible for a severance of 3/35 of the Course Director rate for each year in which you’ve taught at least one Type 1 position or equivalent, in exchange for severing your employment relationship with York University. See more details in the CUPE 3903 Unit 2 Collective Agreement, under Letter of Understanding: Severance.
For Unit 2 members with at least 15 years of service, you also have the Long Service Guarantee: if you’ve held at least one Type 1 or equivalent position for the last 15 years and at least three Type 1 positions or equivalent over the last five years, and you’ve been offered less than three Type 1 positions or equivalent for two academic years in a row, you can opt to apply for severance at an increased rate of 6/35 of the Course Director rate for each year in which you’ve taught at least one Type 1 position or equivalent, in exchange for severing your employment relationship with York University. See more details in the CUPE 3903 Unit 2 Collective Agreement, under Letter of Understanding: Long Service Guarantee.
If you have questions about either of these provisions, contact one of the Staff Representatives.
Transitional Continuing Appointments (TCA)
One of the main points of contention in the 2020-21 bargaining round was the creation of an “off-ramp” for members who are approaching retirement and want to scale down their teaching in exchange for an agreed-upon end date of their relationship with York. This took the form of the Transitional Continuing Appointment (TCA).
The TCA program was not renewed in the 2023–26 Collective Agreement.. Some members who have applied for TCAs may still be holding one; however, there are currently no new TCAs offered.
In order to be eligible for the TCA, a member had to have at least 20 years of service (or 15 years for a member of one or more equity-seeking groups), and a seniority count of 30 (or 20 for members of one or more equity-seeking groups). A TCA decreases your teaching load over two or three years, ending in retirement with severance. Your course load for the duration of the TCA is determined by the length of the TCA and your teaching intensity over the last five years.
If you have questions about the TCA, contact Julian Arend, Staff Representative, at staffrep2@cupe3903.org.