This 1999 grant produced two papers:
Robert Clark and Linda Ghent, "Faculty Aging and Retirement Policies at the University of North Carolina," presented to the 8th AAHE Conference on Faculty Roles & Rewards, New Orleans, February 2000.
Linda Ghent, Steven Allen, and Robert Clark, "The Impact of a New Phased Retirement Option on Faculty Retirement Decisions," presented at the Southern Economics Association Annual Meetings, Washington, November 2000 and the Gerontological Society of America Annual Meetings, Washington, November 2000.
Trends in faculty aging and age specific retirement rates are examined using employment records for the 15 campuses of the University of North Carolina system from 1982-1999. The analysis shows considerable aging of the faculty during this period and a sharp decline in retirement rates at age 69 and 70 after the ending of mandatory retirement. A phased retirement program was introduced in 1997 allowing eligible faculty to select half time work for half time pay. Phased retirement plans are becoming increasingly common in universities and it is important to understand how these plans alter work and retirement decisions. In the first two years of the program, there has been approximately one phased retiree for each three persons who completely retired from the university. Preliminary results indicate that most phased retirees are likely to be individuals who otherwise would have remained in a full-time position if phased retirement had not been an option.
