FERP (Faculty Early Retirement Program) and Your Benefits

Whether you are contemplating participating in the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP) or already enrolled, this page is intended to provide you with valuable information about your benefits and pay while enrolled in the Program. The Faculty Early Retirement Program is administered by the Office of Faculty Affairs. General information on the program, eligibility, and application process can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions regarding FERP located on the Faculty Affairs website. For more information, please contact Faculty Affairs at (818) 677-2962.

1. Completing the Service Retirement Election Application:

CalPERS recommends that you begin the steps to retire from CalPERS at least a year before your retirement date. However, you should not submit your Service Retirement Application to CalPERS more than 90 days prior to your retirement date.  You must have applied for and received verification of your CalPERS Service Retirement prior to the first day of the academic year in which your participation in FERP begins.  Contact Faculty Affairs for the respective FERP Application deadline for the Academic Year you wish to begin FERP.  If you have not already done so, please visit the CalPERS website for information on upcoming retirement workshops and the retirement process.

2. Choosing Your Separation & Retirement Effective Dates:

After consulting with CalPERS and/or receiving a Retirement Estimation, choose a retirement date that works best for you.  The Separation date that you supply on your FERP application date should be the day before your "PERS Retirement Date".

3. Deciding the Number of Sick Leave Hours to Carry-Over into Retirement:

Faculty entering FERP may carry over up to 48 hours of sick leave credit for use during FERP.  FERP Faculty continue to earn sick leave credit on a pro-rata basis for each active pay period.  A maximum of one hundred and sixty (160) hours of sick leave may be accrued during FERP. At the end of the FERP appointment, any remaining sick leave is forfeited and may not be converted to service credit.

4. Submitting Your CalPERS Service Retirement Election Application:

Submit your completed retirement application and the required documents to CalPERS. Your application can be submitted in person at a CalPERS Regional Office, by mail, or online using my|CalPERS. Be sure to keep a copy of all the documents submitted for your own record.

5. Your Salary - Pay Warrants:

In addition to your retirement disbursements paid by CalPERS, you will receive a salary warrant per the following schedule based on your FERP Participation.

Your pay warrants, proportionate to your time-base, will arrive as follows:

6. Direct Deposit:

FERP participants may enroll to have their FERP pay warrants deposited directly into a designated bank account. FERP participants that teach only one semester per academic year, will need to re-enroll prior to or at the start of each semester.

7. Your Benefits:

You must be eligible for CalPERS health benefits in retirement to continue your health insurance coverage or to have the right to enroll in the future after retirement.

Additionally, to be eligible, you must retire within 120 days of your separation from employment.

HEALTH:

FERP participants receive their health care benefits through the state as a retiree. A FERP participant who becomes eligible for Medicare after January 1, 2001, may no longer be enrolled in a CalPERS "basic" health plan. To remain eligible for a CalPERS health plan, the FERP participant must enroll both in the federal Medicare program and in his/her health plan's Medicare plan. Enrollment in Part A of Medicare is automatic, but the FERP participant must personally apply for Medicare Part B. If the FERP participant does not apply for Medicare Part B when initially eligible, a penalty will be assessed for late enrollment.

DENTAL:

FERP participants are eligible for enhanced dental benefit coverage during the full five-year work period. Eligibility for Enhanced dental benefit coverage is based on the standard CSU benefits eligibility criteria of a timebase of at least half-time. After participating in FERP, dental coverage reverts to Basic level coverage as provided by CalPERS.

VISION:

FERP participants are eligible for vision coverage during the full five-year period.  Eligibility for vision coverage is based on the standard CSU benefits eligibility criteria of a timebase of at least half-time.   After participating in FERP, you will have the option to continue vision benefits through the CSU Retiree Voluntary Vision Plan or COBRA.

8. Fee Waiver Program:

Faculty participating in Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP) are considered tenured faculty and are eligible for fee waiver during only the semester(s) in which they are in active pay status.

9. Other Information:

Working After Completing or Separating from FERP:

In post retirement/FERP employment, Government Code section 21227 permits a retiree to be appointed as a Rehired Annuitant to an academic position, but the employment in a fiscal year may not exceed 960 hours or 50 percent of the hours the member was employed during the last fiscal year prior to retirement, whichever is less. The hourly restriction is cumulative for all CalPERS’ covered employers.

* Please note that the FERP article in the CSU-CFA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is more restrictive and limits FERP employment to 90 days or 50 percent of the employee’s regular time base in the year preceding retirement. For questions regarding employment limits during FERP, please contact Faculty Affairs.

Health Care Reimbursement Accounts (HCRA/DCRA):

Rehired annuitants and employees under the Faculty Early Retirement Program (FERP) are not eligible to participate in either the HCRA or DCRA.

CSU 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Plan & & Savings Plus Program (SPP):

FERP participants may continue or enroll to have voluntary contributions to a CSU (403[b]) and Savings Plus Program (401[k] and 457) deducted from their FERP earnings while in active pay status. FERP participants that teach only one semester per academic year and contribute to a CSU 403[b] will need to re-enroll prior to or at the start of each semester through https://csyou.calstate.edu/Employee-Resources/Benefits/Pages/SRP.aspx