Retirement Planning

1. Meet with Retirement Vendor

We recommend meeting with your retirement vendor for an individual consultation. More information about one-on-one counseling sessions is available on the Human Resources website.

2. Meet with a Financial Advisor

The Provost's Office offers faculty aged 62 or older up to $250 towards the cost of consulting a financial advisor or consultant for retirement planning. Please send requests for payment with a copy of your receipt to Joshua Parad at jparad@smith.edu; payment will be issued as a stipend (less applicable taxes). Please note that payment must be requested and issued prior to retirement taking place.

3. Contact the Social Security Office

Talk to the Social Security Office (800-772-1213) to set up your payments. You also need to sign up for Medicare B and Medicare Part D (the prescription drug plan) to start as soon as you are no longer on the Smith health plan.

4. Explore Health Insurance Options

Human resources cannot counsel individual retirees on healthcare options. Post-retirement health insurance options include Medicare, but Medicare isn’t free and you will likely want to have supplementary insurance as well. Smith sponsors one post-retirement health care plan: Mountain One. This plan requires immediate sign-on upon retirement; there is no possibility of joining the plan later. Many retirees find Serving the Health Information Needs of Elders (SHINE) useful. SHINE offices are located in Northampton at the Senior Center on Conz Street (413-587-1228); there are also offices in Greenfield, Montague and Florence. Useful information is available on the SHINE website.

5. Consider Long-Term Care Insurance

Consider long-term care insurance. Although it likely isn't necessary for everyone and is expensive, some people may find it beneficial in affording health care as they age.

Emeriti faculty are responsible for the packing and moving of their materials and furniture to their new office, house, or for donations. 

COLLEGE ARCHIVES

The College Archives is interested in acquiring your papers: class notes, official Smith correspondence, professional correspondence, letters from old students, even appointment books. They will provide boxes and send someone to pick them up. Contact Nanci Young, the college archivist, at nyoung@smith.edu or 413-585-2976.

SMITH COLLEGE LIBRARIES

The Smith College Libraries may accept some of your books. Gift-in-kind donations must meet the same criteria as those used to select current purchases; they should be scholarly works published within the last two to three years and not already held in the libraries. Other kinds of materials may be accepted. For guidelines and procedures, please see Giving to the Libraries. Consult with your department's subject liaison for more information.

PRIVATE & NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Many organizations sponsor donations of books and journals to colleges and universities, and some local bookstores will buy selected used academic books they think they can sell.

• Effective June 1st, 2023, faculty who are retiring must leave their offices within a month following their retirement date. Retiring faculty may apply for up to $500 towards expenses (receipts required) for packing and moving belongings home. The current policy does not apply to those faculty who have signed retirement letters prior to or as of June 1, 2023.
• Emeriti/ae may request a shared office space in Tilly Hall. Requests are granted based on availability and demonstrated need for office space on campus determined through an annual survey administered by the provost’s office. The Emeriti/ae Advisory Committee, chaired by the associate dean of the faculty, participates in the office space allocation process.
• All space allocations for emeriti/ae are provided for a one-year period, after which another review of space needs will take place. Emeriti/ae with space allocations should reapply for their spaces by early April for the following academic year.  Based on the results of the space needs review, they may be: 1) approved to continue use of their assigned space; 2) provided a new space assignment; or 3) asked to vacate their space.

Emeriti Lounge

The Emeriti Lounge, located in Tilly Hall, is a place where retirees can gather informally.

Updated June 4, 2025 

Eligibility

• Full-time tenured faculty members and full-time senior lecturers and senior laboratory Instructors.
• May enter the program at 60 years of age or older (based on age as of July 1 of the year they elect the plan) for variable periods at half-time, up to two years.   

Terms and benefits for all eligible faculty members 

• When the faculty member enters the plan, they sign an agreement committing to a specific period of time with a date certain for retirement. The period could be shortened but not lengthened once the agreement is signed. 
• Prorated salary (50% of annual salary rate). 
• The college contribution for health and dental insurances will continue at the full-time contribution rate until retirement. Contributions to the retirement plan and life and long-term disability insurances are prorated from the annual salary and would therefore be at 50% during the phased retirement. 
• Continued eligibility for CFCD and other support for scholarship and teaching at the prorated amount. 
• Not eligible for sabbatical credit accrual or sabbatical leave while in phased retirement. Faculty remain eligible to apply for a leave without pay (no compensation or benefit contributions from Smith) and/or Family and Medical Leave(s) per federal and/or state requirements.
• Courses not taught by the faculty member will be replaced when there is demonstrated curricular need in the academic unit, as determined in consultation with, and approved by, the associate provost.
• The position held by the faculty member on phased retirement would be considered vacant when the faculty member completes the phase and retires. 
• Continuation of other responsibilities: advising, departmental/program service, service on college committees, voting privileges.
• Not eligible for Health Insurance for Early Retirees (ERO) Plan before, during or following phased retirement.

Additional terms and benefits for tenured faculty members

• During phased retirement, must teach two courses during the academic year; ineligible for additional course releases during this period. This two-course per year teaching load can be distributed as one course per semester or both courses in a single semester during each year of phased retirement. 

Additional terms and benefits for senior lecturers

• During phased retirement, must teach three courses during the academic year; ineligible for additional course releases during this period. This three-course per year teaching load can be distributed in any configuration across the two semesters in a single academic year during each year of phased retirement. 
• Once a senior lecturer enters the phased retirement plan, all current and future reappointment reviews will be canceled and, if needed, the current appointment will be extended to the retirement date.

Additional terms and benefits for senior laboratory instructors

• During phased retirement, must teach the equivalent of four lab sections during the academic year; ineligible for additional course releases during this period. This four lab section per year teaching load can be distributed in any configuration across the two semesters in a single academic year during each year of phased retirement.
• Once a senior laboratory instructor enters the phased retirement plan, all current and future reappointment reviews will be canceled and, if needed, the current appointment will be extended to the retirement date.

Future Revisions to this Phased Retirement Plan

Plan to be assessed every five years by the provost and associate provost, in consultation with the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Finance and Administration. 

If you would like to begin exploring phased or other retirement options, please contact the provost to request an appointment. These conversations are confidential.