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A survey of 322 University of Queensland (Australia) faculty found changes in attitudes about retirement age and about terms and conditions of employment at later ages. Implications are discussed and barriers to more flexible faculty employment are examined, including the current structure of retirement benefits, taxes, and flexible retirement; personnel policies (tenure, evaluation, collective bargaining); and cultural attitudes toward older people. (MSE)

Until the beginning of 1994, federal law permitted mandatory retirement of tenured faculty at age 70. The Committee on Mandatory Retirement in Higher Education, formed by the National Research Council, was charged by Congress to examine potential effects on colleges, universities, and faculty members of ending the exemption for tenured faculty under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The committee concluded that at most colleges, few faculty would work beyond age 70 but that a proportion at research institutions would continue, and that pension design could help institutions cope with this situation. The committee strongly recommended that institutions consider re-designing pension plans, institute a range of income replacement ratios and benefits related to service, and address the issues of benefit portability and normal retirement age. The committee stressed the importance of maintaining the purchasing power of retirement income, possible through a variety of annuity payment methods such as graded payment and variable annuity accounts. In response to administrator concerns about rising costs, placing limits on benefits was proposed. Voluntary retirement incentives that reduce overstaffing, control costs, and offer flexibility for partial or phased retirement were suggested. The role of health insurance availability and cost in retirement decisions was also considered, and institutional assistance to faculty in planning retirement and maintaining links with the academic community were recommended. (MSE)

Institutions with graduate programs accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education were surveyed for information on administrative practices. Responses were received from 163 schools: 136 public and 27 private. Responses were found to be similar from the two groups, and are reported together. In some ways the institutions studied were similar: 92 percent have a faculty leave policy, 96 percent have a mandatory retirement age, 82 percent have a formal followup program of graduates, and 95 percent of those with a followup program use a questionnaire. On the other hand these institutions vary widely in administrative practices. The type of leave policy varied; there was no consensus as to a retirement age, years required for promotion, teaching load, requirement to publish, or evaluation of faculty. Further research considering institution size, specialties, and other factors is recommended. Extensive data charts on responses to specific questionnaire items, giving breakdowns for public and private sectors, are appended. (Author/MSE)

The impact of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act Amendments of 1978 (ADEA) and possible options for adjusting to the impact were estimated for members institutions of the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE). Questionnaire information was gathered on active, departed, and retired faculty from 27 individual COFHE institutions. Modeling was used to separate out the effects of the change in retirement age and the effects of age structure. Findings include the following: the aggregate faculties of the 27 institutions increased 3.1 percent during 1973-1979; institutions became more heavily tenured over the period; the mean age of the aggregate faculties increased 1.5 years or 3.6 percent over the period; and schools are continuing to hire new junior faculty but in reduced numbers. Estimates of voluntary early retirement suggest that approximately half of all faculties will have retired voluntarily before age 70. The predicted mean age at retirement is calculated to be about 68.5 years, including 52 percent retiring at age 70. General considerations regarding early retirement incentive plans are covered, along with part-time employment options. It is concluded that a mandatory retirement age no lower than 70 will diminish employment opportunities for prospective junior faculty members, and will continue to do so until the 1990s. (SW)

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) prohibits discrimination against persons aged 40 to 65; the ADEA Amendments of 1978 restrict mandatory retirement. Age 65 has been widely regarded as a customary age for retirement, given widespread eligibility for retirement benefits at that age. Substantial numbers of older workers leave the labor force. As more people continue to enjoy good health and are able to remain active through their 60s and beyond, the concept of what constitutes old age is shifting. Factors that affect the retirement decision include retirement benefits, age discrimination, mandatory retirement, and health. Findings of a study of mandatory retirement policies show that employees continued to retire at relatively early ages; competition between older workers and youth, minorities, and women was minimal; and elimination of mandatory retirement will induce older workers to remain in the labor force. The 1978 ADEA Amendments permits mandatory retirement of executives and tenured faculty members at institutions of higher education between ages 65 and 69. The provision for the second group has since expired. (Recommendations are made for elimination of the mandatory retirement age, increased information dissemination, and encouragement of implementation of nondiscriminatory older worker employment policies.) (YLB)

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act has been amended to outlaw mandatory retirement at any age. However, the act permits employers to impose a specific retirement age if there is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) which cannot be met by all or most individuals. Imposition of BFOQ mandatory retirement ages by employers has led to litigation. Many of these cases concern whether there are age-related changes in behavior that impair job abilities beyond a certain age. In virtually all job classifications questions of intellectual competence, judgment, and motivation are involved. Psychologists may be called as expert witnesses about these competency issues. Psychologists as expert witnesses provide expert testimony and relevant research literature, educate the attorney on methodological issues, and help prepare the attorney for trial. Job skills needed should be analyzed and the effects of age on their performance assessed. When an employer attempts to support the BFOQ defense through use of an industrial psychologist and his literature analysis, the expert trained in the aging field should look for research flaws such as inappropriate reliance on cross-sectional or group difference data, absolute magnitude of age changes, and compensation of age changes in skilled behaviors. To combat the argument that it is possible to test for individual characteristics of the job, the expert may need to identify objective assessment procedures which are age-neutral. (ABL)

This article addresses the international community's differing attitudes on mandatory retirement. The authors explored various factors, such as sociodemographics and political ideology and the latter's predictive value for attitudes on compulsory retirement. Education proved the strongest sociodemographic predictor. Most Americans opposed mandated retirement whereas most Britons supported such retirement. (RJM)

Some higher education officials say the end of mandatory retirement may lead to lower faculty turnover and could reduce opportunities for young scholars, mainly members of minorities, women, and younger faculty in the departments for which the individual institution is most respected. (Author/MSE)

Changes in retirement patterns at colleges and universities can be expected because of demographic reasons and because of federal and state legislation uncapping mandatory retirement. Institutional policies that will encourage reluctant older faculty to retire need to address the three fundamental components of successful employee retirement: (1) adequate income, (2) affordable health care, and (3) continued opportunities for self-fulfillment. (MSE)

This publication presents a close examination of conceptual, legal and related issues surrounding the dismissal of tenured higher education faculty, under the fourth exception to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). This exception, which will expire on December 31, 1993, permits existing, compulsory retirement-age policies to be applied to employees by their college or university employer at age 70 if the employees are "serving under a contract of unlimited tenure." The study is organized into four parts. The first, an introduction, describes the history of the development of the ADEA legislation and its amendments and exception as well as an overview of the study itself. Section II, "The Concept of Tenure," focuses on tenure's function and justification without considering the law. Part III, "The Legal Aspects of Tenure," addresses the question of whether the concept of tenure constitutes an unacceptable obstacle for institutions of higher education such that their efforts to achieve educational goals is unacceptably impaired. Part IV, "Conclusion," discusses age-neutral procedures, involuntary versus voluntary termination, the need to retain older faculty, and the role of academic tenure in the 1990s. An appendix offers dismissal procedure guidelines. Also included are a table of cases cited and an index. (JB)

This study examines the age distribution of faculty retirements at 101 colleges and universities offering at least the baccalaureate degree, representing 35,000 faculty. It examines both historical retirement patterns and distributions of faculty by age and discipline. The study also examines data from a survey of 518 retired faculty members concerning factors influencing their retirement decision. Study findings include: (1) the anticipated 1994 elimination of mandatory retirement is unlikely to cause an immediate substantial increase in the average age of retirement; (2) faculty retire on average 1.8 years later at independent versus public institutions of higher education; (3) average ages at retirement differ depending on the retirement program; (4) 88 percent of survey respondents indicated that mandatory retirement was not a significant factor in their decision to retire; (5) the overriding concern among faculty retirees is their financial condition upon retirement; and (6) projections of retirement rates indicate that the largest number of retirements will occur between 1998-99 and 2002-03, though rates are projected to vary by discipline. Thirty-five tables display data on such topics as average ages at retirement by control of institution, level of institution, retirement plan, and location of institution; importance of mandatory retirement in separators' decision to retire; and factors in retirees' retirement planning by discipline and gender. Appendices provide survey instruments, a list of participating institutions, and detailed statistical data. (Contains approximately 40 references.) (JDD)