Syracuse University Offers Early Retirement Option for Employees

Syracuse University announced that they will launch a Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP) for non-faculty staff members. In simple terms, the VSIP is a retirement buyout plan in which current employees whose age and years of service accumulates to at least 65. So if a Syracuse University employee is 45 years old and has worked at the university for 20 years, he or she would be eligible for the buyout.

The buyout consists of a one-time payment that is equivalent to half of the employee's current salary. Those who are eligible will also receive payment for health, dental and vision care.

There is no cap set for qualified employees, if need be, all eligible employees can accept the buyout.

The VSIP is an approach to cut employee costs without having to involuntarily layoff staff.

Eligible staff members will be notified and will have over a month to decide with the deadline being on August 5. All staff members who elect to participate will have until the end of 2015 to complete their services at Syracuse University.

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This can't be too surprising after Chancellor Kent Syverud seemed dead-set on trimming the fat on campus and right-sizing budgets following Nancy Cantor and Daryl Gross's respective tenures, which were less than efficient by informal accounts.