Retirees Rights and Benefits FY2025

Committee Details:

Committee: Retirees Rights and Benefits
Committee Category: Standing Committees of the University Senate
Fiscal Year: FY2025

Members—

  • Co-Chair: Patrick Lansdon, Biology, CLAS, Faculty, Voting, 2026
  • Co-Chair: Beth Benfield, Office of Research - AMS, UPS, Voting, 2026
  • David Ekerdt, Emeritus Faculty, Voting, 2026
  • Lauren Shull, AAI-ATLAS, USS, Voting, 2026
  • TBD, , Retired UPS, Voting, 
  • TBD, , Retired USS, Voting, 
  • Amy Mendenhall, Provost's Office Rep., Ex-officio, Non-voting, 
  • Gary Minden, Endacott Society Liaison, Ex-officio, Voting, 

Charges—

Standing Charges

  1. Articulate the value of retirees to the university and elevate concerns related to retirees to SenEx.
  2. Periodically review the resources available to prospective retirees, including the Retirees Handbook, and communicate suggestions to Human Resources. Any updates need to be approved by Human Resources (Benefits). Once approved, the Governance Office will forward changes to the Policy Office.
  3. Meet each fall with a representative from Human Resources to learn about changes and updates to processes and resources that affect retirees. Use this meeting as an opportunity to present feedback from the committee, orient committee members on how HR interacts with prospective and current retirees, and get a communications and announcements timeline from HR.
  4. Distribute a call for volunteers to serve in the committee positions designated for retirees during the spring for terms starting in the fall. Coordinate with Human Resources and the Endacott Society to utilize their distribution lists.
  5. Coordinate with HR, administration, the Endacott Society, and other relevant parties to hold regular Town Hall meetings, with a panel of retirees for discussion on the experiences and topics for retirement.
  6. Conduct a survey of retirees on a 3-year cycle about their satisfaction and concerns with KU’s retirement practices (e.g., transition practices, resources, communications, support for scholarship).
    1. Year 1: Create and distribute survey. Create report.
    2. Year 2 and 3: Develop recommendations for Human Resources, Faculty Affairs, and other relevant parties. Monitor actions taken in response.

Specific Charges

  1. Review and bolster the Retirees Checklist that is currently provided by Human Resources (see FY2024 Final Report).
  2. Review the “Retirees Handbook” in its current form, including organization, completeness, and accessibility. Consult other universities’ comparable resources for retirees. Communicate recommendations to Human Resources.
  3. Attend Human Resources’ pre-retirement sessions.

Retirees Rights and Benefits FY2025