NIU President John La Tourette believes he has found a better alternative to a state early retirement plan passed by the Illinois General Assembly in January.

La Tourette also wrote a letter last week to a union that has been held widely responsible for the demise of more popular early retirement legislation.

The early retirement option that passed in lieu of the popular “10-30” proposal was called “the thinnest of thin excuses for an early retirement plan” by Board of Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves.

Anne Kaplan, La Tourette’s executive secretary, said the only way the state plan helped university faculty members was by setting a deadline that, if met by faculty members and staff planning on retiring, would have the university paying the entire penalty charge for early retirees.

However, Kaplan said the state plan could have led to an onslaught of retirees by June 30, 1994, the deadline set by the legislation.

Faculty members and staff who are at least 55 years of age and decide to retire before they reach the age of 60 must pay an amount equal to 7 percent of their current salary for every year they are below the age of 60.

The state plan eliminated that need for anyone 55 years of age or older who announced plans to retire before July 1, 1993. Under the state plan such employees would have to retire before June 30, 1994.

The NIU plan allows people over the age of 55 to announce before the end of this June their intent to retire between Jan. 1, 1994 and June 30, 1995. They are eligible to receive a 10 percent increase in their annual retirement payments, Kaplan said.

“It gives the university more time to meet the cost of the incentive,” Kaplan said. “It also gives the employee more time to plan their retirement.”

Kaplan said the NIU plan will help ease the possible strain on the university if all eligible employees retire before the June 30, 1994 deadline of the state plan.

According to Northern Today, the NIU newsletter for faculty and staff members, La Tourette was quoted as saying, “Although we plan to generate the maximum possible increment for continuing employees, it is obvious that an employment freeze would be required to generate the funds needed to cover the legislatively authorized (early retirement option) payments.”

Early retirement plans are used often as cost-cutting devices. Positions vacated by retiring faculty and staff remain unfilled or might be given to younger applicants with less experience who demand a lower paycheck.

The Northern Today article also states money saved by extending the retirement period will leave more funds available for salary increases and other high priorities.

The early retirement option passed by the legislature in January of this year had been attached to 10-30 retirement legislation. The 10-30 legislation has received wide support among university personnel, management and unions—except for the American Federation of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

The lack of AFSCME’s support has been cited as the major reason the more popular legislation was not even introduced into the Illinois legislature.

In a Feb. 23 letter to AFSCME Executive Director Steve Cullen, La Tourette addressed Cullen’s comments that the 10-30 legislation would have benefited a limited number of faculty members.

“If your opposition was really based on your assumption that ‘only a handful employees’ would have retired early under the plan, think again. University employees throughout the campus were optimistic about the 10-30 plan,” the letter states.

La Tourette also challenged AFSCME’s rationale for not supporting the legislation in his letter.

“Ultimately, your action has done exactly what you claim the 10 & 30 plan would have done—it will allow ‘a few fat cats to retire,'” the letter states.

The new NIU plan seems to be an attempt by La Tourette and his staff to encourage faculty members who are not highly paid to retire by adding the 10 percent increase in pension increments to the plan.