2025-2026 Voluntary Retirement Program (VRP) for FAS | Queen's University Faculty of Arts and Science

Program Overview and Rationale

��Ӱֱ�� is projecting operating deficits of $20-$25M for each of the next three years. The largest proportion of these projected deficits comes from significant budget shortfalls in the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS) and is largely attributed to stagnant undergraduate tuition revenue, a decline in graduate tuition revenue, and increased costs.

The 2025-2026 Voluntary Retirement Program (VRP) for FAS faculty members is a time-limited opportunity for eligible, approved members in the QUFA bargaining unit in FAS holding one of the following faculty appointments: Tenured; Tenured track; or Continuing Adjunct. Applicants will elect to retire on either August 31, 2026, or December 31, 2026, in return for which they will receive a lump-sum payment equivalent to one (1) year of their Regular Salary. 

DEADLINE: The deadline to apply is Monday, November 3, 2025, at 4:30 PM. 

The 2025-2026 VRP for eligible FAS faculty members is part of the Faculty’s ongoing effort to address its operating budget deficit. The VRP aims to reduce costs and strengthen the Faculty’s long-term financial capacity so that FAS can continue to advance its academic mission and support faculty renewal. Queen’s has a long history of academic excellence, and is committed to ensuring that despite financial challenges, the university’s academic mission is not compromised.

The 2025-2026 VRP for eligible FAS faculty members complements but does not replace the Queen’s Voluntary Phased Retirement Program (VPRP), which remains available to eligible QUFA bargaining unit members who prefer a phased approach to retirement.

The option to retire under the 2025-2026 VRP for FAS faculty members is available based on the Terms and Conditions specified here.

 DOWNLOAD AND PRINT OPTION: The 2025-2026 VRP for FAS Terms and Conditions, contains the same information as presented on this webpage. It is provided as an alternate format for those who prefer to download and print this information for reading offline.

Program Eligibility

QUFA bargaining unit members in the Faculty of Arts and Science holding a Tenured, Tenured track, or Continuing Adjunct faculty appointment, with active pay status as of August 21st, 2025, are eligible to apply if they:

Have a total pensionable service plus age that equals or exceeds 80 as of the date of retirement;
Are within 10 years of their Normal Retirement Date (age 65) or are working beyond their Normal Retirement Date as of the date of retirement (i.e., they are pension eligible or are already drawing their pension); and
Have total service at Queen’s that equals or exceeds 10 years as of the date of retirement.

With the following exceptions:

Academic Administrators excluded from the QUFA bargaining unit for the duration of their administrative appointment; and
Those who, as of August 21, 2025 have already given formal notice of retirement or resignation to the University, including those who have commenced the Phased Retirement Period of the Queen’s Voluntary Phased Retirement Plan and those who have agreed formally to end their employment voluntarily following approved leave.

Eligible individuals applying for the 2025-2026 VRP for FAS faculty members in accordance with the application deadline shall be hereinafter referred to as "Applicants." 

Approval

Submission of an application is not a guarantee of its approval.
Consideration of applications will be made by the Dean of Arts and Science and the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), who are responsible to ensure that academic and operational priorities are sufficiently met with the retirement.
By submitting their application, the Applicant makes an irrevocable commitment to retire in accordance with the terms of the 2025-2026 VRP for FAS faculty members.
Applicants will receive the decision of the Provost by January 30, 2026.

Retirement Dates

Applicants must choose one of the following retirement dates:

 August 31, 2026; or
December 31, 2026

 Applicants whose applications are approved (“Approved Applicants”) will not be assigned a retirement date that they did not select.

 Approved Applicants will not be eligible for paid employment or re-employment in any capacity at Queen’s University on and after their retirement date.

 Approved Applicants will not be eligible to perform services for Queen’s University in the capacity of a contractor for services on or after their retirement date.

Retirement Incentive and Benefits Payment Options

The retirement incentive is a lump sum payment equivalent to one (1) year of an approved Applicant’s Regular Salary as of July 1, 2025.

 "Regular Salary" is defined in the Queen’s-QUFA Collective Agreement as "the portion of a Member’s actual salary paid for their normal workload for the year (whether full-time or part-time), not including administrative stipends or overload payments."

 This payment may be taken as a single lump sum payment on the date of retirement or in the form of two lump sum payments with one on the date of retirement and the other on January 31 of the year following the year of retirement.

The election to receive a single lump sum or two lump sum payments must be made at the time the application is submitted. 

Application Process

Download the Application for the 2025-2026 VRP for FAS faculty (PDF).
Completed applications should be returned to the Dean of FAS (deanartsci@queensu.ca) no later than 4:30 PM on Monday, November 3, 2025. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline.
Applications will be forwarded initially to Academic Compensation for verification of eligibility criteria.
Consideration and decisions regarding applications will be made no later than Friday, January 30, 2026, by the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) who is responsible to ensure that academic and operational priorities are sufficiently met with the retirement.
Approved Applicants will receive written confirmation of details of their participation (i.e., retirement date, amount of lump sum payment, availability of office space).

Taxable Status of Retirement Incentive Benefits

The lump sum payment(s) are a retiring allowance paid at (or following) retirement in recognition of long service.
A retiring allowance is taxable, non-employment income and will be reported to the Applicant on a T4 tax slip for the year of payment.
All payments will be subject to a withholding tax and any other required deductions.
Applicants may elect additional tax to be withheld.
No deductions for Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, UPP, QUFA dues and/or employee-paid benefits will be applicable to the payments.

Benefit Participation

Effective on the Applicant's retirement date, all employment-based benefits, entitlements, and professional expense reimbursements cease. Earnings up to and including the retirement date are pensionable earnings from which pension contributions will be deducted.

 If eligible, at time of retirement the Applicant may enrol in the Retiree Group Benefit Plan offered to retirees of ��Ӱֱ��. The Applicant can enrol in the same benefits they have as an active employee immediately prior to retiring. Some of the benefits change and/or are reduced in the Retiree Group Benefits plan and the cost-sharing of premiums is also different for Retiree Group Benefits. Premiums are reviewed annually and are subject to change during retirement. The terms of coverage are also subject to change from time to time, including after the Applicant’s retirement date.

 The Retiree Group Benefit Plan and related insurance contracts, and the UPP will govern entitlements under those programs. Retirement packages will be received via email six to eight weeks prior to your retirement date. The value of your pension at your retirement date can be estimated using the .

The Applicant's last year of Professional Expense Reimbursement (PER) is the Academic Year of retirement. PER will be prorated based on retirement date and Applicants have no claim to PER with respect to the period after their retirement date. Expenses must be incurred prior to the retirement date, and Applicants must have all PER claims submitted prior to their last day of employment. Items purchased with these funds that have a continuing value remain the property of the university.

Unused Vacation, and Credited Service Toward Leave

Applicants agree that they shall have exercised all vacation entitlement prior to their retirement date; therefore, there will be no payout of unused vacation time.

Credited years of service towards an academic leave have no monetary value for the purposes of the 2025-2026 VRP for FAS. 

Program Information Sessions

Information sessions will be held to provide details about the program and answer questions. These sessions are scheduled on:

September 9, 2025 at 4:00-5:00 PM on Zoom. .
October 7, 2025 at 4:00-5:00 PM on Zoom. .

The intent is to record these sessions and to make the recording available online.

How To Use the UPP Pension Estimate Calculator Tool Session 

Representatives from the University Pension Plan (UPP) will be hosting an information session on how to navigate the , which is a core feature of the UPP service experience, offering members convenient access to their pension information and specifically, how to use the pension estimates calculator.

September 11, 2025 at 3:00-4:00 PM on Zoom. .
September 30, 2025 at 4:00-5:00 PM on Zoom. .

Questions?

If you have questions, please see the Voluntary Retirement Program FAQs page for further information and contact details.