Retirement Party Guidelines

As an employee (faculty or staff) approaches official retirement, their department chair/program director/manager should engage in a discussion with the retiree to understand their preferred retirement recognition. The retiree may choose one of the three options below, and the manager will use this selection to coordinate appropriate retirement party planning and arrangements.

Option One: Department/Team Lunch

The department can spend up to $500 from the department budget on a team lunch.

Option Two: Individual Open House

The department/team can host an open house for the retiree & spend up to $500 from the department budget on the event.

Option Three: Group Open House

The retiree could opt into the group retirement open house, hosted by OPC each late spring. The department/team will contribute $250 to the event and OPC will subsidize the rest of the cost. For more details, please reach out to OPC.

Retirement Gift: A department/team can allocate up to $200 from their budget on a gift for the retiree.

Questions regarding this policy should be directed to OPC. Policy updated: January 2026