ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief history of the elimination of mandatory retirement, describes the landscape of faculty retirement today, and discusses how voluntary retirement affects both faculty and the institution. The retirement landscape of today can be better understood by looking at the generations that are currently in the workforce. Although it may appear that the negatives of ending mandatory retirement outweigh the positives for both faculty and institutions, in fact the 21st-century workplace is still catching up with changing policies and practices that reflect increased longevity among the American population. To facilitate this win-win scenario, institutions should promote faculty vitality at all career stages, ensuring that senior faculty receive professional development. Institutions should have policies and programs in place that foster an environment in which senior faculty are valued, while providing incentives and supports for faculty wanting to transition into retirement.
