The University of Maine is offering early retirement to more than 150 faculty members as it deals with a projected $19 million budget shortfall.
UMaine notified 158 faculty members this week at the university’s flagship Orono and Machias campuses that they are eligible for a special retirement incentive.
The school announced plans to cut spending twice in recent months before announcing the special retirement offer this week. The university previously announced plans to cut $10 million from the academic budget, followed by an additional $6 million from the non-academic budget.
Eligible UMaine faculty members will have until January 2nd to sign up for early retirement.
The incentive includes a one-time payment equal to 100% of the faculty member’s base annual salary if they retire on Sept. 1, 2027.
Faculty members must be at least 55 years old as of Nov. 1 and have provided at least 10 years of full-time equivalent service to the university to be eligible.