As of today, 111 Ohio University employees have signed up to meet with Human Resources staff to talk about their early retirement and buyout options.
Informational meetings, during which Human Resources employees can answer questions about the options, began today and will continue until the first week of April.
“We'll keep doing it until we've met with everyone who wants to meet,” said Greg Fialko, OU’s director of benefits.
The number of people currently signed up for meetings is about as many as OU officials said they expected.
“We assumed that we would meet with at least 100 people,” Fialko said. “So, this is probably about what we expected.”
About 1,197 OU employees are eligible to participate in an early retirement plan, which is one component of the university’s efforts to mend a possible $27 million budget hole.
OU officials expect 22 percent of eligible employees — 263 employees — to participate in the programs, which will cost the university about $15 million up front. However, the buyouts and early retirements would save the university about $13 million a year, according to a previous Post article.
The first day OU employees can enroll in either an early retirement or buyout program is April 4, and employees must enroll by May 2 to receive the cash bonuses associated with the two plans, said OU’s Chief Human Resources Officer Linda Lonsinger in a Feb. 28 email to university employees.
In the meantime, three Human Resources officers have devoted their schedules to meeting with employees considering the buyouts.
“I met with three people today, and my two colleagues met with two people,” Fialko said this afternoon.
Because OU does not have access to employees’ pension information, the meetings are meant to inform employees of what their options are, not to give advice, Fialko said.
“We really encourage people to (contact their retirement service providers) because these are just informational sessions,” Fialko said. “We're not trying to sell anyone on retiring.”
