The VRP is a time-limited opportunity that provides eligible employees with a lump-sum payment of one month of salary per year of service up to a maximum of 12 months if they retire on or before Aug. 31, 2026. It is a deliberate step to align Memorial’s workforce with enrolment and financial realities while responding to interest from employees for such a program.   

Memorial is operating in a significantly changed environment, shaped by demographic decline, increasing competition for students, shifts in international enrolment and rising costs. These are structural challenges that require deliberate action to ensure the university remains vibrant and viable over the long term.

The VRP is a deliberate step to align Memorial’s workforce with enrolment and financial realities while responding to interest from employees for such a program. 

The VRP is open to all operationally funded eligible employees with the cost of this program being covered by salary savings. 

Eligible employees who avail of the VRP must retire on or before Aug. 31, 2026.  

Applications will be available in the Pensions section of the Human Resources channel in Employee Self-Service as of June 1, 2026. The application period will be from June 1 to July 10, 2026. 

All applications will be reviewed between July 13 and July 24, 2026, with communications to follow directly with applicants.

In 1996, Memorial offered a Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Program, and in 2018 the university offered a Voluntary Retirement Program. 

The VRP is being offered to operationally funded, permanent academic and non-academic staff members who meet the age and service requirements and who are enrolled in Memorial’s pension plan. 

This includes academic employees in tenured, tenure-track and/or academic administrator positions and staff employees in unionized, non-bargaining, management and professional and senior administrative management positions. 

Positions on the executive salary scale are excluded from this program. 

To qualify for the VRP, individuals must be a minimum age of 60 and have at least 30 years of service or be aged 71 or older regardless of years of service as of Aug. 31, 2026. 

The term “service” refers to pensionable service in the Memorial University Pension Plan. 

Individuals can check their annual personal pension statement in Employee Self-Service to get their years of service as of Dec. 31, 2025, and then add the number of months for this year that they will work prior to retiring. 

If you are an operationally funded, permanent academic or non-academic employee and you meet the age and service requirements, then you are eligible for this program. To avail of the program, you must apply during the application period.     

Employees must meet the age and service criteria by Aug. 31, 2026, to be eligible for the VRP. 

While individuals may be entitled to buy past service under the pension plan, this process generally takes 12-18 months to complete. Due to the limited time to elect to participate in the VRP, it is not possible to include past service in determining eligibility unless there is already a purchase or transfer in progress and the transaction is completed prior to Aug. 31, 2026. 

No, the VRP is not open to individuals on LTD.

People who have already retired from Memorial are not eligible for this program. 

Employees who have already formally submitted their intent to retire but are still employed at Memorial at the commencement of this program (June 1, 2026) are not eligible to participate in the program.    

The VRP will not be expanded. To qualify, employees must meet the age and service criteria by Aug. 31, 2026. 

Should you meet the age and service qualifications, you must complete the VRP application and submit it via the HR Case Management channel in Employee Self-Service by July 10, 2026. 

The application will be available in the Human Resources channel of Employee Self-Service under the Pensions tab as of June 1, 2026. Once completed, please submit the application via the HR Case Management Channel and choose the “Pension” category, “Retirement Inquiry” subcategory”.  

No, this program is strictly voluntary. 

An application under the VRP may be rescinded by the employee prior to the application period deadline (July 10, 2026).  

The VRP is being offered to operationally funded, permanent academic and non-academic staff members who meet the age and service requirements and who are enrolled in Memorial’s pension plan. Acceptance in the program does not require dean/director approval. 

Your rate of pay for the lump sum payment is calculated by taking your annual salary and dividing it by 12. If you are a part-time employee, your part-time salary will be used for calculation. 

All earnings upon which pension contributions are paid are considered part of your salary for purposes of this program.

The step increase will be reflected in the final VRP payment calculation for any employee who receives a step increase prior to retirement. 

The Memorial University Pension Plan is a registered pension plan and is subject to both provincial and federal legislation. These regulations do not permit the payment of additional pension amounts from the pension plan as incentives under this type of voluntary retirement program.

If you have further questions about the VRP, your eligibility, and the process involved, please submit a case via the HR Case Management channel in Employee Self-Service. When submitting a case, please select “Pension” as your category and “Retirement Inquiry” as your sub-category.

Pension Services can be contacted by email at pensions@mun.ca to answer any questions about your pension entitlement under the Memorial University Pension Plan. 

As your employer, the university is not able to answer questions or provide advice regarding your personal financial or tax planning. You are encouraged to seek professional advice, if necessary, based on your personal situation and financial goals. 

A final calculation will be provided to you once your application has been received. 

No, all VRP payments will be made in 2026. 

You will be required to take the payment as a lump sum. The payment will not be paid as a salary continuance. 

Employees are encouraged to seek independent financial advice prior to making a decision regarding their retirement; however, this will be at the cost of the employee.

The VRP payment will be treated as a retiring allowance under Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regulations. 

If you are 71 or younger at the end of the year in which you transfer the funds, under CRA regulations you can transfer the eligible part of your retiring allowance to your own RRSP. The eligible part is calculated as follows: 

• $2,000 for each year or part-year of service before 1996 during which you were employed by Memorial. Pensionable service performed before 1996 that was transferred to the pension plan from another employer’s registered pension plan may also be counted in the calculation of the eligible amount. 

Further information regarding the eligible portion can be found on the CRA website. 

The non-eligible part can be contributed to your RRSP up to the amount of your available RRSP deduction limit. Amounts cannot be contributed to your RRSP if you are over 71 years old at the end of the tax year. The non-eligible part may also be transferred to a spousal or common-law partner RRSP. 

Further information on transferring the non-eligible portion can be found on the CRA website. 

The VRP payment can be directed to a spousal RRSP provided you have sufficient personal RRSP contribution room to do so. You will find your RRSP contribution room on your most recent Notice of Assessment (NOA) issued by CRA. Your 2025 Notice of Assessment will need to be provided to Memorial as confirmation of your contribution room. 

People generally contribute to a spousal RRSP because the spouse has less income and, when the funds are withdrawn, they are included in the spouse’s income. If that spouse has lower income, they may pay less income tax. Furthermore, if you earn income after age 71 and your spouse is age 71 or younger, it may still be possible to acquire new RRSP room, allowing contributions to the spousal RRSP. It is advised that you discuss this circumstance with CRA, your financial institution, and/or a tax advisor. 

You will find your RRSP contribution room on your most recent Notice of Assessment (NOA) issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Your 2025 Notice of Assessment will need to be provided to Memorial as confirmation of your RRSP contribution room.

You can obtain a copy of your most recent NOA by logging into My Account from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website or by calling 1-800-959-8281.  

No, the VRP payment is a one-time lump sum payment that will be made in 2026.  

Consult with your financial advisor or your financial institution to determine when you should set up your RRSP account. 

Accounts such as Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA), Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP), and Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP) are not tax- deductible like RRSPs. Since there is no offsetting deduction on your personal income tax return, the VRP payment must be taxed. In that regard, any portion of the VRP payment not paid directly to an RRSP will be paid directly to you in after-tax dollars. You are then free to use the funds for whatever purpose you want, but it would be the net (after tax) amount.  The payment will be made to you directly, and you can then deposit it into the investment vehicle of your choice. 

If you choose to have your VRP funds transferred to a RRSP, it will take approximately six to eight weeks. 

The amount eligible for transfer to an RRSP will be reported in Box 66 on your T4, whereas non-eligible amounts will be reported separately in Box 67.

The retiring allowance will be taxed at CRA’s lump-sum rate of 30 per cent unless you request that a higher rate be used. You are encouraged to seek professional financial and tax advice if you have questions about planning or need help to make your decision. 

Retiring allowances which have not been transferred to an RRSP are subject to the following withholding tax rates: 

The above withholding rates are flat deduction rates applied to your VRP payment as a whole. They are not graduated rates (e.g. 10 per cent on first $5000, 20 per cent on next $10,000, etc.). 

Please consider requesting additional income tax be deducted since CRA’s lump-sum rate of 30 per cent may not be sufficient for your circumstances.

Your net payout can be calculated by taking your lump sum payment and multiplying it by the applicable withholding tax rate noted in the above question. Should you choose to have a portion of your payment transferred to an RRSP with the remainder paid as cash, your net payout will be the gross amount, less the RRSP contribution, less 30 per cent income tax unless the payment falls below $15,000 due to your RRSP contribution.  Please see the tax rates noted in the above question.  

You can choose to have additional taxes taken from the payment by requesting, in writing on the VRP Application form, the amount you wish to be deducted in addition to the withholding rates listed in the question above titled "If I take a cash payment, what will be the withholding tax rate?" (e.g. an additional $5,000 or an additional 5 per cent).  If you do not request additional tax, your payment will have income tax deducted at a rate of 30 per cent unless you contribute to your RRSP and the cash portion of the payment falls below $15,000.  

In choosing your retirement date, you need to keep in mind that individuals availing themselves of the VRP must retire on or before Aug. 31, 2026.   

Retirement notice clauses (e.g. six-month notice period) will be waived where required to accommodate the employee being able to retire on or before Aug. 31, 2026. 

Your payment will not be included as pensionable earnings under Memorial’s pension plan and you will not receive additional pensionable service credit in the amount of the VRP.

While individuals may be entitled to buy past service under the pension plan, this process generally takes 12-18 months to complete. Due to the limited time to elect to participate in the VRP, it is not possible to include past service in determining eligibility unless there is already a purchase or transfer in progress and the transaction is completed prior to Aug. 31, 2026. If a purchase or transfer is in progress and will be completed prior to Aug. 31, 2026, then you may be able to use the VRP payment for this purpose. Please submit a case via the HR Case Management channel regarding your specific circumstances. 

Yes, upon signing your Voluntary Retirement Application form, please submit your letter of retirement as per regular submission procedures.

You may refer to your pension statement for 2025 for information on your pension entitlement as of Dec. 31, 2025, and you can use the pension calculator available in Employee Self-Service under the Pension Information option.  

Upon retirement, you may be able to maintain your existing health and dental insurance provided you meet the minimum years of service required. Travel health can also be maintained; however, the policy language regarding pre-existing conditions does change. You may also maintain life insurance coverage upon retirement; however, there are age implications surrounding the coverage. Further information can be found on the retiree notices webpage. 

Yes, cost sharing for retirees is different from that of active employees. University contributions for retirees vary. The cost and level of retiree group insurance benefits will be reviewed periodically and may be subject to change in the future. Current rates can be found here. 

Due to the volume of pension requests expected under the VRP, it will not be possible to arrange in-person meetings with a Pensions Specialist prior to Aug. 31, 2026.   

If you are considering retiring, please email pensions@mun.ca to request a pension estimate and include your intended retirement date. Your pension file will be audited, and a pension estimate will be sent to you showing your entitlement.  This may take up to four weeks. Once you have received your pension estimate, you can follow up directly with the Pension Specialist if you have any questions. You are also encouraged to discuss with whomever provides you with financial advice. 

You may submit your intention to retire at any time, subject to any collective agreement or pension plan requirements. 

Income tax is the only standard deduction to be taken from the lump sum payment. This payment is not subject to EI, CPP, pension, LTD or other group insurances. 

Any amount owing will be deducted from the VRP payment. This includes salary, travel, and vacation overpayments, salary advances, benefit arrears, and any other amounts owing to Memorial University. Deductions are received under the authority of s.31 of the Financial Administration Act. Deductions will also include any wage garnishment orders in effect. 

While Memorial respects that the choice may be difficult for some, the decision is ultimately the employee’s. You may wish to consult with your financial institution, a financial advisor or a tax advisor.