College and Research Libraries By L E W I S F . S T I E G Retirement Plans for College and University Librarians Dr. Stieg is librarian, University of Southern California. IN 1947 the A . L . A . Committee on An-nuities, Pensions and Life Insurance requested a study of retirement provisions for librarians in colleges and universities. T h i s study was undertaken for the purpose of discovering: ( 1 ) T o w h a t extent li- brarians in institutions of higher education are covered by retirement plans; ( 2 ) U n d e r what conditions those plans are available to librarians. T h e data are derived from two sources: William' C. Greenough's College Retire- ment and Insurance Plans ( N e w Y o r k , Columbia University Press, 1948), and a questionnaire. Greenough's book is a com- prehensive and thorough analysis of the sub- ject for four-year institutions, but it does not provide specific information regarding librarians as a group. T h e questionnaire, a copy of which forms Appendix I, was sent to the librarians of all continental U.S. institutions listed in the U.S. Office of Edu- cation's 1946-47 Educational Directory: Colleges and Universities. T h e d a t a p r o - vided by it are summarized in Tables I I - V I . Occasionally totals do not agree in these tables. Discrepancies, however, are appar- ent rather than real. N o t all questionnaires were answered in f u l l ; in some cases one institution gave two or more answers to the same question because alternative retirement plans were available. T h e figures on returns from the ques- tionnaire are analyzed in T a b l e I. T h e replies from junior colleges are so few that no conclusions can be drawn from them. T h i s group is, therefore, omitted whenever tabulations have been combined to provide more general information. For the other types of educational institutions, however, Table I Replies to Questionnaire Sent Re-turned Per Cent Colleges and Universities 783 301 38 Teachers Colleges 212 39 18 Professional and Techno- 39 logical Schools 265 29 11 Junior Colleges 435 34 8 Total 1695 403 23 the sample seems to be reasonably reliable. If all returns except those from junior col- leges are considered together, 81 per cent report some kind of retirement plan for their faculties. Greenough found that four out of five of the 906 institutions from which he secured information have retire- ment plans for the faculty.1 O t h e r figures from the questionnaire sample also show a high degree of correspondence with com- parable figures from Greenough's much larger sample. For example, Greenough's T a b l e I reports 45.7 per cent of U.S. col- leges and universities using the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America plan, 22.1 per cent using a publicly administered plan, and 17.3 per cent using some other type of plan.2 T h e comparable 1 Greenough, W i l l i a m C . , College Retirement and In- surance Plans. N e w Y o r k , Columbia U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1948, p. 6-7. 2 Ibid., p. 4. 10 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Table I I Universities Public Private Number Per Cent Number Per Cent Institutions replying 44 • 22 Faculty status for librarians 14 32 10 45 Administrative officer status for librarians, but 45 not faculty 6 14 3 13 No retirement plan for faculty 2 5 3 14 Retirement plan for faculty 14 State plan 20 47 0 0 T.I.A.A. plan 14 33 10 63 Other plan 9 20 6 37 Professional library staff included in faculty re- 37 tirement plan 32 73 15 69 Clerical library staff included in faculty retire- 32 73 15 69 ment plan 25 57 8 36 Chief librarians only included 5 11 3 14 Separate plan for professional staff 5 11 1 5 Separate plan for clerical staff 10 23 2 9 Compulsory participation—institutions with re- 23 tirement plan 3 i 72 8 5° Voluntary participation—institutions with re- 72 5° tirement plan 7 16 5 3i figures from the questionnaire returns are 37.0, 20.8 and 18.9 per cent. T h e sample provided by the replies to the questionnaire can not, however, be con- sidered representative of all institutions of higher education with regard to provision of retirement plans. M a n y of the institutions which did not reply are small or unac- credited ; a very large proportion of the smaller Catholic colleges did not reply. It is probable that among these groups many more than 20 per cent have no retirement plan. Greenough came to the same con- clusion for the institutions from which he could not secure information: " I t may be assumed that few of them have any organ- ized plans providing for retirement income. Careful checks of secondary information . . . confirm this conclusion."3 T h e extent to which Greenough con- sidered his sample representative can be deduced from the two following state- ments: "Over 80 per cent of the colleges, covering more than 90 per cent of the teachers employed, responded to requests for 3 Ibid., p. 7. information. Of the institutions that re- sponded, about four out of five have re- tirement plans."4 In a summary he concludes: " T w o - t h i r d s of the colleges, universities, and state teachers colleges in the United States, employing over 85 per cent of the total number of faculty mem- bers, now have retirement plans."5 Of the institutions which returned the questionnaire, approximately three-fourths of those with a faculty retirement plan also provide some kind of retirement income for librarians. ' Publicly supported institutions provide retirement plans more often than the private college or university. In an in- significant number of cases, the professional librarian is covered by a plan different from that offered the teaching staff. T h e chief librarians returning the ques- tionnaire reported a total of 3086 profes- sional personnel. If the estimate in the A.L.A. report, Post-war Library Personnel, of 5000 professional librarians in college and university libraries is correct,6 the data 4 Ibid. 0 Ibid., p. 62. 6 A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association Post-war Library Personnel, a Report, ( M i m e o g r a p h e d , 1944), p. 5. JANUARY, 1950 11 covers three-fifths of the librarians em- ployed. For this group, retirement plans are provided for 82 per cent. In about 55 per cent of the institutions reporting, librarians have faculty status. In another 19 per cent, they are classified as administrative officers, but not as faculty. librarian. Approximately 41 per cent of the four-year institutions reporting make provision for this class of personnel. T h e publicly supported university gives him the privilege most often, usually through a state or municipal plan for all clerical employees of the governmental unit. T h e private col- Table I I I Colleges Institutions replying Faculty s t a t u s for librarians Administrative officer s t a t u s for librarians, b u t not faculty N o r e t i r e m e n t plan for faculty R e t i r e m e n t plan for faculty S t a t e plan T.I.A.A. plan Other plan Professional library staff included in faculty re- tirement plan Clerical library staff included in faculty retire- m e n t plan Chief librarians only included Separate plan for professional staff Separate plan for clerical staff Compulsory participation—institutions with re- tirement plan Voluntary participation—institutions with re- tirement plan Public N u m b e r P e r Cent 41 27 10 7 28 2 29 22 1 o 2 30 4 66 24 17 74 5 21 70 54 2 o 5 79 11 P r i v a t e N u m b e r P e r C e n t 194 i i 5 35 44 I 102 33 123 45 12 80 54 59 18 23 1 75 24 63 23 6 5 4 59 39 T h e interpretation of the answers to this question presented some difficulties. Only those institutions were counted as having faculty or administrative status which as- signed it to half or more of the professional staff. T h e i r classification can have a very important bearing on their eligibility to participate in retirement plans. Greenough reports, for example, that about 16 per cent of the institutions using T . I . A . A . plans re- strict coverage to faculty. Another 58 per cent limit coverage to faculty and admin- istrative officers, while only some 26 per cent provide coverage for substantially all employees.7 T h e clerk on the library staff enjoys the right to participate in a retirement plan much less frequently than the professional 7 Greenough, op. ext., p. 2'33. leges answering the questionnaires reported the smallest percentage of plans covering library clerks. O . C. Carmichael, in his foreword to Greenough's book, says: While a large proportion of the colleges and universities of the United States and Canada have plans for the retirement of pro- fessors, relatively few make provision for the nonacademic staffs of their institutions . . . In view of the social security laws that compel business and industry to provide for their employees, it is becoming more and more obvious that institutions which are not covered by these laws must make some pro- vision for all their workers.8 Although the library clerk may now be de- nied participation in retirement plans in a 8 Ibid., p. vii. 12 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Table IV S t a t e Teachers Colleges Table V Professional and Technical Schools Institutions replying Faculty s t a t u s for librarians Administrative officer status for librarians, b u t not faculty N o retirement plan for faculty Retirement plan for faculty S t a t e plan T.I.A.A. plan Other plan Professional library staff in- cluded in faculty retirement plan Clerical library staff included in faculty retirement plan Chief librarians only included Separate plan for professional staff Separate plan for clerical staff Compulsory participation—in- stitutions with retirement plan Voluntary participation—insti- tutions with retirement plan N u m - Per ber Cent 39 19 24 61 8 22 5 13 28 85 3 9 2 6 32 82 16 41 1 3 1 3 1 5 24 72 4 12 Institutions replying F a c u l t y s t a t u s for librarians Administrative officer s t a t u s for librarians, b u t not faculty N o retirement plan for faculty Retirement plan for faculty State plan T.I.A.A. plan Other plan Professional library staff in- cluded in faculty retirement plan Clerical library staff included in faculty retirement plan Chief librarians only included Separate plan for professional staff Separate plan for clerical staff Compulsory participation—in- stitutions with retirement plan Voluntary participation—insti- tutions with retirement plan N u m - ber 29 13 o 6 12 17 11 1 1 1 9 10 large majority of colleges and universities, the outlook for the f u t u r e is good. Today most new retirement plans cover all academic staff members . . . and a growing number include all employees. College officers are now studying the problems of coverage of nonacademic employees.9 T h e r e seems little doubt that most col- lege officers are convinced of the necessity for providing retirement plans. Returns to the questionnaire indicate that there has been a gradual growth of the movement among private institutions since 1900, with a slight acceleration during the last two decades. Among public institutions, most of the plans were adopted since 1930. D u r - ing the past few years many institutions have revised plans adopted earlier to pro- vide greater benefits and more extensive coverage. T h e concept of social security seems to be fairly generally accepted by the American people, and f u r t h e r developments in the college and university field can be expected. 9 Ibid., p. 3 1 . T h e problem is largely one of ways and means. In this connection, the legislation now pending before Congress to extend the Federal Social Security Act is important. Participation in this program by colleges and universities may be the answer to the problem of librarians and particularly of clerks who are not now covered in other ways. Mobility of clerks is usually from one clerical position to another within the same community, rather than from one col- lege to another. T h e Federal Social Se- curity Act is, therefore, better adapted to the retirement needs of this group. It should be noted, however, that the proposed extension of the act makes participation by nonprofit educational institutions voluntary rather than compulsory.10 T h e conditions under which faculty, li- brarians, and others participate in retire- ment plans are analyzed in detail by Greenough.1 1 T w o questions seem to be particularly crucial at the present time: ( 1 ) 10 New York Times, A u g . 9, 1949, p. 1, 18. 11 Op. cit., p. 77-180. JANUARY, 1950 13 the adequacy of benefits, and ( 2 ) the for- feiture provisions of many plans. T h e ob- jectives of a retirement plan are defeated unless the individual is assured an adequate income when he reaches retirement age. A large majority of the fixed contribution plans require contributions of 5 percent of salary from the participant and 5 percent from the institution, rates that no longer Greenough.1 3 H e definitely advocates a contract system like that of T . I . A . A . , whereby the individual retains the value of all contributions made on his behalf, but cannot cash or otherwise defeat the purpose of his contract. T h e library staff offers many of the same personnel problems as the faculty. T o o little or too much turnover are both unde- Table VI Junior Colleges Institutions replying F a c u l t y s t a t u s for librarians Administrative officer s t a t u s for librarians, b u t not faculty N o retirement plan for faculty R e t i r e m e n t plan for faculty S t a t e plan T.I.A.A. plan Other plan Professional library staff included in faculty re- tirement plan Clerical library staff included in faculty retire- m e n t plan Chief librarians only included Separate plan for professional staff Separate plan for clerical staff Compulsory participation—institutions with re- m e n t plan Voluntary participation—institutions with re- tirement plan Public N u m b e r Per Cent 15 14 1 1 7 2 1 93 7 11 70 20 10 73 27 o 13 6 74 o P r i v a t e N u m b e r Per Cent 19 15 1 10 o 4 4 produce reasonably adequate retiring allow- ances. Likewise, the majority of fixed benefit plans establish a ceiling on benefits that is too low to meet the needs of retiring college teachers.12 M o s t of the publicly administered plans, nonfunded, and self-funded plans, include forfeiture provisions. If the employee severs his connection with the institution he is usually forced to cash in the accumulation set aside during employment for his retire- ment, and he usually forfeits the amounts contributed by the employer. T h e adverse effects of these provisions upon recruiting, mobility of personnel, and retention of sec- ond-rate employees are carefully listed by 12 Ibid., p. 39. sirable. Greenough's arguments for the contract type of retirement plan without forfeiture clauses are difficult to refute. I t seems likely that most college and uni- versity library staffs could be strengthened more easily and more quickly if librarians were universally entitled to participate in a contract type of retirement system. It is interesting to note the extent to which eligible librarians have chosen to participate in voluntary plans. In 50 per cent of the private institutions with such voluntary participation, half or more of the librarians are acquiring retirement pro- tection. In nine per cent of the public in- stitutions with voluntary plans, half or more 13 Ibid., p. 42-47. 14 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES of the librarians have chosen to participate. These facts seem to support Greenough's statement that "the experience of colleges with no retirement plans or with voluntary plans shows that it is wishful thinking to believe that all or even a substantial por- tion of college staff members will make ade- quate provision for their old age if left to their own devices."14 T h e answers to the final question—"Do you consider your retirement plan an asset in attracting the type of staff member you want for the library?"—revealed interest- ing reactions that cannot easily be tabualted. M a n y librarians responded with much more than a plain "yes" or "no." In general, about three-fourths replied in the affirma- tive. Some felt so strongly on the subject that they apparently considered the question superfluous. T h e r e are apparently two major reasons for a negative answer to this question: ( i ) the plan itself is unsatisfac- tory, particularly with regard to adequacy of retirement income; ( 2 ) the younger li- 14 Ibid., p. 32. brarian at the beginning of his career is not particularly concerned about retirement. T h e fact that the majority of beginning li- brarians are young women makes the effect of the second factor even stronger. T o summarize, the professional library staff is eligible to participate in the retire- ment plans of about three-fourths of the in- stitutions which have them for faculty. Plans covering librarians are probably avail- able in a little less than one-half of all the four-year institutions of higher education in the United States. These institutions, however, probably employ about 80 per cent of all college and university librarians. In about 40 per cent of the institutions with retirement plans, library clerks are eligible to participate. Publicly supported institutions provide retirement for librarians and clerks more often than private, but almost all their plans include forfeiture provisions. M u c h work still needs to be done in extending coverage of retirement plans and particularly in improving the bene- fits and conditions of participation. Appendix I Sample Questionnaire A M E R I C A N L I B R A R Y A S S O C I A T I O N C O M M I T T E E O N A N N U I T I E S , P E N S I O N S A N D L I F E I N S U R A N C E N a m e of l i b r a r y : A n s w e r e d b y : T i t l e : 1. S i z e of staff ( d o n o t i n c l u d e s t u d e n t a s s i s t a n t s ) : P r o f e s s i o n a l C l e r i c a l 2. D o e s t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l staff h a v e a c a d e m i c r a n k ? Y e s N o A r e p r o f e s s i o n a l s t a f f m e m b e r s classified as " a d m i n i s t r a t i v e o f f i c e r s " ? Y e s N o ' 3. D o e s y o u r i n s t i t u t i o n h a v e a r e t i r e m e n t p l a n f o r t h e f a c u l t y ? Y e s N o W h e n w a s it a d o p t e d ? 4. ( a ) I s t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r y s t a f f eligible t o p a r t i c i p a t e in this p l a n ? Y e s N o I s t h e c l e r i c a l staff eligible t o p a r t i c i p a t e ? Y e s N o W h e n w a s t h e p l a n m a d e a v a i l a b l e t o p r o f e s s i o n a l staff m e m b e r s ? T o c l e r i c a l s t a f f ? ( b ) I s t h e r e a s e p a r a t e r e t i r e m e n t p l a n f o r t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r y s t a f f ? Y e s N o W h e n w a s it a d o p t e d ? I s t h e r e a s e p a r a t e p l a n f o r t h e c l e r i c a l s t a f f ? Y e s N o W h e n w a s it a d o p t e d ? JANUARY, 1950 15 5. What are the conditions of participation: voluntary or compulsory; age limit; rank, etc.? 6. Is there a waiting period for participation? Yes No How long (in years) ? 7. How many library staff members are now participating in the retirement plan? Profes- sional Clerical How many retired staff members are now drawing benefits from the plan? Professional Clerical 8. W h a t is the retirement age for professional library staff? Voluntary Compul- sory W h a t is the retirement age for clerical staff? Voluntary Com- pulsory Is retirement possible for disability? Under what conditions? 9. Describe briefly your retirement plan. If you prefer, use the back of the sheet to answer this question. a. C O N T R I B U T O R Y W h a t per cent is contributed by the staff member? What per cent is contributed by the institution? Is there a limit on the institution's contributions? If so, how much? b. N O N - C O N T R I B U T O R Y Does the institution contribute the entire amount? Does the individual contribute the entire amount? How are retirement benefits determined? c. C O N T R A C T S Do you use Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association annuity contracts? Do you use annuity contracts with another insurance company? Do you accumulate your own funds? Is your plan part of a retirement system for public employees? State ; Municipal ; County ; Special group of educational employees in the city or state Is your plan part of a retirement system for religious workers? d. B E N E F I T S How are benefits determined? Are death benefits available? Are any supplementary benefits available, e.g., adjustments for employees who are within a few years of retirement age at the time the plan was adopted? What provision is made for the employee who leaves the service of the institution before reaching retirement age? 10. Do you consider your retirement plan an asset in attracting the type of staff member you want for the library? 16 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES