Getting Your Retirement Organization Started: 6 Tips

Given the diversity of higher education institutions and organizational cultures, there are many ways of beginning a retirement organization to support the needs and interests of each campus. A few tips for getting started, from our experience, might stimulate your thinking.

Tip #1. Join AROHE! This organization is a vital source of information and contacts with persons and schools that can provide advice and useful models to fit any school considering a retirement organization.

Tip #2. Seek support of top administrative leaders and other campus constituents (faculty and staff) early in the process of starting an organization. In this connection, be aware of the campus political culture, and keep everyone informed and, ideally, involved with the initial exploration and later development of the retirement organization.

Tip #3. Identify who will champion the retirement organization idea. Things happen on campus when there are persons and groups who identify with and help promote a new idea. Every new idea needs advocates.

Tip #4. Research current and retired personnel associated with your own campus concerning their interest in and willingness to become involved in a retirement organization. AROHE members may be able to assist you with sample survey instruments in this connection.

Tip #5. Start small, be focused, flexible and inclusive. Unless considerable advanced planning and commitment from retired personnel have been forthcoming immediately, start your retirement organization with limited and clearly focused goals and activities and allow demand and growth to occur over time. Be flexible in the programs and activities offered and listen carefully to the interests expressed by the membership. Be inclusive of all retired (or retiring) personnel who are interested in participating -– faculty, staff and administration.

Tip #6. Recognize basic needs such as organizational and institutional legitimacy, budget and space. At a minimum, a successful retirement organization must be a recognized as part of the institutional framework both in terms of acceptance of how it contributes to the overall mission of the university and of making clear the lines of administrative reporting. If this first condition is met, then budgetary support and space allocation may be somewhat easier to secure to facilitate the activities and programs of the retirement organization.