Early Retirement Incentive Program

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Faced with the realities of the economic crisis that the United States faced in 2008-2009, Charles County was forced to deal with daunting declines in projected revenues as well as impending budget reductions. Thus, there was a clear need to significantly reduce the County’s operating costs. As a response, Charles County developed a voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Plan (ERIP), which provided attractive incentives to employees who were eligible for early or normal retirement to consider retiring on their own terms. After reviewing several possible ERIP designs, the program that most ideally suited the County’s needs was selected and the Board of County Commissioners approved it. Immediately following the finalization of the ERIP design, the County launched into the next phase, namely, educating and communicating it to the eligible employees. Ultimately, 47 participants chose to participate in the program, enabling the County to generate an annual $2.8 million in salary savings for the upcoming fiscal year’s operating budget, all while bearing an actual cost of only $272,251 over the next 10 years and enabling its participating employees to make a smooth transition into retirement.