Section 8-34-208 - Retirement incentive plan - Higher education faculty members(a) The board of trustees of the University of Tennessee and the board of regents of the state university and community college system may elect to provide a retirement incentive plan which operates to benefit faculty members employed by institutions of higher education.(b) Faculty members eligible to participate in the plan shall be current employees who have been employed full time as a faculty member in higher education for the past five (5) years and who satisfy one (1) of the following criteria during the time the plan is in effect: (1) Thirty (30) or more years of retirement service credit in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system, or the optional retirement program established under § 8-35-401, the last ten (10) of which shall be service in the higher education system;(2) Age sixty (60) or over with ten (10) or more years of retirement service credit in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system, or the optional retirement program established under § 8-35-401, the last ten (10) of which shall be service in the higher education system; or(3) Age fifty-five (55) or over with twenty-five (25) or more years of retirement service credit in the Tennessee consolidated retirement system, or the optional retirement program established under § 8-35-401, the last ten (10) of which shall be service in the higher education system.(c) The plan shall operate for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days beginning on or after May 1, 1990, as determined by the plan developed under subsection (f).(d) The purpose of the plan shall be to reward employees who choose to retire during the period the plan is in effect with a cash bonus. To be eligible to receive the bonus, the employee must terminate active employment during the one hundred twenty-day period and file an application for retirement during the one hundred twenty-day period. In addition, the employee may not later be reemployed by the state except under the provisions of § 8-36-805.(e) This bonus shall be equal to five thousand dollars ($5,000) plus the longevity pay the employee would receive during the 1990-91 fiscal year if he had continued to work for the higher education system. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to permit an employee to receive more than one (1) longevity payment for the same fiscal year. Payment to the employee shall be made after July 1, 1990. The bonus shall not be included in determining the employee's average final compensation for retirement purposes, nor shall it be subject to retirement contributions. (f) All costs associated with the payments provided by the retirement incentive plan shall come from funds provided in the budget for higher education. Upon electing to provide the retirement incentive program, the board of trustees of the University of Tennessee and the board of regents of the state university and community college system shall develop a plan for operation of the program to ensure that sufficient payroll savings will be generated to fund all cash bonuses provided for herein and all additional retirement liability created hereby. The plan shall provide for the lump sum payment of any additional retirement liability created by implementation of this section and § 8-34-207. The plan must be approved by the commissioner of finance and administration, the comptroller of the treasury and the state treasurer.