Over 3 dozen URI staff members retired

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- More than three dozen University of Rhode Island professors and administrators retired this summer with tens of thousands of dollars in severance pay.

The Providence Journal reports that five retirees left with payouts of more than $100,000.
A total of 38 faculty and administrators took the state university up on its offer of a one-time retirement incentive equal to 40 percent of their pay if they left by June 30.

The incentive payments ranged from $20,000 to $73,966. The payouts totaled nearly $2.5 million, which included the incentives, health stipends and unused vacation and unused sick time.

URI spokeswoman Linda Acciardo says some retirees left with a health-care subsidy of $7,000 a year until they reach age 65, and $3,000 annually, for five years, to offset the cost of health insurance.