While the AAUP and CUPA-HR don’t have current data on how many institutions plan to resume their stalled benefits, the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, or TIAA, said that nearly all of its top 200 client institutions that are still suspending retirement matching contributions plan a full reinstatement by July 1.
Lehigh University, for instance, told faculty and staff members earlier this year it will restore merit raises and retirement benefits starting in July. Freezing those programs in March 2020 helped the university avoid layoffs amid financial uncertainty, Nathan Urban, provost, and Patricia Johnson, vice president of finance and administration, said in their restoration announcement.