Retirement Celebration Guidelines

In the spirit of ensuring that employees who are retiring receive respectful recognition and appreciation for their service and commitment to the university, and that this is done consistently across Berkeley IT departments, the leadership team has defined the following guidelines for retirement celebrations. 

bIT-wide retiree/service milestone celebration: First and foremost, we want to make sure that the contributions of the dedicated employees who have worked for our organization and the campus are recognized by Berkeley IT as a whole. To that end, annually we will hold a celebration honoring all of our retirees in a given year. We will also recognize staff service milestone (5, 10, 15, etc.) at this event.

• All Berkeley IT staff will be invited to participate in this event.
• We envision this being a 2+ hour party, with hors d’oeuvres and beverages, and short remarks/toasts by someone (a manager, colleague or peer) for each retiree.
• Organized by Business Operations Admin Support Team in partnership with the retiree's supervisor.
• Retirees are encouraged to attend but of course are not required to do so.

Individual Team Retiree Celebrations

• Each retiree’s team may also hold a smaller event organized by the manager or someone on the retiree's team provided it does not exceed the allowed budget per retiree.
• For virtual or remote celebrations, here are some ideas:

  • Virtual Retirement Party Planner 

  • Create online tributes - Use Google Slides, https://www.tribute.co/ or https://www.fromabirdie.com/

  • Include special guests in your virtual retirement celebration

  • Mail physical gifts

  • Create a post-work online bucket list via Google Doc or Pinterest Board. 

  • Virtual Escape Rooms such as Mystery Escape Rooms, The Grimm Escape

• Lunch or dinner (standard per person meal/refreshment maximums apply, see below). NOTE: Food deliveries are not allowed for remote celebrations. 
• Limit of one event per retiree, maximum expense of $1,500.

Retiree Gifts

Gift maximum is $400, regardless of years of service. E-gift cards are always a good option, and can be ordered by emailing bit-adminsupport@lists.berkeley.edu.

UC Meal/Refreshment Expense Limits

The maximum per-person expenditures for meals and light refreshments furnished by the University may not exceed the following amounts:

NOTE: Only allowed for in-person celebrations.

• Breakfast $31
• Lunch $54
• Dinner $94
• Light refreshments $22

Questions?

Contact bIT Admin Support Team - bit-adminsupport@lists.berkeley.edu