The bill amends existing laws regarding special allowances to encourage early retirement for employees of publicly supported colleges and universities in Arkansas. It allows the presidents and chancellors of these institutions, with the approval of their boards of trustees, to negotiate special allowances for both tenured faculty and staff members to facilitate early retirement. The bill removes the previous stipulation that limited these negotiations to tenured faculty and specifies that allowances can be paid directly to employees or into retirement plans for their benefit. Additionally, it eliminates the previous cap on the total amount of allowances that could be paid in a fiscal year, which was set at five percent of the aggregate personnel costs from the preceding year.

Furthermore, the bill introduces provisions for managing early retirement window incentives for qualified faculty and staff who voluntarily separate from their institutions. It allows boards of trustees to establish criteria for these incentives, ensuring participation is voluntary and that only full-time employees meeting certain retirement program requirements are eligible. The bill also includes an emergency clause, stating that immediate action is necessary to negotiate contracts regarding retirement plans before the end of the spring 2025 semester, thereby expediting the implementation of these changes.