The University of St. Thomas is offering incentives to employees 55 and older to retire in May, 2014.

The program, announced Monday, will offer a year's salary plus a $7,250 subsidy, to cover health benefits for a year, to faculty and staff who qualify.

Officials did not say how many employees they expect to take advantage of the offer. But in a statement released Monday, they said the voluntary program is "intended to make retirement feasible for faculty and staff who are ready to retire but have had financial or other concerns about moving forward."

The university, based in St. Paul, said the program would allow it to redeploy resources "in ways that best meet the changing needs of students and the institution." The university has said it plans to embark on a strategic planning process to identify those new priorities.