Memo (2024) Regarding Enhancements to Postdoctoral Compensation and Benefits

Duke welcomes Postdoctoral Associates and Scholars to our research community. We are highlighting recent enhancements to postdoctoral compensation and benefits for new or prospective postdoctoral candidates.

Minimum Salary or Stipend Increase
Duke University increased the minimum salary or stipend for postdoctoral appointees to $62,000, beginning July 1, 2024. University leadership will review the minimum salary or stipend for postdoctoral appointees annually. This minimum applies to both Postdoctoral Associates and Postdoctoral Scholars.

Postdoctoral Associates: Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan
In order to provide equitable access to retirement benefits available to other Duke University employees, Duke University enhanced the Faculty and Staff Retirement Plan for Postdoctoral Associates by contributing 4% of the Postdoctoral Associate’s salary after one year of service at Duke and attaining age 21. This contribution is immediately vested. This change was made in recognition of the time-limited nature of Postdoctoral Associate positions and went into effect January 1, 2024.

Postdoctoral Scholars: Benefits Improvements
In order to mitigate inequities for Postdoctoral Scholars supported by certain funding sources (specifically NIH NRSA T32 or F32 awards), Duke has made the following enhancements to their benefits:

• To offset the financial impact of being unable to participate in some federally defined benefits, Duke provides Postdoctoral Scholars who receive their stipend through Duke (specifically NIH NRSA T32 or F32 recipients) an annual stipend supplement of $2,900, effective January 1, 2024
• To mitigate the financial impact of post-tax healthcare deductions, an additional annual stipend supplement is provided to NIH NRSA F32/T32 Postdoctoral Scholars, effective July 1, 2021.
• Postdoctoral Scholar Time Off: Postdoctoral Associates who move to Postdoctoral Scholar position supporting by an NIH NRSA T32 or F32 award (ie, move from a compensatory position to a non-compensatory position) will ‘bank’ the vacation and sick leave they earned prior to the transition.
• Postdoctoral Scholar Parking: Postdoctoral Scholars who receive an NIH NRSA T32 or F32 award and therefore move to the non-compensatory payment system no longer need to manually re-apply for parking deductions; this is now an automatic process.

These enhancements were made in recognition of the valuable contributions our Postdoctoral Associates and Scholars make to the Duke research enterprise. They are the result of efforts by a committee of senior administrators, led by Vice President for Human Resources Antwan Lofton, Vice President for Research & Innovation Jenny Lodge, Vice Dean for Basic Sciences in the School of Medicine Colin Duckett, and Director of Postdoctoral Services Molly Starback. More information may be found on the Duke Postdoctoral Services website. The committee will continue its work to ensure our postdoctoral appointments are as nationally competitive as possible.   

The Committee welcomes your feedback. If you have questions or concerns, please email Molly Starback, Director of Duke Postdoctoral Services, at molly.starback@duke.edu.