What you need to know about upcoming changes to University of Kentucky retiree accounts
At the University of Kentucky, safeguarding our accounts, data and systems from cyber threats is a top priority.
To uphold this commitment, UK Information Technology Services (UK ITS) is introducing new requirements for retiree accounts. These changes will impact both current retirees and those planning to retire in the future.
These upcoming changes will not affect designated faculty emeriti.
What changes are being implemented?
First and foremost, active retiree linkblue accounts will not be deprovisioned. However, retirees who want to keep their linkblue account must keep their account active. If a retiree linkblue account is inactive for any period of 365 consecutive days, it will be decommissioned. UK linkblue accounts allow access to UK resources like mail, software and the myUK portal.
UK ITS cannot recover files or emails from a UK account after it is fully decommissioned.
Starting July 1, 2025, the following requirements will take effect:
UK linkblue Accounts:
- Any UK retiree linkblue account inactive for 365 days or more will be deactivated after a 90-day grace period.
- At any point a retiree account meets or is approaching the criteria of inactivity (365 days) they will be given 90 days' notice before their account is deactivated. No account will be deprovisioned after July 1 without at least 90 days of notice via UK email.
UK Google Workplace Accounts:
- Retirees will no longer have access to UK Google Workplace accounts.
- Existing retiree accounts will receive notifications about upcoming deactivation of UK Google Workplace accounts.
- UK Google Workplace accounts for employees retiring after July 1 will be deactivated after 45 days.
Mail Forwarding
- Mail forwarding, or the automated process of having UK email delivered to a personal email, will not be available for UK retirees.
Of note, retiree accounts that have never been accessed or have no email associated will be deprovisioned before July 1 as part of an account clean-up process.
Why are these changes being made?
Inactive accounts are prime targets for cybersecurity threats. UK ITS is dedicated to ensuring the safety of our community by minimizing these risks. More information about Account Deprovisioning and why it’s important is available on the UK ITS Account Deprovisioning webpage.
How will account holders be notified?
UK ITS will send email notifications to retiree accounts subject to deactivation. These notifications will be sent to UK email addresses and personal email addresses if provided.
How does UK ITS determine if a retiree account is inactive?
If a retiree account completes any of the below actions, it will keep the account active and not be deactivated:
- Logging in to any UK resources using linkblue and password
- Opening, editing, moving files in University cloud storage (e.g., OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams) or emails directly in UK email inbox (e.g., Outlook)
Note: Opening UK email from a personal email account will not keep an account active.
How can the UK community support retirees during these changes?
To assist retirees, UK ITS has created the Retiree Technology Checklist page. This resource provides clear expectations and answers to frequently asked questions about the changes to UK technology resources. Additionally, UK ITS has an Account Offboarding page with several tips on how to prepare your account for deprovisioning.
For retirees that need urgent assistance, please contact ITS Customer Services at (859) 218-HELP (4357). For non-urgent questions, visit its.uky.edu/get-help.
Sign up for UK ITS news, alerts and tech tips here. You can also follow UK ITS on social media and listen to all episodes of our new podcast TechKnow here.
Want to learn more?
Retiree Technology Checklist
Visit out Retiree Technology Checklist for a comprehensive list on what technology resources are available to retirees and what changes they can expect upon entering retirement.
This page is a great resource for those considering retirement in the near future.
Offboarding Your Account
Departing from the University? This page will walk you through all the best practices to make sure your files and emails are where they need to be.
Account Deprovisioning
Learn more about our processes around deprovisioning inactive account and why it is so important in keeping our data and files safe.