Annuitant Emails
º£½Ç´óÉñ will discontinue email accounts for most annuitants starting December 15th, 2025. This decision was made in response to a changing technology landscape which includes software compliance, increased software costs, support costs, and cybersecurity risks. Please see FAQ below for additional information. We understand this is an inconvenience to you and we apologize for this change, however it is necessary for the University to continue to align our practices and resources with the changing environment in which we operate.
Why is EIU making this change?
-
When this policy was first put into place personal email addresses were difficult to obtain, but now many free options exist.
-
The cost to maintain the accounts continues to rise for the University.
-
Illinois ethics reforms now require employees use their EIU email address for business purposes only.
-
Phishing continues to be a problem for our annuitant accounts.
-
Due to annuitants no longer working on campus and increased security requirements at EIU, it is extremely difficult to provide the necessary support for annuitant accounts.
Where can I signup for a free email account?
-
(Google): Google's Gmail is one of the most popular free email services, offering 15 GB of storage and seamless integration with other Google services like Drive, Docs, and Calendar. 
-
(Microsoft): is another popular choice, known for its focused inbox and multiple app integrations. 
-
: Yahoo! offers a reliable email service with good storage. 
-
: AOL is a classic email service with a simple interface. 
When is this change happening?
Annuitants accounts will be disabled on December 15, 2025.
How do I still receive university updates (newsletter, calendar, etc)?
You can update your contact information with the University by visiting: . When you share you personal address you will be opted in to certain university communications.
What should I do to prepare for this change?
- Create a personal email address if you don’t have one already. If you do not already have a personally owned email account, you can set up an account with a free service like Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo Mail. º£½Ç´óÉñ does not endorse any specific email product; the above are only provided as examples of some of the most popular services.
- Update your contact information with the University by visiting: .
- Notify all email contacts. Inform your contacts of your new email address to ensure continued communication. We suggest sending them a message such as: “Hello! I have retired from º£½Ç´óÉñ, and my email address is changing; please contact me at [personal email address] effective immediately. In the near future, I will not have access to my º£½Ç´óÉñ email account.”
- Update Third-Party Websites. If you have any personal services or accounts tied to your º£½Ç´óÉñ email address (such as bank accounts, online billing/shopping accounts, etc.) update your email address with these services so that they use a personally owned email account. Special note for retirees: If you used your EIU email address for your State Universities Retirement System (SURS) account, State University Annuitant Association, Illinois Central Management Services, or for services at any library systems outside of EIU, take special care to update your account(s) with a personal email address prior to December 15th, 2025.
- Download any Personal Files. If you have any personal files in your email account, you will want to manually download any files you wish to keep.
Before you download or forward any personal files, it is very important to read and understand the following:
- Due to the inability to distinguish between personal and university-protected data, bulk downloading, downloading multiple files at once, or exporting of data is prohibited.
- Forwarding of university emails to personal email accounts where such emails contain data that is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), or any other security or privacy-based law or regulation is prohibited.
- Downloading of university emails to devices not owned by the university where such emails contain data that is protected by FERPA, HIPAA, GLBA, or any other security or privacy-based law or regulation is prohibited.
- Outlook How-Tos:
- Export Contacts in Outlook -
- Save an Outlook Message -
Does this apply to all annuitants?
Retired tenured faculty will keep their EIU accounts after December 15th, 2025. Per IGP #2 retireed tenured faculty will be required to complete similar security training as employees and must login every 90 days to maintain the account.
Does this impact Office 365?
Yes. Annuitants will no longer be able to access any Office 365 applications (Outlook, OneDrive, Online Word, Online Excel, etc) through their EIU account.
Do annuitants still have access to Booth Library resources?
Yes. With a Panthercard annuitants still have full access to Booth Library resources. Your personal email will be used for library communications.
What will happen if I don’t transition to a personal account by December 15th?
Your EIU account will be disabled on December 15, 2025. Once disabled it will not be reactivated.