advance notice of retirement

[Montecfo]

I would just do the 30 days.

I gave 6 weeks. We had no policy and I agonized over timing. I was afraid they would pressure me to stay so I scheduled a "retirement trip" a few days after my departure date.

I was fielding calls at the airport but I managed to get out. And I had identified a replacement so I knew they were in good hands or at least I did my part.

Having said that they knew I was planning to retire as I made it clear to my key staff that I would not stay forever. I stated probably 2-3 years longer than I planned to.

I think giving more time makes you a lame duck and changes the work, in addition to other risks.

 

[rk911]

i was the #2 man at the 9-1-1 call center and had been there for close to 30-yrs. i felt that 6-mos was appropriate. i was and am content with that decision.

 

[RetireeRobert]

I would determine what best works for "you" and your family first. Then give no less than the agreed minimum length of notice of 30 days.

I myself retired at age 54. I waited until the first business day of the new year, then gave notice I was leaving at end of following month.

It was no big surprise as most of the office new I had been planning an early exit for years, but I had never been precise about the exact timing of when. I think a lot of the office maybe had been wondering, is he really go to pull the trigger, maybe this year, when he has three grade school, middle school, high school kids still at home?

It is nice to go out on your own terms and on your own timing.

 

[MarieIG]

One of the downsides isn't financial, it's psychological. No matter your role, you will be "less than" by the end, especially those final weeks, even more so after your replacement comes on board. You'll be excluded from projects, meetings, left off email threads, because...well you won't be there much longer. It can be a bit of a dead-man-walking thing, especially if your corporate culture is fast moving.

Better to go out on a high note. Shorter notice, leave on top before you get shoved aside and someone starts thinking "how much longer is he gonna be here?"

This.

 

[scrabbler1]

I gave my employer 1 month's notice. It wasn't a retirement (to them), it was simply a resignation. Then again, I was working only 2 days a week, so I had only 10 more working days left. My best guess was that I could complete my one main project by that time, as I didn't really want to leave them hanging on that project, one only I could really do. I had been gradually automating some other processes (I was the main end-user programmer for my division) after someone else in another division who uses my programs retired 3 months earlier.

I got my main project done at 4 PM on my last day, just in time. Less than an hour later, I walked out and never looked back.

 

[RetireeRobert]

I gave my employer 1 month's notice. It wasn't a retirement (to them), it was simply a resignation.

I got my main project done at 4 PM on my last day, just in time. Less than an hour later, I walked out and never looked back.

Nice!

 

[jollystomper]

I have said this is similar threads - you can give notice as far out as you want, as long as you are financially and mentally prepared to go from that day on, if your company decides to let you go on their schedule and not yours. This happened to several of my co-workers and they were not happy.

 

[Montecfo]

I have said this is similar threads - you can give notice as far out as you want, as long as you are financially and mentally prepared to go from that day on, if your company decides to let you go on their schedule and not yours. This happened to several of my co-workers and they were not happy.

This did not happen to me but it could to any of us.

I decided when I would leave, I decided the time of year and the notice period.

One of the perks of FIRE is doing things in your timing and on your terms.

Don't let your soon-to-be-former employer take that away.

 

[skyking1]

I'm the one guy that does my job in a small company. They can get another guy to do that job, and most likely I will help them with that as I leave. That said, I will give them at least a month, unless I have a couple of good replacement candidates lined up.

 

[brett]

Loose lips sink ships!

Keep this to yourself until the 30 day mark. Always leave your options open.

Look at it this way. If your employer decided to fire you would he give you six months notice?

 

[mountainsoft]

I've been self employed most of my working life, but I didn't really give my previous employer any notice. It was a small company and the owner was dealing with some personal issues. I considered them friends so I stuck around until they got their problems resolved. Once they were back, I quit within days (something I had planned for months). I'm sure it was an inconvenience for them, but life went on and they're still doing business today. I visited a couple of times after quitting, but the "friends" I tried to support during their tough times never contacted me even once afterwards. Reality check, no matter how close you feel with your employer, or how indispensable you think you are, you will quickly be forgotten.

Out of curiosity I just looked at my wife's work contract. Anyone wanting to quit is supposed to give the traditional two weeks notice. But anyone planning to retire is supposed to give 30 days notice? Weird. What difference does your reason for leaving make?

 

[Koolau]

For those who are concerned that their empl*yer might take advantage of earlier notice, I assume they have some precedent to go by. My Megacorp was infinitely fair to retirees AND those terminated for cause. So I wasn't worried about giving notice. My situation, giving notice with my last day the following Friday was about being placed into an assignment I refused to take. AND my official date was 30 days later. I even told my boss to call me anytime thereafter if I could help my OLD department. No charge! Obviously YMMV

 

[Philliefan33]

I've been self employed most of my working life, but I didn't really give my previous employer any notice. It was a small company and the owner was dealing with some personal issues. I considered them friends so I stuck around until they got their problems resolved. Once they were back, I quit within days (something I had planned for months). I'm sure it was an inconvenience for them, but life went on and they're still doing business today. I visited a couple of times after quitting, but the "friends" I tried to support during their tough times never contacted me even once afterwards. Reality check, no matter how close you feel with your employer, or how indispensable you think you are, you will quickly be forgotten.

Out of curiosity I just looked at my wife's work contract. Anyone wanting to quit is supposed to give the traditional two weeks notice. But anyone planning to retire is supposed to give 30 days notice? Weird. What difference does your reason for leaving make?

It probably has to do with calculating/starting pension payments. Megacorp needs 30 days for that and assumes that one will want to start the pension immediately upon leaving.

Even though I haven’t been employed by them for almost six years I still have to give my old MC 30-90 days notice before starting my pension/taking the lump sum

 

[anothercog]

Senior people tend to give really long notice at my company. Oftentimes they will transition to part time and slowly hand off their responsibilities before finally exiting. I'd be inclined to do that if it means they would accelerate vesting of unvested stock grants. Otherwise, 30 days seems plenty.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

It's so situational dependent.

• How's the relationship with your manager?
• Will your notice potentionally impact any compensation like a bonus or raise?
• If your employer decides to terminate you before your target date, will there be any compensation?
• How sure are you of your departure date? Eg. If the market takes a dip are you still willing to proceed?
• Employment law likely differs from state/province to state/province. I read an article about employers being able to sue for untimely departures, though I suspect it's for rare time sensitive circumstances versus the average grunt doing day to day work.

Personally, I have a great relationship with my manager and my megacorp, which can be cold in its decision-making, is quite fair with compensation. I'm planning to give a hint at the 6 month mark to try to get a severence package and give notice at the 3 month mark to allow enough time to train and hire a replacement. Personally, I don't mind being in a lame duck position as I'd be looking to trend my responsibilities down, though I trust my manager would keep it fairly on the downlow. A couple of coworkers have retired/departed on their own terms and it was like "WTF, where did that come from?"

 

[JRon]

You should do whatever is right for you - giving a long notice like 6 months is a good idea if you’re comfortable with it. I have always been upfront with my employers and never had an issue giving a long notice.

 

[SecretlyFI]

You'll be excluded from projects, meetings, left off email threads, because...well you won't be there much longer.

Sounds like heaven compared to the madness and never-ending email threads that test the limits of my BS meter and blood pressure.

There is a flip side to that. In my case, I found that to be very unique, even entertaining and relaxing, as in the sense of "all these bombs dropping all around us" and I knew that I was totally immune because I wasn't going to have to deal with it.

+1 I can't wait to get to this point.

 

[HI Bill]

I was managing 12 projects with a value of >$10M. When I gave notice of intent to leave, they took two of my projects away almost at once. My voice as a senior manager no longer seemed to matter. They wanted to have endless meetings to transition each project. This was not fun. If I had it to do over again, I'd just give 2 to 4 weeks. In my company, you have to be billable (bill your time to the client). This gets harder as they transfer your projects.

My two cents is to give the minimum notice.

 

[pb4uski]

...In my company, you have to be billable (bill your time to the client). ...

So if you're not sufficiently billable because they transitioned projects prematurely, what are they gonna do... fire you? What's the downside?

We were also expected to maintain a certain level of chargability but by the time they figured it out and decided to act on it I would have been gone.

 

[Aerides]

It often strikes me:

If you were giving notice to go to a competitor, you'd have to pack up that day.

If it were to go to another non-compete company, 30 days would be the most they would want to wait, 45 at a stretch for higher level roles. 6 months? no one is gonna wait for you unless it's a really unique c-suite role.

But retirement for some reason leaves many of us thinking we're out of line if we don't give more time...

 

[CardsFan]

Every situation is different. In my case I gave 3 months notice, and they asked me to stay on part time another 4 months, which I gladly did.

But, here are the circumstances:

I planned to retire end of August 2015. Made this decision in January. Everything was in order.

My boss was someone I had hired years before, and we respected each other.

Years before that I was on the interview panel for his boss. She and I had some issues early on, but during the time I worked for her I was treated more than fairly, and very respectfully.

The year before the new MC (we had been bought and sold several times) eliminated our generous bonus plan, and implemented a fairly modest one. So, no waiting for the bonus to hit before retiring. In fairness, they gave a very generous bump in salary to compensate (something like 75% of the average bonus for the previous 3 years)

I gave notice when a new project was being signed, and was asked to take it on. Not fair to anyone for me to pretend to be excited for a few months.

At my request I went part time immediately (at a reduced rate but full benefits), and my only responsibility was was to wrap up loose ends. I was able to work remotely, and took a 7 week trip to the Gulf coast.

Everyone was happy. No ill feelings. No being ostracized. On the contrary, my ideas were sought out, and some were acted on (like my internal replacement)

It was a very fulfilling and satisfying end to a 28 year tenure.

 

[Rambler]

I am only required to give 30 days' advance notice of retirement, but I have been with my employer for a long time, I have generally been treated very well, and the employer would certainly benefit from having more notice. So I am thinking that I would give about 6 months' notice. I have no concern they would terminate me when I give the notice (they would never do that, and on the one-in-a-million chance that I'm wrong about that, I would not care). Other than that, what might I not be thinking of? Are there reasons why I should not give, say,, 6 months' notice? I can't think of any, but maybe there's something I'm not thinking of?

I was a named executive, assigned to a foreign country, where we had few English speakers (and I speak the local language). I gave four years notice, because I knew how difficult it would be to replace me, and the damage it would do to the business should I just up and leave with only 30 days notice. Once we found a suitable replacement and had him in training for a good while (years), we formalized the agreement for me to leave. However, only a few persons could be told, and they had to agree to confidentiality, because the announcement of a named executive’s departure is required to be made by press release so that no insider trading is possible. So, my executive assistant was aware, my replacement was aware, and my CFO was aware. My wife knew, but was not allowed to tell her friends we would be returning home until the announcement was made. I made the announcement to the remaining key people in my organization at the same time the press release was issued.

So, I think that the decision on when to tell your bosses that you are on your way out really depends on your role in the organization, how important that role is to the continued success of the business, and whether or not regulatory agencies have rules concerning major announcements, not to mention whether the continued success of the business has any bearing on future payouts or stock awards or options. Best of luck with your decision.

 

[CCBoard]

I have been openly talking about retirement for years. This is not unusual at my company. Because of a generous and successful ESOP, virtually everyone with 25 or more years of service is well positioned to retire. Many of my co-workers retired between 50 and 55. Heck, I can tell you the expected retirement date of more than half of my current reports.

When the time came, I gave my boss three months official notice - she was fully expecting it. I was never worried about repercussions or surprises. My company celebrates every retirement and many employees publicly announce their plans up to a year in advance.

It's not a bad environment at all!

 

[EastWest Gal]

As a physician, I saw contracts which required 3 months notice and 6 months notice. It takes a long time to get a physician credentialed with hospital privileges, licensing, contracts with insurers, and the like.

I gave 6 months notice when I moved to PA. I gave 3 months notice when I first tried retirement. A week before that date, my medical director asked me to stay on at another hospital as they had an emergency shortage in their schedule. 5 years later, with the ACA more secure, I gave 8 months notice, to give plenty of time for a replacement to be found. The director never bothered to look for a replacement. I wish I had given much less notice.

I once thought it was good to give more notice. But your employer holds all the cards. They can fire you tomorrow, regardless of your contract. Just give 30 days notice as required. If they let you go sooner, it won’t be a big deal.

 

[NoiseBoy]

My vote is to give the shortest notice you can that allows for an orderly transition. Anything longer is an advantage to your employer, but could possibly work against you. There are two reasons that I can think of where giving extra notice could work against you:

• The aforementioned bonus payment. This was a factor for me as my mega-corp's annual review period ends in December, but our ratings always take longer to be communicated, and our performance ratings determine our share of the annual profit sharing.
• Other factors beyond your control. For example, a global pandemic! I was contemplating retirement last year, and if I had given my boss 6 months notice, I might've missed out on a fairly easy year of working from home.

I work for a company with nearly 100k employees, and I'm not an executive. I gave my boss 3 months notice, but I had 4 weeks of vacation time to use up. He didn't accomplish much in the way of hiring my replacement until the second month, so in my case, it didn't make any difference.

Our retirement process suggests giving 90 days notice, but the SPD makes it clear that 1 day is all that is required. However, I recently learned that there is a "soft" date that I think they should communicate better. To receive your first pension check on time, you must complete the retirement workflow, sign, and return your documents by the 8th of the month preceding your retirement date. The number of employees who are eligible for a pension declines every year. I think there might be less than 5k of us now.