How much notice do you give when you retire?

[albireo13]

I'm almost 62 yo and will retire in 2019. I've been reading about folks who give up to 1 years notice of impending retirement.
I'm on good terms with my company (MegaCorp) and have gotten along well with everyone.

I've given the company my best for over 3 decades but, I recognize that the company would sell its grandmother if it could make a dollar so, am conflicted over the decision.

So ... should I give 2 weeks minimum or a longer heads up??

 

[Danmar]

Depends on a few things. Any chance they will ask you to go and give you some money? Are you difficult to replace? Do you want to go on good terms? Do they have any hints? Two weeks sounds pretty short though? Maybe two months?

 

[Breedlove]

Give them 2 months , if they run you off early without a package go file for unemployment

 

[Sunset]

How replaceable are you ?
If you are one of 10 folks doing the same type of work, then give them 2 weeks notice, and be sure to time it after your bonus has deposited into your bank account or 401K.

My company only paid in the 401K for the previous year match if you were with the company after the year ended, so people who were smart quit in Jan/Feb and never earlier.

 

[Aerides]

This topic comes up quite often, I'll see if I can dig up a good thread.

My answer is "Give notice no sooner than you are ready to be asked to leave that day."

No matter how good your standing, etc. If you want to give them 3 months or something, that's up to you, but be prepared for the worst case.

Here's one:
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/anyone-penalized-for-early-notice-80294.html

 

[albireo13]

They are thin on my area of expertise. However, I think their latest leaning is to outsource work, with disregard to the quality of the work.

A spreadsheet somewhere shows that work is getting done. LOL

 

[FIREd]

DW was pretty high up the corporate food chain and well liked but gave only 2 weeks notice. We saw how badly her employer treated employees once they had tendered their resignation and we did not see any point in protracting the agony.

A well-run company should have a succession plan in place for all key personnel anyway.

 

[Another Reader]

I would look at other people at your level and specifically your job to see what they did when they retired and how the company treated them. If you are a high level key person, you probably have a professional obligation to give more notice than if you are one of twenty similarly titled folks in the accounting department.

At 62, they know you are a short timer. They probably figure one to three years. Is there a successor that is being groomed to step into your shoes?

 

[scrabbler1]

I gave a month. But at the time, I was working only 2 days a week (12 hours per week). I estimated it would be enough time to get my one big remaining project done. I estimated right, barely, as I got it done at 4 PM on my last day, 45 minutes before I left for good.

 

[Midpack]

As others have said, there’s no universal answer. For some two weeks is enough, for others it could be months.

Out of respect I gave my boss 3 months notice and asked him to keep it to himself for a few months, and expected he’d respect my wishes after 34 years service. He put out a letter announcing my retirement a few days later, which made my last 3 months much more awkward than necessary, so he made me regret extending the courtesy of advance warning. I can’t tell anyone what to do, but if in doubt I’d err on the side of (much) less. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!

 

[Car-Guy]

I gave about 3 months. One of my better decisions. They immediately started off loading my "responsibilities" and made the transition to my replacement easy as it could have been. By the the time the final few weeks came around I almost felt guilty for taking a paycheck. "Almost"

 

[FireFool]

I think this varies depending on company size and position. A C-Level or partner owes longer notice - and is often compensated for giving that longer notice. A employee in a very small company on good terms with the owners may feel a sense of obligation to give longer notice. Other than C-level's in a mega-corp most people would do well to consider how much notice the company would give them. As suggested in an earlier post "Give notice no sooner than you are ready to be asked to leave that day." I worked for a mega-corp - I gave one week notice as I was feeling no "love" at the end of my career. I couldn't see any benefit to delaying retirement any longer than that week. It would have taken a WHOLE lot more than my normal compensation for them to get me to stay longer - they never pursued that conversation and I was more than happy to leave as I planned.

 

[bobandsherry]

DW was pretty high up the corporate food chain and well liked but gave only 2 weeks notice. We saw how badly her employer treated employees once they had tendered their resignation and we did not see any point in protracting the agony.

A well-run company should have a succession plan in place for all key personnel anyway.

After 35 years I gave 2 weeks as well. While my manager hadn't noticed (and a bit telling why I needed to get the heck out of there), I had created an easy glide path for my exit by cross training my staff and others with my responsibilities. Also had groomed my replacement from my staff.

 

[Independent]

I gave six months.

It was great. It changed my relationship with the Company. I didn't spend time on the next cycle's planning. I didn't do my "employee development" stuff for HR.

My boss knew that he wanted me around to finish a big project, he made that clear to his boss. I worked on something I enjoyed and shucked as much of the irritating stuff as I could.

 

[Texas Proud]

Well, I was let go, so I got two weeks


I did work for a temp firm for awhile, but since I refused a few jobs that were not convenient for me they just stopped calling...

Heck, maybe I am not retired....

 

[ERD50]

If two weeks is all you are contractually obligated to do, why would you offer any more?

If it was important to them for you to be obligated to give more notice, they would have asked to renegotiate your contract. They didn't, so it can't be that important to them.

As already said, don't give notice until you are ready to be let go that day. And if they want more than two weeks from you, tell them you have made plans (non of their business) - let them make an offer you can't refuse.

You are in control of anything past two weeks, not them.

-ERD50

 

[Looking4Ward]

I was C-level and gave two months notice. Turned out to be the longest 60 days of my life.

 

[swakyaby]

I gave 6 months notice. I'm in a mid-size medical group and it takes nearly 6 months or longer to recruit a replacement. I based this on a request by the CEO for 6 months notice. I'm less than 4 days from my last day and the notice I gave seems about right.

 

[street]

I gave one year notice because that is what they ask of me if at all possible. So that is what I did and all really worked out well. The last 3 months was more just stand back and watch. The one year also worked very well to prepare me for retirement so to speak. It really wasn't that I was hard to replace it was to help coast out for the change in life.

I would go talk to your boss and ask what would be best for them.

 

[akck]

I gave a month notice. I wanted to give two weeks notice, but they were giving me my inept boss's duties and I didn’t want the extra workload for my last month. Unfortunately, the month's notice left me in good standing for re-employment but fortunately they likely wanted 3-6 months to further bail out my boss, so they never asked.

I suggest the OP see how they’ve treated others who’ve given short/long notice and plan accordingly.

 

[Calico]

I agree with posters above - don't give notice unless you are prepared to be walked out the door the same day. It doesn't always happen, and if it doesn't, so much the better, but at least you will have all your ducks in a row if it does.

I also recommend checking your employee handbook or other written policies to see if there is a minimum amount of notice required in order to be eligible to be paid for unused leave, etc. At my company two weeks notice is required in order to be paid for unused vacation. So that is exactly what they will get from me when the time comes, and not a minute more.

 

[davebarnes]

If you don’t ever plan to work again, then 28 minutes.

 

[Senator]

Give verbal notice as far in advance as you can. Every one knew 24+ months out for me. I gave written notice two week before the last date.

 

[Montecfo]

I was C-level and gave two months notice. Turned out to be the longest 60 days of my life.

Can you elaborate?

 

[donheff]

These threads seem like a Rorschach test of organizational culture. Everybody sees something different depending on the company they work for and their own nature. I would have felt like I was slapping my peers in the face if I walked out with two weeks notice but I also knew that there was no way I would be fired or marginalized after giving notice. Had I worked in a poisonous environment where I saw people treated brutally after giving notice I would have walked out at COB with no notice.