advance notice of retirement

[RobotMom]

I posted a very similar thread a few months back and got much of the same advice. I, too, felt some kind of obligation to give a longer notice. But many pointed out that my company would not give me the same courtesy. In fact, early in my management career, I was part of a RIF and personally had two employees walked out the day of the RIF. They got 30 minutes under watch of security to pack one box with personal items then the walk of shame. That absolutely sucked. Could it happen to me? - sure.

I have given the advice a lot of thought, talked to people I respect, and this is what I am going to do (in about 15 weeks...): in order to get pension and insurance lined up, the company needs 2 month notice. By the time I retire, I will have about 9 weeks of leave saved. I plan to put my notice in so I work for two weeks and use the leave for the remainder of the time. This will be about a 2 1/2 month notice. I will offer to come back, as needed, to help. This makes it so that I can do it on MY TERMS. If my boss wants me to do some BS task, I will not come in - I will be under no obligation. Like some PPs, I also need to be able to direct charge. No direct charge, no pay. I don't want to end up in that position - hence the saved up leave.

 

[CoolRich59]

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.

I am of this view. There have been other threads on this topic which contain plenty of examples of folks who learned to their surprise and regret that giving early notice was a big mistake.

 

[Montecfo]

If you give the 30 days and they want more, they can ask or negotiate. This is the preferred position. Keep some cards in your hand.

 

[HI Bill]

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

Ha, yes, they can fire me....but my target RE date was based on filling up the 401(k) bucket one more time....which will (indirectly) pay for a bathroom remodel. Since you have to have management approval to charge overhead, it adds a level of stress I don't need. At 18 work days remaining to ER, I awoke at 3AM today, and started planning out today's work in my head. I really am looking forward to ER! I'm a bit worried that I'll continue to have work dreams...many of my current dreams have job situations that I left decades ago, and even some school things that are 30+ years ago!

 

[davebarnes]

many of my current dreams...some school things that are 30+ years ago!

Still can't remember that locker combination, eh?
Did you ever attend the classes of the course that you are sitting a final exam for?

 

[HI Bill]

Still can't remember that locker combination, eh?

Ha ha! Yes, I remember in high school, returning from Spring break or Christmas break, and having forgotten the combo!

 

[ATX78701]

I’m planning to give my two weeks notice next Monday Feb 15. Last day for my plan is March 1 (benefit for me so that I can get an extra month of benefits on the company’s nickel). I wanted to give more notice but after reading advice on this board and from close friends, I decided that too much notice would give the company the power as they can fire at will. Although I want the best for my colleagues and the company, the company has it’s own agenda. I realized one of the reasons I wanted to announce early was because of my ego: I would be the first to ER from Megacorp in a long time. Even typing that feels like unnecessary bragging. I decided that industry two weeks notice was sufficient.

I visited with HR asking a series of “what-ifs” around retirement looking at four years in the future to throw them off the scent of an immediate departure. I’m really glad that I did because I was mistaken by one big thing. HR’s belief is that if a person give two weeks notice on Feb 15 and then plans to take vacation during that time (be it for the solid two weeks or the final three days), then payroll cuts off when that vacation commence and you just get paid the vacation time - so my plan to use PTO the final two weeks wouldn’t have worked. They want us in that chair until the final bell rings.

 

[Crnhzkr]

I have April 30 lightly penciled in as a retirement date. So far, I have only discussed that date with my wife. I plan to provide no more than 2 - 4 weeks notice. That amount of time is plenty to transition my current workload to someone else. Financially, I could leave today and be fine, but I figure I should just leave my options open for as long as possible. Who knows, maybe my company will offer an early retirement incentive? I doubt it, but I've seen other people get that lucky.

In my case, though, it's not a "retirement" per se. I'm just resigning and not planning to look for another job. I won't get anything from my employer other than a "nice knowing you and good luck".

 

[Koolau]

Ha, yes, they can fire me....but my target RE date was based on filling up the 401(k) bucket one more time....which will (indirectly) pay for a bathroom remodel. Since you have to have management approval to charge overhead, it adds a level of stress I don't need. At 18 work days remaining to ER, I awoke at 3AM today, and started planning out today's work in my head. I really am looking forward to ER! I'm a bit worried that I'll continue to have work dreams...many of my current dreams have job situations that I left decades ago, and even some school things that are 30+ years ago!

Sorry I forgot you were not yet retired. Try to savor these last few days until the "big day." I wouldn't worry too much about the "dreams" unless you have them regularly now. I still have one once in a while, but I probably have more scary dreams about university than from Megacorp. Be sure to remind us when the big day comes so we can throw you a virtual party (at least some confetti!)

 

[FreeBear]

Wow! In my little w*rking world, I've never seen anything more than 2-4 weeks notice from either way, employee or employer. I do get the impression that the VP's and C-suite give a few months notice, but it's only announced to the peons about 2 weeks before they bounce.

My department and function had been in decline for a decade, so no love lost on either side when I walk away with very short notice. Many folks tried to get packaged out, but they would always keep some people on to do the dirty w*rk traveling overseas. I preferred to take destiny into my own hands to move on to the rest of my life.

 

[Koolau]

Ha ha! Yes, I remember in high school, returning from Spring break or Christmas break, and having forgotten the combo!

Heh, heh, my old high school is long gone and I think I had a key lock? BUT I still recall exactly where my locker was in JrHigh, I recall the locker no. and I recall the combo. I'm betting I could still go back there today and open the locker as they never changed the combos. YMMV

 

[FI_RElater]

it's common in gov

I’m planning to give my two weeks notice next Monday Feb 15. Last day for my plan is March 1 (benefit for me so that I can get an extra month of benefits on the company’s nickel). I wanted to give more notice but after reading advice on this board and from close friends, I decided that too much notice would give the company the power as they can fire at will. Although I want the best for my colleagues and the company, the company has it’s own agenda. I realized one of the reasons I wanted to announce early was because of my ego: I would be the first to ER from Megacorp in a long time. Even typing that feels like unnecessary bragging. I decided that industry two weeks notice was sufficient.

I visited with HR asking a series of “what-ifs” around retirement looking at four years in the future to throw them off the scent of an immediate departure. I’m really glad that I did because I was mistaken by one big thing. HR’s belief is that if a person give two weeks notice on Feb 15 and then plans to take vacation during that time (be it for the solid two weeks or the final three days), then payroll cuts off when that vacation commence and you just get paid the vacation time - so my plan to use PTO the final two weeks wouldn’t have worked. They want us in that chair until the final bell rings.

That's what is called "terminal leave" and in the gov isn't allowed by many agencies.

 

[FI_RElater]

remember the combo? I didn't even remember where the locker was!

Still can't remember that locker combination, eh?
Did you ever attend the classes of the course that you are sitting a final exam for?

The high school was beyond capacity at that time... multiple people per locker.
Fact: for one of the years, the school had 24 hour classes! Three shifts !! (they fast tracked another school... it was found, a few years later, to have lots of problems)

 

[swakyaby]

My employment contract called for a minimum 30 days notice, but the CEO made a plea for 6 months notice for physicians. I kept quiet, then notified Human Resources and the scheduler 6 months in advance, in order to avoid hard feelings within my medical group. DH asked me if I was worried if they would terminate me earlier with such a long notice. I said I wasn’t worried because we were always so short-handed. DH then asked what about a longer notice? I said I was worried the scheduler would take the opportunity to schedule me to work every major holiday, as well as more undesireable call schedules. I think I left on good terms.

 

[skyking1]

^ good that you did not leave on a sour note as it seems important to you.

 

[2cheap2eat]

Generally a bad decision in my opinion.

You need to understand that if the shoe were on the other foot, employer would give you the minimum notice possible - could even be a Friday pink slip telling you not to come to work on Monday. Nearly all employment these days is "free will", which means employee can quit/resign/retire at any time for any reason or no reason at all, and employer can terminate at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

Also realize that no employee is irreplaceable. We all love to think that we have very specialized knowledge, are top performers, and employer would be in a terrible bind if we resigned with minimal notice. Get over that line of thinking immediately. We all are very good at what we do. Likewise, there are others who could fill our shoes. Maybe not immediately, but over time, and employer would roll with it and do just fine.

So, if you're truly concerned about employers well-being, give 30 days or less (I'd suggest no more than 2 weeks), offer to document what you do and are doing so your replacement has something to work from and get up to speed. Giving more than 30 days serves no good purpose, other than making yourself feel good. Between 30 days and 6 months, there's potential for employer to make your life difficult...they could throw extra work at you, expect more of you, or even terminate you to avoid paying you for another 6 months.

Be sure that you are sure of what you do and the reason for doing it. Again, if the shoe were on the other foot, employer would not do the same for you.

Agreed, those days of loyalty are long gone! I’d give 30 days and let the Company counter if they want to keep you on longer.

 

[skyking1]

mega corp is a different world. The family I work for, I will offer to come back and do part time to the limits of my pension. It won't be a hard break.

 

[NH Hiker]

Unvested options

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.

I read the fine print in my options agreement. Once you give notice, your unvested ones can be withdrawn even if you are still working.

 

[Maidensong]

My DH told his boss at Megacorp (which starts with a big ol' G) that he'd be retiring early 2 1/2 years before the event. Then he confirmed the date about two months before he'd be leaving, but Boss didn't believe him until he walked out the door when he said he would. Didn't even post his position until the DH left town so we could move to another state and our forever home. This was May 2014.

The boss begged DH to stay on until the end of the year, telecommuting and occasionally flying back for face to face meetings. DH did and it was nice to pick up some more quarterly stock disbursements and not have to switch to COBRA quite so soon. He trained his replacement and even 7 months after the big announcement when he left for the VERY last time, his co-workers still threw him a retirement party.

An early head's up about his retirement plans didn't hurt in our case. It's really nice to be needed and the DH left on his own terms and on a high note professionally and personally. YMMV

 

[gooddog]

Maybe look at this from a different point of view. How about giving them 30 day notice, and then letting them know you are willing to stick around for an extra 60 days should they need it. You say the company has been good to you, and that there are no concerns. Giving your 30 day notice 30 days before you intend to quit, with the possibility of staying a bit longer would accomplish a few things: 1) you didn't put yourself in a possible six month negative situation 2) you have shown some courtesy to your employer who you say has treated you right 3) if you do stick around, you are the 'good guy' ... the 'great guy' going out the door for 'helping out'.


Rather than making this a stressor, this tactic could make it an opportunity.


Just my two cents.

 

[Stan_The_Man]

Here's My Advice

Assuming that there's no pension plan that requires extra notification to get your payments rolling.

Begin doing things that will help ensure an orderly exit and transition:

• Document your processes
• Write a job description for your replacement
• Save your contacts/collect personal contact information for the people you want to still talk to after you leave

Then announce your decision 30 days out and let them know that you will help with the transition, and share the stuff you prepared over that 30 days as you close out your projects.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

Being nice about things can have advantages.
I had worked for a small village for 30 years and my contract allowed them or me to end the employment with no notice.
But they treated me well and valued my work, so I gave a notice of "when will it be easy to replace me?" They asked me to find my own replacement, which took several months. I planned to stick around part time for a couple of weeks working as an assistant to help the new boss get acclimated. He turned out to be a good man to work for and work with, and he liked the situation; the village was pleased with the arrangement, so I stayed on working a few hours a week for three more years.
a win-win for everyone.

 

[2177V]

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 think it all depends on your job skills. If your job skills are still valuable, then your employer should consider you an asset. I recommend not burning your bridges. They may want to hire you back at a higher salary if they cannot find a replacement.

I used to work as a government engineer for the county public works department. I had a unique skill of calming the public when they feel that the county was screwing them over. The public would come to the counter yelling and screaming about how unfair the county permits are or how high their property taxes are. My co-workers, supervisor and a second level manager all wanted me to stay because nobody wanted to perform that function. I simply informed them that I do not have an infinite life and I hate to continue working and then die the next day after I retire. After my retirement, I continue to have lunch with my co-workers because I had considered them as friends.

On the other hand, if your job skills are not unique and your job can be conducted by most people or you had a past argument with a supervisor or a manager, you have to be much more careful. The foundation of most relationships depend on "trust". Can you "trust" management not to screw you....just before your retirement? This can happen and I have seen that happened to a co-worker. Supervisors and managers have long memories so I would review your relationships with them.

The choice of burning your bridges by giving them a short notice is a personal one. I perfectly understand your dilemma.

 

[Global Wizzo]

I’ve departed retirement eligible from two companies. The first had a security policy that locked you out of systems on notice. That one was an April notice and July actual departure date. Vacation and other time along with negotiated departure date for retirement credit. Paid APR to Jul. offered to train replacements and support. Nope. Out of the building in APR. Departure dinner in May and Bye.

Last one was similar. March decision based on new hire in the C suite. Negotiated pay and departure of Aug. no work after March.

You may find a similar situation. You should ask about whether policy will even allow you to work beyond notice.

 

[davebarnes]

, then payroll cuts off when that vacation commence and you just get paid the vacation time - so my plan to use PTO the final two weeks wouldn’t have worked.

Vacation and PTO are legally quite different.