notice

I think it depends on your particular situation and your relationship with your boss.

In my case, my boss knew a couple of years prior to my retirement that it was coming, and when I finally settled on a date, I gave her a year notice. She informed her manager, who was the VP of our division as it made a difference in staffing plans. Interestingly enough, he gave her approval to hire my replacement a year ahead so that I could train them (I was the only one doing that function in the company), but she was in denial that I’d ever retire and dragged her feet.

One of the reasons that I gave such a long notice was that I did not want to receive stock options as part of my quarterly bonus since I was not going to be around for them to vest. Giving them my intentions early allowed them to adjust my bonus so that it was all cash, and give the options to someone who would be around for their vesting.

I ended up moving my retirement date out one month when my boss pointed out that I’d get one more bonus if I did that.

In my case, my company treated me very well even knowing when I was going to retire. I do think it makes a difference between retirement and just leaving for a new opportunity, and so there was very little chance that I was going to be walked out the door.

I left on very good terms, and 3 years later, I am still in contact with a lot of the folks who were there including my boss who retired last year. But it really depends on each individual situation.

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I’m thinking two months’ notice.

This is a mistake. Do not make it.

There are exactly two things giving extra notice will do for you: Jack and squat. It is 100% downside, no upside.

If you make this mistake, what you will find is that they will rapidly replace you in their minds. Your opinion regarding any future project (which is all of them) will not be valued because you won’t be there. You will be a ghost in meetings. You won’t be seen as part of the team anymore. They will naturally start thinking of work arounds that don’t involve you. Your last two months will be a death march, at best.

As others have pointed out, they might not even take your offer. At which point you will come to understand how much your generosity is appreciated. Here’s an experiment. Stick your arm in a bowl of water. Remove you arm. Record how much the water level has changed. That is the exact measure of how much they value your extra notice.

And fair is fair. If there were layoffs coming, you would get exactly no notice. Why do you owe them consideration they refuse to extend to you?

Now, you are not a savage. If they truly value your contributions and wish that you stay on for some additional period to ease the transition, then of course you should entertain the offer, as a reasonable person should. Perhaps you stay on at full salary for a time of mutual agreement. Perhaps you could consult with them at a lucrative rate. You’re leaving. You hold all the cards. It is the company’s job to make the counter offer. But get it in writing.

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As a manager, I’d appreciate a heads up in the manner of: “Hey, just so you know, I’m seriously thinking about retiring sometime this year.” That at least puts it on my radar. I don’t care about the actual date until we’re ready to lock it in with HR, but some advance notice so I can plan projects without getting blindsided by unexpected attrition. That said, I like to think of myself as an easygoing manager. The relationship with my employees is that we could discuss plans for someone’s planned departure without anyone’s feelings getting hurt or asking security to escort someone out of the building.

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We’re so close to the next ESPP purchase, that I would want that to trigger before I depart. Otherwise, I don’t care when. I could leave tomorrow. But the ESPP is a little over a month away, and it’s a nice perk.

I was in a similar situation in late 2020, and here’s what I had planned:

-Work though the February date where the bonus for hitting previous year’s metrics was paid out

-Ask if there were any “packages” anticipated that quarter. The “package” is some severance given for a voluntary layoff.
---->If there were any packages, evaluate whether another six months pay would be worth working another X months past my target leaving date

-Otherwise, give two weeks notice after getting the bonus. If the company asks to stay longer, evaluate the offer to see if it’s worth staying the extra time.

Advantages to being laid off vs. just leaving:
-Possible severance
-Unemployment payments (if you’re interested in looking for a different job–sounds like this doesn’t fit you)
-Eligibility for COBRA health insurance
-The government may pick up some of your health insurance cost. For those laid off in 2020 due to Covid, the federal government paid April - September health insurance payments. (There were some restrictions, like you had to be on COBRA I think.)

With all the 2020 layoffs at my company and problems in my industry, there wasn’t any 2020 bonus.

Now, you are not a savage. If they truly value your contributions and wish that you stay on for some additional period to ease the transition, then of course you should entertain the offer, as a reasonable person should. Perhaps you stay on at full salary for a time of mutual agreement. Perhaps you could consult with them at a lucrative rate. You’re leaving. You hold all the cards. It is the company’s job to make the counter offer. But get it in writing.

Yes, get it in writing, including waiver of liability for your work for them as a contractor, which is something you enjoy as an employee.

DH found that with his much higher than employee contractor rates, the bullsh!t work went to other people and the level of interest his job provided actually went up. I minded much less the (fewer) hours he spent working, knowing he was doing projects that interested him and he was getting paid for all the work he put in, not having extra work thrown on top of a full plate because work knew he was dependable and seemed to think you should work 24 hours a day when salaried. It was a great way to transition into retirement, both for him and the company.

Retirement is awesome. Congratulations on getting there.

IP

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In today’s world giving 2 weeks notice is a standard anymore. Obviously if you don’t want to burn bridges you want to be careful but people do all kinds of stuff. I’ve never given more than 2 weeks noticed and have left anything from 0 to 2 weeks.

I once worked for a place that essentially just placed you into positions at other sites and spoke with 2 ladies that worked there and I kind of reported to and asked them about giving notice. They essentially told me (this was late 2001) burn your leave and just quit. I guess they didn’t trust the new management so that is what I did.

In other cases I resigned after finishing projects and left after a day. In another case the manager said he’d cover my health insurance for a month if I wanted to leave at the end of the week which was fine to me. I always like to take off weeks between jobs.

Too many people think they owe something to a company but you don’t. And when cuts come, companies can be ruthless. I’ve never been laid off or unemployed (except by choice) but people give too much to companies in many cases.

With retirement sometimes you have to give more notice depending on the paperwork involved. At least with the government they often would like 3+ months notice.

I’m trying to hang in there until the end of the year.

Etiquette isn’t my strong suit.

Only you know what your relationship with your manager and the company is like.
I would wait until after the ESPP and/or any other bonuses or stock vesting is locked in, then approach my manager and tell him/her that you are going to retire and give an approximate date.
Say that you will notify HR in writing giving 2 weeks notice but you are giving him/her a heads up.

Since you are retiring and not going to a competitor you will likely not get walked out.
Then see what your manager does. Might ignore it for a while or might start looking for a replacement. You can then put in your 2 weeks notice whenever you want, knowing you gave them plenty of time. If you are suddenly out of the loop you can leave sooner. If they are really looking but not finding a good replacement you might stay a bit longer. It they don’t seem to be seriously looking you can choose to leave any time.
Also, keep the communications with your manager going.

Mike

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As others have said, wait until your ESPP is locked in before giving notice.

Have you checked your employee agreement (you probably signed something when you started) and/or the HR Manual for notice requirements? It’s usually spelled out there.

Be prepared for both extremes; being walked out when you give notice to being asked to stick around for a few months.

I only have 1 regret about being retired. I waited too long.

Enjoy your retirement!!

AW

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After reading all the input, I’m going to wait until after 3/1. I expect I won’t get walked. I’ve never given them a reason to do that. And I’ve seen several folks retire over the years. Usually their groups give them a lunch or something before they depart. Plus apparently policy is giving some small bonus (like $500) for some reason.

Anyway, I’ll wait a little longer before saying anything.

1poorguy (weird retiring as my portfolio diminishes, but I knew the market could/would fluctuate…hopefully this isn’t a long bear like in the 70s)

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I’m dealing with the same question, but I work in the nonprofit sector and stock options aren’t a consideration.

For me, it’s a matter of advancing a retirement planned for June 2023 to June of this year or perhaps sooner. I was 70 on my last birthday so no one will question retirement, and if the MRD age hadn’t been increased I would already have planned to retire this year.

It’s normal in my field to give about six months of notice, because hiring is usually from a national pool of applicants who are tied to contracts. In this case, I’m pretty sure, however, that they will try to hire someone local, with no particular qualifications (I have a graduate degree in the field). The work environment has turned toxic and dangerous to me, and I’m not sure that I can survive until June, so I’m looking at February 28.

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"For me, it’s a matter of advancing a retirement planned for June 2023 to June of this year or perhaps sooner. I was 70 on my last birthday so no one will question retirement, and if the MRD age hadn’t been increased I would already have planned to retire this year.

It’s normal in my field to give about six months of notice, because hiring is usually from a national pool of applicants who are tied to contracts. In this case, I’m pretty sure, however, that they will try to hire someone local, with no particular qualifications (I have a graduate degree in the field). The work environment has turned toxic and dangerous to me, and I’m not sure that I can survive until June, so I’m looking at February 28. "


Couple of points -

  1. Normal to give 6 months notice. What would the employer give you as far as notice of layoffs?
  2. You are 70 - you are OK to retire whenever you please
  3. Hiring a replacement. You can always tell the powers that be that you are willing to come
    back to help train a replacement - for a suitable fee or stipend.
  4. Toxic or dangerous work environment - enough said even if the view is not shared by anyone else
    suffering through the problems.
  5. February is an absolutely wonderful time to retire. January is OK too. March is known for making
    transitions to retired life a good process. April works well for stopping work. May is known to be
    truly a growing time for retired folks. June allows you to enter retirement in a warming time.
    July - well what can be wrong about retiring in mid-summer? August is especially heart-warming for
    retiring. September gets the fall-off from work-a-day life off to a rousing start. October lets
    you take a good close look at just how colorful retirement can be. November is pretty snazzy
    across the board. And December lets you fully appreciate winter in all it’s glory without
    worrying about getting called into work on icy or snow-covered streets.

Howie52
I heartily recommend retired life - just in case you had any doubts

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The work environment has turned toxic and dangerous to me, and I’m not sure that I can survive until June, so I’m looking at February 28.

Might as well make it January 28.

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Normal to give 6 months notice. What would the employer give you as far as notice of layoffs?

A layoff is the one thing that would never happen. It didn’t happen during the pandemic cashflow crunch in 2020, even though I recommended it.

Might as well make it January 28.

You have a point. I would certainly give a full pay period (half a month) of notice, but I have that much vacation time to use during the period of notice.

TchrP writes:

The work environment has turned toxic and dangerous to me, and I’m not sure that I can survive until June, so I’m looking at February 28.

I’m always curious just exactly what this means when I read such comments. What is toxic? What is dangerous?

I’m sure there are reasons behind such comments and understand everyone has a hurt button that can get pushed, but I’m always curious just how dramatic words such as dangerous and toxic get used to describe a situation.

BB

I’m sure there are reasons behind such comments and understand everyone has a hurt button that can get pushed, but I’m always curious just how dramatic words such as dangerous and toxic get used to describe a situation.

To be precise, the bad behavior of the volunteer leaders is triggering PTSD from a worse job 20+ years ago.

To be precise, the bad behavior of the volunteer leaders is triggering PTSD from a worse job 20+ years ago.

Sounds like time to take some paid sick leave. When that runs out, you can decide to take vacation, or just quit. The accrued vacation time should be paid out in $.

-IGU-

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I don’t know much about etiquette, but I have always felt like I should give my employer all the respect and consideration that they give me regarding retirement timing and notice. If they have a history of being ruthless and walking people out as soon as notice is given, then don’t give them a second’s notice until you are ready to walk out. If they always work with employees to allow them to train replacements and transition to retirement, then work with them to accomplish that.

I suppose if the details of how you leave impact co-workers that you care about, you need to consider that too. But it isn’t your job to protect your co-workers.

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I’m always curious just exactly what this means when I read such comments. What is toxic? What is dangerous?

The temporary office location we had at Motorola was across the hall from one of the semiconductor operations. That operation used cyanide (!!) and it had an alarm system in case any cyanide gas was detected. They tested that system once a week. Very loud with flashing red lights and sirens.

The first time they tested it, we all ran outside.
After awhile people started ignoring the alarm, and stayed at their desk working.

Not me. I always scooted outside and stayed there until the alarms stopped.

Now THAT was a toxic work environment.

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I’m sure there are reasons behind such comments and understand everyone has a hurt button that can get pushed, but I’m always curious just how dramatic words such as dangerous and toxic get used to describe a situation.

To be precise, the bad behavior of the volunteer leaders is triggering PTSD from a worse job 20+ years ago.

Thanks for clarifying. Sounds like you have options to remove yourself from the triggers that includes what you mentioned in your previous post about regarding moving up your retirement date.

In the meantime…

Have these volunteer leaders that are involved in bad behavior been reported for their bad behavior and the triggers it is causing? Is there an HR department at your nonprofit?

BB

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The accrued vacation time should be paid out in $.

Depends on the rules about vacation time for both the employer and the state. Not all states require that vacation time be paid, and in those states that don’t, not all employers do so.

AJ

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