24+ Sample Retirement Resignation Letters

What Is a Retirement Resignation Letter?

A retirement resignation letter is a formal resignation letter that announces your intention to leave the company due to retirement. For this type of resignation letter, you are not writing to inform your employer that you are moving to another company but you are informing them of your impending departure from the corporate, working world. You can also offer and open the door for possibilities in the future, such as giving consultations and assistance during the transition period. It can also open the discussion regarding your retirement benefits.

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Importance of Retirement Resignation Letter

BLS data reveals that the age makeup of the US labor force is changing and that in the 1990s, the older workers—which BLS defines as those who are aged 55 and older—increased their share on the labor force. In addition to that, BLS also projects that the labor force will grow to about 164 million people in 2024 and about 13 million from that are expected to be ages 65 and older?the ages when the workforce is already eligible for retirement. If you are among the older workers who are retiring soon, your resignation from the company will surely be a great loss especially if you hold a significant, key position that might not be easy to fill. This only means that sending a retirement resignation letter will not only benefit you but it can also benefit the company.

As mentioned, the company will experience loss as soon as you resign but when you hand in your retirement resignation letter, you give the company a chance and the go signal to look for your replacement and make other necessary preparations before the effective date of your resignation. Leaving without proper and formal notice will jeopardize the company—what a chaotic workplace it would be when they find out that one of their important employees resigned without any warning.

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Elements of A Retirement Resignation Letter

If you want to ensure that the transition of the contents in your retirement resignation letter will run as smoothly as possible, make sure that it contains all of the necessary elements that enable you to compose an effective letter. With that, we have laid them out and discussed them below.

Details of Your Resignation: The details of your resignation include the statement of the role you are leaving behind and when you are going to leave the post. Even if you had a prior discussion with your manager or employer beforehand, reiterating such important details in your retirement resignation letter is still important to make matters clear and official. You don’t have to explain in detail what your plans are for the next chapter of your life in your letter. Just state the aforementioned key details and your letter is already a step closer to becoming an effective communication tool.Observance of Proper Tone: No matter how casual your treatment toward your employer has become, you still need to observe a proper and formal tone when writing your retirement resignation letter. On the other hand, no matter how frustrated you might be at your employer after all those years of working, still, you need to be civil in the way you convey the message you want to deliver. Whatever insults, accusations, and unpleasant feelings you have harbored all these years, by all means, keep it at bay. Your resignation letter is not the best place for such a discussion.Expression of Gratitude: Don’t you want to resign without a heavy heart and burdensome baggage? A retirement resignation letter would be so much better if you leave on a positive note and one way of doing that would be expressing your gratitude. Even if you might have the most despicable boss ever, rest assured that you will not regret saying your thanks. Wouldn’t it be great to close the chapter of your life on a good note?Timeline: Before you write your retirement resignation letter, it is important to read your company policies first in case the company has a minimum notice requirement. Once you have already verified, you can now easily indicate your timeline whether or not you stay for two weeks which is the usual time frame. However, your employer might handle this differently and he or she might no longer ask you to work within the next two weeks fully and that your last day will be the day when you hand in your resignation letter. Still, put your timeline in writing to clarify and answer any questions from your employer, HR manager, etc.Succession Plan: If you know you’re leaving behind a key position, the company might find it difficult to fill in the position you leave behind. Offering a succession plan to the one who will replace you will be a great help to the company especially during the transition. You can state that you will be happy to train and orient your replacement of the daily tasks that you do while being in the position up until the last day of your employment.

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How to Write a Retirement Resignation Letter

A retirement resignation letter must only consist of content that expresses the intent of the sender to resign for the reason of retirement. In order to do so, it is best that you know the basic steps of writing the body of a retirement resignation letter that guides you in coming up with a letter that can effectively convey your purpose for writing. With that, we provide you with easy-to-follow guidelines that you can use in order to come up with a well-composed retirement resignation letter.

Step 1: Make Use of a Retirement Resignation Letter Template

Almost no one can write a retirement resignation letter more than once in their lives, so it is understandable that not all can compose a perfectly composed letter. This is why you are encouraged to consider the use of a retirement resignation letter template. With a template, you are provided with a ready-made content that you can either use as-is or further modify according to your needs. Apart from that, you can also make use of a template as your formatting guide should you want to create your own retirement resignation letter from scratch. Make sure to check out the templates that we have uploaded here to make things easier on your end.

Step 2: Write the Addresses and Date

When you start writing your retirement resignation letter, you need to secure the details of the return address, the inside address, and the date. The return address consists of your address as the letter sender along with your active working contact information. The date is usually placed between the return address and the inside address and, depending on your format, it is either at the last line of the return address or after the last line of the sender’s address. The inside address consists of the recipient’s name, title, and address. By identifying the inside address, you can easily identify to whom you should address your letter to in the salutation. Be sure to secure these details before starting your letter.

Step 3: Write the Body of the Retirement Resignation Letter

Usually, the body of an ideal retirement resignation letter should only contain three paragraphs in order to ensure that your letter would have content that conveys your main message briefly and directly. The details of each paragraph are laid out below.

The first paragraph is the introductory paragraph which states your intent as the sender to resign for the reason of retirement and its effective date. By doing so, you can keep you and your employer from putting off your retirement. This paragraph also includes the specific position you are resigning from.

In the second paragraph, you can express your appreciation towards the company, describe your contributions and achievements, and discuss your plans in the near future. Express your gratitude toward the company that you have worked for years. You also have the option to state the reason for your retirement, although doing so is not a necessity.

Conclude your letter in the third paragraph. This is where you can say that you are willing to help out or to work as a part-time consultant for the company. Also, indicate your contact information so the people you will leave behind will still have the means to contact you if they want to keep in touch.

Step 4: Proofread the Final Draft before Printing

Do not make the mistake of sending a letter that is incomplete and inaccurate?this does not only cause miscommunication and confusion, but this also puts you and your credibility as a professional in a bad light. Before you send the letter to your employer, ensure that the details you input are accurate and are exactly the details you want to convey. Apart from that, make sure that you have completely communicated the message you want to deliver so no further unnecessary questions will be asked from you.

The Dos and the Don’ts in Writing a Retirement Resignation Letter

You might not get the chance to write more than two retirement official resignation letters in your lifetime. With that, we provide you with some dos and don’ts which you can conveniently follow when you write what could perhaps be your first and last retirement resignation letter in your entire life.

Dos

1. Do write a physical letter.

You are encouraged to write and send an actual retirement resignation letter rather than simply notifying your employer via email. Sure, email resignation letters are acceptable nowadays but it is still important to note that nothing can beat the formality that comes from sending physical retirement resignation letters.

2. Do indicate your position.

Your retirement resignation letter will be kept as a record and this is why you need to clearly indicate the position you hold at the time of your resignation. You can write the sentence that starts with “I will be resigning from my position as…” Be clear and concise in doing so in order for the recipient of the letter to identify what position that needs replacement and training easily.

3. Do thank the company

If you have worked for the company in a long time, it is a gesture of courtesy to offer your thanks for all the opportunities and the possibilities it has opened and given to you. You can also mention your good feelings and the things you have learned while working for the company for many years until the very day of your retirement.

4. Do wrap up your duties

Wrap up your duties as best as you can so it wouldn’t be a burden to the one who will replace you. You can offer to train the person who will take your position as soon as you retire. For someone who has worked in the company for many years, your input will surely be of great importance and value to those you will be leaving behind.

5. Do write in the appropriate tone.

When writing your retirement resignation letter, the tone of the content would usually depend on your current position as well as the culture of the company. Contrary to the belief that this type of letter is an informal one, it’s actually not as it requires attention to detail and should observe a proper and professional tone. Avoid the urge to mention jokes, sarcasm, and including your feelings.

6. Do ensure its quality.

If you want to maintain the company’s positive perception of you even after you retire, one of the things you could do is to ensure that your retirement resignation letter contains quality content. Be sure to keep your sentences direct to the point and void of any error. It is also in doing so that you give the impression that you value the people you leave behind and the working relationship you had.

Don’ts

1. Don’t feel the need to list the reasons for your departure.

If you are resigning because of retirement alone, do not feel the need to list down the reasons for your departure. Mentioning and expounding the details of your retirement will only unnecessarily prolong it.

2. Don’t promise anything you can’t commit.

If you are resigning due to old age, chances are, you will not be able to do things the way you used to before. This is why, in your retirement resignation letter, do not promise anything you cannot manage to follow through later on. Simply say that you will continue to do the best of your capabilities until the last day of your employment.

3. Don’t get too emotional.

Sure, you are retiring, and you might tend to feel emotional but, as mentioned, your retirement resignation letter is a formal document that will be kept as a record. If you had the best times at the company, simply state your appreciation as brief and concise as possible. If you think you had the worst times at the company, avoid getting your negative emotions to get the best of you and remain professional and rational at all costs.

4. Don’t criticize subordinates or co-workers.

Your retirement resignation letter is not the place where you criticize the subordinates or co-workers you have worked with at the time of your resignation. There are better avenues that for that such as a department-wide evaluation or a team performance assessment. If you want to leave on a good note, consider speaking directly to the individuals concerned so they can also immediately act on it.

5. Don’t forget to proofread and edit.

Before you hand in your retirement resignation letter to your employer, make sure that you have thoroughly checked your final draft for any possible grammatical mistakes and spelling errors. If you’re already too familiar with your writeup that you think it’s already error-free, consider taking a break from reading your final draft so you can get back to it with a fresher perspective or consider asking someone to read it for you.

The last document you’ll probably ever have to write as an employee would be a retirement resignation letter?make it a good one. If you ever find the need for a guide you can follow through, consider downloading the retirement resignation letter templates and examples that we have available for download in this article.