How to Write a Retirement Letter

Retirement Countdown

When an employee plans their retirement they usually have several meetings with Human Resources and a financial advisor so they can understand all of the legalities of retiring from the company. In addition, as early as a year in advance they speak to their manager about when they would like to retire and plan a transfer of job responsibilities and business knowledge. After all of this, the parties involved will most likely know your intended date of retirement. However, your notice of retirement still needs to be documented in writing. A notice of retirement letter is a little different from a standard resignation letter. All retirement situations are different so the letter has to be personalized to your situation. Below is a basic guide to help you through writing such a letter.

Things You'll Need

• Date of Retirement
• Computer
• Computer Paper
• Photo Copier

Instructions

1. Plan on keeping the tone of the letter pleasant and professional. If you have reason to be upset with the company, this letter is not the place to express your gripes.

2. Prepare to write your letter by gathering pertinent information such as your intended last date of employment, your employee id number, the names of the people that will be copied on the letter, and a forwarding address.

3. Begin the letter in a standard business format. Write the date, contact person, company name, and business address.

4. Use Mr. or Mrs. to address the contact person. This letter can be addressed to your manager.

5. Reference the subject of the letter. Example - Subject: Letter of Retirement

6. The first paragraph of the letter should be written clearly and simply. It can be as little as one line. "I am writing to inform you that I will be retiring from my position at XYZ Company and my last date of employment will be January 5, 2010." OR "Please accept this letter as my formal notice of retirement. My final day of employment will be January 5, 2010."

7. The next thing to do is add details about your employment like, years of service, employee id, and decisions on your continuance of medical and dental benefits. These are details that you will have discussed with your human resource contact beforehand. Use language from the information that they provided you to specify these details.

8. To this same paragraph, add a forwarding address. This is very important if you plan on moving right after your leave from the company. Sometimes change of address requests may be lost or they may be missed by an employee. By including this in your letter you cover yourself legally if the HR office fails to change your address in their employment database. Example "As of January 10, 2010 my new address will be [Insert new address]. Please forward all mailings to the new address."

9. The final paragraph is optional but is commonly used. In this paragraph you would say thank you to the company, your management team, co-workers, and/or the human resources contacts. Because of the personal nature of this paragraph there are an infinite number of things you might say. Some standard lines might include "I will miss working for XYZ Company and am thankful for the career development opportunities that were afforded to me here", "My time with XYZ Company was fulfilling and I am grateful to all of the employees who have made my time here so enjoyable", "I am appreciative of all the professional opportunities for development that were provided to me throughout the years."

10. Insert a signature line. End with Sincerely. Leave 3 lines of space and then type your name.

11. Add a few lines below your name and then enter the names of all the people you would like to receive a copy of this letter. This will most likely include your human resource contacts. To do this you would type CC: and the name of the person you will copy.

12. Print out a copy for your manager. Sign the letter and then photocopy it enough times to have one for each of the individuals you Cc' d and one for your records.

Tips & Warnings

• Retirement letters should be submitted with as much notice as possible. Try to give the employer at least six weeks of written notice but more time is never a bad thing.