How To Write A Retirement Letter

Retirement is not a spur of the moment decision, so this shouldn't be a spur of the moment letter. You obviously need to take quite a lot of trouble over it, and you won't write it until probably you've had several meetings with your line manager, the head of HR or whoever it is that you have to sort these things out with. So, the first thing you've got to clarify and that needs to be in your letter is the terms of your retirement.

Now, obviously, you would have calculated this sum that's owed to you. You may have a lump sum, there may be an annuity, there may be some sort of cash settlement, some financial settlement. Then there's going to be the matter of pension, there may be health insurance, there may be all sorts of other benefits.

You'll know what they are. Make sure you put them all in your retirement letter. So that's the first thing, the terms.

Now, the second thing you'll probably want to address is the reasons for your retirement. Actually, the reasons don't matter. You may be retiring earlier than you would like.

They may have asked you to retire early. Or, you may be retiring early because you're glad to get out of there. Don't go into the reasons.

And this is like the letter of resignation, this is where you must remember not to burn your bridges. Even if you think now that you're just glad to get out of that place and wild horses wouldn't drag you back, you may feel differently in a year's time. A lot of people do.

A lot of people take retirement and then because they were very useful in their role, are called upon, perhaps a year later. You may find that useful. You're entering uncharted territory with retirement.

You don't know how you're going to handle it. So keep your options open. Don't go into the reasons for your retirement.

The thing you want to do is just recap on your time there, look back fondly, pick some highlights, talk about some of the people you've enjoyed working with - you don't have to write a lot but you want to write something that says, “My time with the organization was worthwhile and these are some of the features of it.” Then, at the end, you want to look forward. You want to wish the organization well, and your colleagues, and you want to look forward for yourself to whatever it is, tending your flowerbeds, fishing, whatever your next project.

So, that's the way to finish, and you want to leave that warm feeling behind, because you never know when you might run into those people again, or when they might want you back, and you might suddenly find that you would like to work for them again. .