Retirement Letter

What Is a Retirement Letter?

A retirement letter is a formal written notice submitted by an employee to announce the intention to retire from a position. This notice is an official communication to the employer, containing important information such as:

• intended last working day;
• usage of unused vacation or sick days; and
• offboarding process (including COBRA and 401(k) plans).

A retirement letter sample is used to end an employment contract with your current employer. Thus, this notice should not be used by self-employed or independent contractors who perform their work under various service provision agreements (e.g., marketing, catering, design).

A letter of retirement could be helpful in various ways. At first, it ensures clear communication between the two parties of employment relations—an employee and an employer. Secondly, it helps an employer to make organizational changes, maintain a smooth transition, and find a replacement, if necessary.

If an employee wishes to end an employment contract for reasons other than retirement, in that case a letter of resignation should be used instead. A letter of resignation can be used by an employee who wishes to leave the company because of another job, relocation, family circumstances, etc.

How to Write a Letter of Retirement?

Creating a solid retirement letter to employer ensures not only legal compliance but also clarity in communication between the parties. Below we made a breakdown of all essential elements a good letter of retirement should have:

Details of the Employee

The text of a retirement letter should include an employee’s full name, their current job title, and their personal contact email address (not the working one). Besides that, the document should be dated and include an employee’s signature at the end.

The text of a notice should clearly articulate an employee’s intention to retire.

Notice Period

A retirement letter to employer should be sent in advance before an employee’s last working day. This advance period is also known as a notice period. Usually, the exact duration of a notice period should be defined in the employer’s internal company policies, like the Employee Handbook. The average duration of a notice period could be between 2 and 4 weeks.

Some employers may differentiate between a notice period required for a letter of retirement and a normal letter of resignation. If there is no mention of a specific notice period for a letter of retirement, then such a letter should be sent considering a notice period for a general letter of resignation.

Unused vacation or PTO

If an employee has unused days of vacation or sick leave, an employee may wish to use them before the last working day. If this is the case, the same should be stated directly in the text of a retirement letter.

Offboarding process

Some employees may have access to additional employer benefits like COBRA or a 401(k) plan. If this is the case, a retirement letter template should also address the following:

• instructions regarding the transfer or withdrawal of funds for 401(k);
• instructions regarding continuation or discontinuation of COBRA coverage;
• request for final paycheck including all bonuses.

How to customize a letter template at Faster Draft?

In order to personalize a simple retirement letter to employer on our website, follow a few easy steps below:

1. Click the button “Create Document.”
2. Answer simple questions in the questionnaire.
3. Select a document’s format—Retirement Letter Sample PDF or Word.
4. Make a payment.
5. Download a customized document.