I’m 68 and retiring in June after 19 years at my company — should I give many months of notice or just 4-to-6 weeks to avoid a last-minute ‘grunt work’ dump?

The pros and cons of giving advance notice

According to several online resources, three-to-six months' notice ahead of your retirement is still considered the standard, but your workplace and your position should be considered when making this decision.

The good thing about giving advance notice is that it can benefit you just as much as it can your employer. For your employer, advance notice gives your company time to hire a replacement and manage the transition. It also gives you plenty of time to help with training the new hire and passing on any valuable knowledge you may have, which is another win for your employer.

As for yourself, giving advance notice gives you plenty of time to get your personal finances in order while you mentally prepare for leaving the workforce. It also increases the chances of leaving your job on good terms, which could be important if you ever decide to go back to work after you retire.

But there are drawbacks to giving advance notice ahead of your retirement. For example, you can find plenty of stories online where people describe the backlash they received at work when announcing their retirement, and no one wants to be harassed by their boss or their coworkers for three-to-six months before bowing out of the work force.

There’s also the potential for the grunt work that Mildred was worried about. While most people who are ready to retire are happy to help train their replacement, no one wants to watch a disgruntled boss drop an influx of repetitious, boring assignments on their desk in retaliation.

You could also potentially find yourself in a situation where your employer is pushing you out the door ahead of your planned retirement date, which could impact late contributions to your retirement savings.

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The case for giving less notice

One thing Mildred is also worried about is that announcing her retirement could highlight her age and subject her to increased ageism during her remaining time at the company — and these concerns are justified.

In a survey from 2023, 48% of Canadians admitted to have experienced ageism in either a workplace, public or healthcare setting, with a further 70% believing that ageism has increased since the pandemic. In another survey from Women of Influence, 80% of women reported facing ageism at work.

The more time that Mildred gives to that period between announcing her retirement and actually retiring, the greater the chances that she could be subjected to unfair treatment in the workplace.

It’s also worth considering the potential for Mildred to be pushed into retirement sooner than she had planned as a potential form of retaliation.

So, let’s say Mildred were to give three months' notice and she’s relying on that income for her retirement savings. Meanwhile, her employer is less than thrilled with Mildred's announcement and decides to show her the door two months early. That means Mildred has just lost two months of income that she was depending on for her retirement.

What should Mildred do?

The type of position that you have will be an important factor in deciding how much notice to give. In Mildred’s case, she possesses sophisticated knowledge that will need to be passed on, so she likely needs to give a longer notice period in order to leave a good impression with her employer.

However, if your role consists of rote, repetitive work that a new hire could quickly learn, four-to-six weeks’ notice may be adequate. If your retirement planning includes the income from your notice period, you may want to give shorter notice. As we discussed earlier, some employers may decide to let you go early once they’ve been informed of your retirement plans, and that could impact your retirement finances.

It’s also worth considering your relationship with your boss. If you and your boss get along well, you may feel more comfortable giving more notice with the expectation that you won’t be prematurely let go.

In Mildred’s case, she may want to give a slightly longer notice period than four-to-six weeks — given her importance to the company, her appreciation for her coworkers and a presumed intention to leave the company on good terms.

A notice period of two-to-three months might be just right, as this gives her employer ample time to find a replacement while giving Mildred sufficient time to help with training the new hire. And since she loves her manager, she likely doesn't need to worry about getting let go ahead of her retirement date, allowing her to collect two-to-three months' of income before calling it a career.

In this scenario, her employer has time to take advantage of Mildred's extensive knowledge and training capabilities, while Mildred gets two-to-three months' of income and ample time to mentally prepare for her retirement. Everybody wins!

Sources

1. Washington Post: Work Advice: How much notice should I give before retiring?, by Karla L. Miller (Nov 16, 2023)

2. Reddit: Messed up by giving 6 months retirement notice

3. Government of Canada: Consultations on the social and economic impacts of ageism in Canada: “What we heard” report (Dec 2023)

4. Women of Influence: New survey reveals that almost 80 per cent of women face ageism in the workplace (Feb 26, 2024)