What is the Retirement Letter?
Do you know what is retirement? It is the time when an employee decides to leave his or her job position permanently. In other words, it can be said that an employee chooses to quit an employment on a permanent basis. After writing a retirement letter, an employee can become eligible to ask for the company pension, social security, retirement plan benefit etc.
There can be several reasons when it comes to asking for the voluntary retirement and these reasons can be like:
- Low salary
- Accident
- Health issues
- Certain unavoidable circumstances
Reasons can be many, but it is important for an employee to information about the retirement to the concerned authorities. It is advisable to send such a letter, well in advance. If your company policy has defined a particular time period, then you can send the letter accordingly. Many organizations have the retirement policies that state the time period of around 2 to 6 weeks. You should go through the retirement policy appropriately so that it can become easy for you to draft a successful letter without creating any kind of misunderstanding.
Writing this letter according to the stated time period can make it easy for an employer to make arrangements related to your replacement, pension calculation, gratuity calculation, etc. Your this letter, can also act as an official document.
The retirement letter can also be called as a business letter and so it is always written in a formal style. Always proofread your letter twice, in order to avoid any kind of mistakes.
How to write a retirement letter?
The retirement letter generally, is not written in an informal way, but then it depends on upon the relationship that you share with the supervisor or an employer. If you share a formal relationship with an employer, then it is suggested to write such a letter in a formal style by following all the formal letter writing rules.
Here are some of the format of business letters, that you can follow:
- Full block style
- Semi-blocks style
- Modified block style
- Modified semi-blocks style
Writing a retirement letter can prove to be an emotional moment for you and you may also have to go through the technical process. You may feel glad to retire but at the same time you may feel bad for leaving the workplace permanently and that you will not be able to see the same faces every day. There can be mixed emotions but even though it is advisable to write it in a formal style.
It is said that asking for a retirement, means you are asking for the longest coffee breaks.
Following are the few things that you need to keep in mind while writing a retirement letter:
What kind of information is needed in your retirement letter?
First, you may consider drafting a rough letter but before doing so it is important for you to know the information that is to be added in a retirement letter. Different kind of information that you need to include in your retirement letter is like:
- Reason for an early retirement
- Effective retirement date
- Time span of work
- Retirement plan benefits
- Pre-retirement offered services
How important is it to draft a retirement letter?
First, sending a prepared draft of a retirement letter to an employer can give some extra time to an employer to think about the voluntary. Drafting a rough letter is good on your part because it can allow you to rectify the mistakes, if any.
Make use of the conventional approach while drafting such a letter. If you are adopting an informal writing style, then you can consider adding some emotional statements in your draft. With drafting, it can become easy or you to edit the unnecessary information before sending the original copy of a letter.
Why should you only add some required relevant information?
Mostly people create such a letter, in a formal style and so it becomes important to add only the relevant information. When it comes to adding the relevant information, you can include:
- The date, when the letter is written
- Number of years, you have worked with the company
- Official retirement date
- Your work ID number
- Your contact details
- Intentions related to returning the company property
- Idea about continuing company insurance plans
After adding all such relevant details, you can also include a short paragraph of two to three lines that showcases your gratitude towards the company.
It is important for you to write to the point by only adding details related to the relevant facts. Write a letter in a clear and concise manner. Don’t leave any room for the misunderstanding. You should avoid adding long sentences and write the letter in a graceful as well as cordial tone.
Why should you add positive comments?
Understand the fact that you are retiring from the work and not from the life. Add some positive comments in your letter then be it related to co-workers or an employer. If you are not in a good working term with any co-worker, then it is advisable to not include that in your retirement letter. Don’t try to settle down your score with the seniors. Mention all good things that you learned at your workplace in so many years.
Why should you have a copy of retirement letter?
Always maintain a copy of the retirement letter as a proof of communication. In case, the company misplaces the letter, then you can show the copy that you have as a proof.
Retirement letter format
- Write your name
- Write your designation
- Write your address
- Write the date
- Write the recipient name
- Write the recipient address
- Mention recipient designation
- Add subject line
- Add salutation
- In the first paragraph, provide the information about the retirement
- In the second paragraph, add few lines about your working experience
- In the third paragraph, offer any kind of assistance
- Closing salutation
- Add your signature
- Type your first and last name
- Add your contact number