Terminating employment — Waving farewell to the working world

Once you’ve fixed your actual retirement date and worked out a plan for managing expenses and creating a retirement income stream, it’s time to formally say goodbye to your job. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Research company benefits — Go over your employee benefits documents and rules related to pensions, 401(k) plan distributions, and vesting (ownership) of any company contributions, company stock and deferred compensation. Review everything with your financial professional, tax professional, and an employment attorney to make sure you understand how your “official” retirement date will affect all of your benefit eligibilities and payments now and going forward.
• Complete your paperwork — Your financial professional can help you complete all necessary financial paperwork and forms. Be aware of submission deadlines and keep copies of everything, including your formal resignation letter.
• Update your professional network — Social media outlets make it easy to keep in touch with personal and professional connections. Ensure that your Facebook, LinkedIn and other profiles include personal email and phone contacts and update your employment status. Consider sending invitations to professional colleagues not already in your networks.
• Make an announcement — Write a retirement announcement to thank managers, teams and coworkers for their support and friendship. Provide some details about what you’ll be doing and include contact information so you can stay connected. You never know when these connections, may come in handy as you transition to the next phase. Coordinate with your manager on timing to determine if your announcement should precede or follow any formal announcements that may be planned.

Enjoy yourself

Like most everything associated with retirement planning, getting a resignation plan in place well in advance of the actual date may help it all go much smoother. Planning will help you enjoy the process and preserve the memories.