Deciding to Retire and the Retirement Meeting

Where an employee decides that they wish to retire they should inform their line manager as far in advance as possible for planning purposes and must give at least the notice required by their contract of employment. Teaching employees should bear in mind, when providing notice, that 3-4 months may be required by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) to administer their pension benefits.

The decision to retire should be put in writing by the employee to their line manager. The line manager will then write to the employee acknowledging their decision and will arrange a meeting with them to discuss the retirement arrangements.

The issues covered at the meeting can include date of retirement, status of tasks/projects, handover plans and knowledge transfer to colleagues, pre-retirement course, where the employee can access pension details, long service award, and the return of any Council property. The range of topics covered will vary depending on their relevance to the individual employee and on them meeting qualifying conditions.

The outcome of the meeting will be confirmed in writing. The letter will be copied to the HR Service Centre who will then arrange for termination documentation to be prepared at the appropriate time and to notify the Pensions Section or SPPA (whichever applies), where the employee is a pension scheme member.

Pre-retirement Courses

The Council offers a one day pre-retirement course  to employees who are due to retire. The purpose of the course is to help prepare the employee for retirement and it provides them with relevant information and advice in relation to retirement. The course content includes money matters, state benefits and estate planning.

If a course is not available in the run up to an employee’s retirement, then they can arrange to attend a course after they retire if they wish to do so, provided this is within a reasonable period after the date of retirement.

Handovers, Knowledge and Skill Transfer and Succession Planning

An employee who is due to retire will often have considerable knowledge in relation to their job role and responsibilities. The Council will require the employee’s assistance and co-operation to ensure that any outstanding work is handed over to colleagues and that details are provided on the status of tasks, any projects and their future steps. It is important that there is a timely knowledge and skill transfer from the outgoing employee to remaining colleagues, with line managers responsible for ensuring that this occurs. In addition, employees can be asked to assist in the training of a successor and where necessary in the updating of the job profile for their post. The Managing Leavers  procedure will also be followed by the line manager which comprises a channel for gathering valuable employee knowledge and information and also records an employee’s reasons for leaving and perceptions of workplace issues.  

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