# Can your boss legally ask when you plan to retire? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588 "2013-02-28T03:09:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/41 "2013-03-02T03:13:42Z")
Dummy, with all due respect, I think you’re looking at this the wrong way. Now is the time to take the bull by the horns. Work out a succession/exit plan complete with milestones and milestone BONUSES. If your employers think it would be a clusterfuck if you left suddenly, and think if you’re passive aggressive you’ll “forget key” things to train and handover. Work on a succession plan, be part of the interview loop, get someone on board you’re comfortable grooming for your position, document the yearlong cycle, and get paid extra for all of this. Have a contract drawn up by a lawyer to make all official with penalty clauses if they back out. The devil is in the details but I think you get my drift. Win-win ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/42 "2013-03-02T03:30:02Z")
> [@FrankJBN](#): > > Let me get this right? No of you folks that commented on my post understood that this: OP asks: "Good heavens, Frank, YOU would respect the 2 I’ve described? " was a quote from an earlier post? > > You were confused? > > Look, if I wanted to use the quote function, i would. I tell you, it is really seeming like you folks are a bunch of jerks about this quote thing. > > As a proudly displayed greeting card at my place states “Conformity. Serving thousands of boring people everyday” > > that’s another quote. As I’ve said to others - if looking at or reading my posts is too difficcult or too annoying for you, there is a very simple solution. > > Stop telling me to write the way you want! Who the hell do you think you are? And all these smarmy comments i.e., “can you learn how to quote already?” > > You must be a half-wit - what I have done is quote already - just not the way you do. If you can explain why 'Joe says colon quotation mark quote end quotation mark is not a quote, I’ll listen - until then shut up already. Can you learn to do that? It’s easier to understand what you’re responding to (and therefore, easier in general to parse your posts) when you use the quote feature. That’s all. For what it’s worth, I agree with you regarding this thread. The OP sounds like a huge overreaction. ---
**Author:** ![RichardKB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@RichardKB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichardKB)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/43 "2014-11-19T17:45:37Z")
I know this is an old post but I just found it. My boss has asked me multiple times when I’m going to retire. I’m 65 soon and haven’t really given it that much thought. I’m healthy, get around as well as a lot of younger men so I’m not really ready. Don’t have the money either, lol. He’s also told me on more than one occasion that a monkey can do my job. I know better. Like the OP my job is one of a kind and has many facets. And he’s put people with me thinking I need the help and they just can’t seem to master what I do, although I’ve tried very hard to train them. I never take off, never sick, here everyday. In my humble opinion, I’m a very hard, extremely reliable, loyal employee. So, four weeks ago, after he asked me once again when I’m retiring, he cut my pay almost in half. Now, I didn’t make that much money to begin with but now I make just barely over minimum wage. I been here just over 15 years. Richard ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/44 "2014-11-19T19:23:17Z")
> [@RichardKB](#): > > I know this is an old post but I just found it. > > My boss has asked me multiple times when I’m going to retire. I’m 65 soon and haven’t really given it that much thought. I’m healthy, get around as well as a lot of younger men so I’m not really ready. Don’t have the money either, lol. > > He’s also told me on more than one occasion that a monkey can do my job. I know better. Like the OP my job is one of a kind and has many facets. And he’s put people with me thinking I need the help and they just can’t seem to master what I do, although I’ve tried very hard to train them. I never take off, never sick, here everyday. In my humble opinion, I’m a very hard, extremely reliable, loyal employee. So, four weeks ago, after he asked me once again when I’m retiring, he cut my pay almost in half. Now, I didn’t make that much money to begin with but now I make just barely over minimum wage. I been here just over 15 years. > > Richard Sounds to me like you need to talk to an employment lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/45 "2014-11-19T19:27:25Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > Sounds to me like you need to talk to an employment lawyer. No kidding. Sounds like age discrimination. ---
**Author:** ![RichardKB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@RichardKB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichardKB)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/46 "2014-11-19T19:39:36Z")
He’s been very careful not to have witnesses when he says these things though. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/47 "2014-11-19T19:42:53Z")
> [@RichardKB](#): > > He’s been very careful not to have witnesses when he says these things though. There’s still the pay cut. ---
**Author:** ![RichardKB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@RichardKB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichardKB)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/48 "2014-11-19T19:53:05Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > There’s still the pay cut. Yeah, that’s painfully a fact that can’t be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/49 "2014-11-19T21:48:16Z")
> [@RichardKB](#): > > Yeah, that’s painfully a fact that can’t be ignored. No, that’s the fact that _shouldn’t_ be ignored. The one where he deliberately violated the law and in so doing harmed you a lot. File suit this week. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/50 "2014-11-19T22:55:38Z")
IANAL, and certainly not an employment lawyer, but there are lawyers in my firm who practice employment law. Do you have performance evaluations? Were they positive, and have they suddenly turned negative? Have other, documentable negative things happened to you? E-mails? Have other employees received pay cuts, and if so, how old were they? There are ways of getting this info, and a lawyer could help you figure those out or at least figure out what your rights are. And for that matter, I wouldn’t assume that verbal comments that weren’t witnessed by other people are useless, especially if they are corroborated by other information. [Here’s a complaint in an age discrimination suit that was just filed in my general line of work.](http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/newsheadlines/archive/2014/11/12/lawsuit-charges-sex-discrimination-age-discrimination-in-ice-legal-department-vroom-v-johnson.aspx) It may give you some ideas about what kind of info is useful. ---
**Author:** ![RichardKB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@RichardKB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RichardKB)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588/51 "2014-11-20T14:26:13Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > IANAL, and certainly not an employment lawyer, but there are lawyers in my firm who practice employment law. Do you have performance evaluations? Were they positive, and have they suddenly turned negative? Have other, documentable negative things happened to you? E-mails? Have other employees received pay cuts, and if so, how old were they? There are ways of getting this info, and a lawyer could help you figure those out or at least figure out what your rights are. And for that matter, I wouldn’t assume that verbal comments that weren’t witnessed by other people are useless, especially if they are corroborated by other information. > > [Here’s a complaint in an age discrimination suit that was just filed in my general line of work.](http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/immigration/b/newsheadlines/archive/2014/11/12/lawsuit-charges-sex-discrimination-age-discrimination-in-ice-legal-department-vroom-v-johnson.aspx) It may give you some ideas about what kind of info is useful. We have evaluations on a semi regular basis. Pretty much like the rest of the dealership, when they get around to it. Its been a couple of years since we’ve had one. In 15 years my evaluations have always been well above average. Richard [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-your-boss-legally-ask-when-you-plan-to-retire/651588.md?page=2)