Learning from our retirement experiences: timing and preparation
Photo credit: Patricia Maurice
Like any other transition in life, retirement requires good navigation. Here, we offer some of our own experiences and advice to help you prepare for a smooth and effective retirement.
By Janet G. Hering and Patricia A. Maurice
4 March 2025, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14922141
Janet Hering retired as the Director of the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) and her professorships at the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich and Lausanne at the end of 2022. Around 2016, Patricia Maurice retired from her professorship at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA), where she had held a number of leadership positions. Here, we each discuss our retirement experiences from these two vastly different systems, comment on our retirement timing and preparation, and provide a few recommendations. This will serve as backdrop for a companion post on our experiences in the early years of retirement.
How, when, and where we retired
Janet: I retired from a public institution in the Swiss system, which has mandatory age-based retirement. Although my executive position would have entitled me to request an extension, I decided not to pursue this. When I retired, I had served four terms, a total of 16 years, as Eawag’s Director. I felt that it was time for Eawag to have new ideas and direction coming from the top. I was proud of what I had accomplished, and I felt that I was leaving Eawag in good shape for its future.
In some regards, the hardest thing was having to explain to friends and colleagues in the US that I was comfortable with mandatory retirement and that I was not interested in finding another position. I think it’s important to recognize that mandatory retirement creates opportunities for younger colleagues. In the absence of mandatory retirement, workplace demographics can become badly skewed. To be honest, I think it’s easier not to have to decide when to retire – the specific retirement age is less important than that there is a retirement age.
Patricia: Since I retired from a private Catholic institution in the US, there was no mandatory retirement age and my university set many of its own retirement policies. My husband, also a professor in the college, is considerably older so I always assumed I would retire at about 60 to allow us to enjoy quality time together. I actually retired a bit earlier than planned because of serious health considerations for myself and my family at the time. There’s an old adage in the US that you should retire when you’ve had enough (aggravation) and you have enough (financially). After years of breaking new ground as the first or only woman, I had gone through plenty of aggravation. I also had enough retirement savings and pension due to excellent long-term financial planning.
I was fortunate to be promoted to emerita, so I continue to enjoy full access to the university library facilities, conference rooms, etc. This allows me to continue being active in my field. My department provided teaching release and sabbatical so I could spend time finishing up projects, including writing a bunch of papers that were important to get out.
Retirement planning and preparation
Janet: Knowing well in advance when I would retire, I expected to be well prepared. I was only partly successful with this, but I did start cleaning out my office early. Each week, I announced that colleagues could pick up free books outside my office (see photo below) and that they could say hello if I was not talking with someone else. I met quite a few junior colleagues that way, which was fun.
Since I retired on December 31, I could take advantage of the winter holidays to smooth my transition. I also organized a 3-week academic stay in the US (at Arizona State University) for January. This had the advantage of giving me a new (transitional) academic community to engage with just after my retirement.
Fortunately, the Swiss pension system for federal employees is excellent and I had support within my institution to get the paperwork done. I also started my application for Swiss citizenship during my last year at work. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about living in Zurich without my job, but I’ve been enjoying it for the 2 years since I retired.
In my retirement, I have stayed engaged with some academic pursuits. Farewell lectures are a tradition in Switzerland, and I gave one in Zurich [1] and another in Lausanne. My main focus has been on supporting women in STEMM academics. I feel that my professional experience allows me to make a meaningful contribution on this topic, as I described in a previous post [2]. This blog series has provided a forum for me to distill some of my past experience and I enjoy working on it with Patricia (and our interviewees and guest authors).
Janet’s book give away shelf.
Patricia: I retired on my own terms and in a manner that hopefully left everyone in good circumstances. My last few graduate students were excellent, and they have great careers. Although my department had a poor track record for female faculty, we finally had another tenured woman in the department and several junior women who were on track for success. As a senior female leader in STEMM, I have stuck out my elbows to help more junior women and continue to mentor women even more effectively. Prior to retiring, I started some multi-year external projects such as becoming an editor-in-chief of Wiley’s Encyclopedia of Water and joining an international team of coauthors for a new textbook. I’ve also started work on a second edition of my single-author textbook. I continue serving on editorial and external advisory boards. A few years before retiring, I founded a science research group at a local high school and have helped shepherd many budding scientists through science and engineering competitions. I began writing children’s books, some of which focus on science. Because of these activities (plus this blog!), I consider myself only semi-retired.
I started packing up my offices and labs well in advance and found good homes for lab equipment, samples collected in the field, microbial lines, many technical books, etc. My college asked me to present a ‘last lecture’ which presented an opportunity to highlight how our diverse department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences fit together uniquely well. I spoke at my department’s graduation ceremony and left the students and their families smiling.
My husband and I had planned our finances carefully, paying close attention to changes in retirement policies when we moved from a public to a private institution and living frugally. I got a signed letter from the university administration outlining responsibilities and expectations for my retirement, which proved helpful following subsequent administrative and policy changes. We keep careful tabs on changes to our pensions and the US social security system (e.g., there was a major change termed the Social Security Fairness Act in 2025 [3]).
Admittedly, I feel a bit guilty at times, but I’m glad I retired when I did. My health has improved greatly, I’ve been able to take care of my family, and my husband and I have enjoyed time together.
A few practical considerations in retirement planning and preparation
It’s important to pay close attention to your institution’s retirement policies, especially whenever you move or change jobs. You should start saving and financial planning for retirement early. Don’t wait until you reach your 50s or 60s. Take advantage of the many books and other resources on retirement financial planning. If you have negotiated a retirement agreement with your employer, make sure you have a signed copy of the written agreement and keep all official retirement documents.
Make sure to take care of your health and get routine checkups and tests like mammograms. Don’t assume, especially as you age, that you will stay healthy and can put off dealing with medical issues. If you have a partner or spouse, communicate well before, during, and after the retirement process. Be prepared for changes in your relationship upon retirement.
Your legacy for your institution and for STEMM
As your retirement approaches, try to be generous to your colleagues. Your contributions to teaching, administration, etc. can be especially helpful in reducing the demands on more junior faculty. Your seniority offers a great opportunity for you to help others, especially young women, and to improve the system for everyone. Make sure your labs and offices are in as good order as possible before you retire. If you are retiring from an administrative or leadership position, try to pass along your accumulated knowledge (or at least organize your files) for your successor.
You may want to line up some STEMM activities for immediately after retirement. This can help your transition and allow you to give back to society. You may have the opportunity to ‘take a bow’ at a farewell lecture at your institution or at a professional meeting. If you have this chance, enjoy it and let it also be a networking event for your present and former colleagues.
Finally, as retirees ourselves, we encourage you to stay positive about retirement. For a highly accomplished academic, the path to retirement can seem a bit frightening. With proper planning and the right mindset, it will open many exciting new doors for you to explore.
Questions for Further Thought:
· Do you know the retirement procedures within your organization?
· Have you planned the timing of your retirement?
· Have you started preparing your retirement transition?
· Are you looking forward to retirement? If not, make some plans!
References and links:
[1] A video recording of my lecture on “Actionable Research for the Sustainable Development Goals” is available at: https://video.ethz.ch/speakers/lecture/e316740c-058a-492a-be0f-ecb553d332e5.html
[2] https://www.epistimi.org/blog/the-joys-of-being-a-senior-woman-leader
[3] https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/social-security-fairness-act.html