Are big retirement gifts from employers a thing?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

When I see people never missing work or school all I think about is how often they came in sick and got their customers, classmates, or co-workers sick. I don't think never missing work is anything to celebrate.

Maybe IDK there are people on this Board who advise they never get sick.

You'd have to also think about shifts as I would take it never missing work as scheduled. Rarely are people working 365 days in a year solid. I wouldn't immediately leap to a person being a germ fest but you know you do you I guess.

 

[_19disnA]

For every 5 yrs of service, our company gives out 'service awards' they pay for. The employee gets a catalog that allows them to choose from a variety of items. Our company doesn't give out any retirement awards regardless of your job and/or years with the company. I would assume all of these practices are company-specific so without knowing what the person actually did and practices of Burger King, I don't find anything to be 'outraged' about. If, for example, standard practice @ BK is to NOT give out retirement awards, then why are people upset?

Hard to imagine someone can work at a company for 28 yrs and not know what the retirement practices are. Didn't they ever talk with co-workers or notice when someone else retired?

 

[amcnj]

All I remember was something like a luncheon or dinner, paid for by charging attendees, and maybe a collection taken for a gift.

 

[tvguy]

When I see people never missing work or school all I think about is how often they came in sick and got their customers, classmates, or co-workers sick. I don't think never missing work is anything to celebrate.

We were surprised when our son graduated from high school and got a "rope" to wear on his graduation gown for not missing a single day in 4 years. He never went to school sick, but somehow managed to only get sick on Friday afternoons and was recovered by Sunday night.
My wife worked days and I worked graveyard shift so it was easy for us to schedule regular Doctor and Dentist appointments for our kids around school hours or on days school wasn't in session so no school missed there. And the Orthodondist was open at 6 am one day a week, and stayed open until 6 pm one day a week because he was a big believer in kids not missing school.

 

[kymom99]

I believe it’s more sad that when my MIL died, not one person from my husbands work came to the funeral and he got one card from one of his supervisors. When my FIL died, my husband worked at a different place and a carload of people from his work came, carrying a fruit tray and some other contributions. He also got a plant from them. It meant so much to him. Both funerals were in the daytime so I understand not everyone could come but a couple people could have come to pay their respects.

 

[Cheburashka]

I just saw something on Facebook where the employee left Burger King after 28 years and got a thrown together gift bag worth about 20 bucks. People are all up in arms and David Spade sent the man money. I think it's great to be acknowledged, however that just doesn't seem abnormal to me. I'm guessing BK might not even have a retirement gift policy at the store level and that store has probably never run into that before. I would have guessed maybe a plaque?

I'm surprised by the hype and the vitriolic messages. (Though I guess I shouldn't be!) From my employer I got a clock probably worth about $20 (and my coworkers gave me a plant and made treats for a brief gathering for those of us retiring the end of that school year.) It was nice. DH got a framed picture from his employer (and his coworkers signed the mat and bought a cake.) Also nice, and the company part was probably about $50. Maybe my expectations are skewed because we both had government funded employers.

So, what's your experience? Do employers give more than token gifts to retirees? (I think coworkers doing something or your family/friends throwing a party is different, I'm talking about employer funded.)

I'm a teacher and we get nothing. On the contrary, at my school we're expected to pitch in to buy gift cards for administrators each year.

 

[TCRAIG]

After 36 years of working for a major bank - I got nuttin’

 

[bobbiwoz]

DH got a very nice mantel clock when he retired. It plays the Westminster chimes, and is very nice. He work for a private company in auto parts.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I think it's more common for companies to give gifts in honor of years of service rather than retirement. The purpose is to reward employees for longevity and encourage them to stay instead of hopping to a new company after a few years. One of my previous employers gave watches after 5 years. They became kind of a status symbol for those who had them. Newer employees would ask how we got the watches and we would tell them you get one after 5 years. It became a little incentive for them to stay. DH's company had a similar incentive program. Everyone got a personalized bomber jacket after 5 years with the company logo on the back. They were really cool jackets and the newer employees couldn't wait until they qualified to get one. Companies are less apt to reward retirees since it really does nothing for employee retention or morale. They might get a cake and a little send-off, but that's about it. Sad but true!

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

I don’t know if my company gives gifts at retirement (never thought to ask anyone retiring).

They did give me a pair of diamond earrings at my 20 year anniversary that are valued about $500.

 

[tvguy]

I think it's more common for companies to give gifts in honor of years of service rather than retirement. The purpose is to reward employees for longevity and encourage them to stay instead of hopping to a new company after a few years. One of my previous employers gave watches after 5 years. They became kind of a status symbol for those who had them. Newer employees would ask how we got the watches and we would tell them you get one after 5 years. It became a little incentive for them to stay. DH's company had a similar incentive program. Everyone got a personalized bomber jacket after 5 years with the company logo on the back. They were really cool jackets and the newer employees couldn't wait until they qualified to get one. Companies are less apt to reward retirees since it really does nothing for employee retention or morale. They might get a cake and a little send-off, but that's about it. Sad but true!

I agree but that is very old school. A lot of companies now don't want people hanging around. The longer you stay, the more you make, you bump up in the number of weeks of vacation* you get, and as you age, you require more medical treatments that cost the company money.
My last employer was spun off from another corporation in 2015. Since then the norm is for someone to work there 2 years and move on, which really isn't uncommon in broadcasting.
*My last corporation gave 2 weeks vacation until you worked there 5 years, then 3 weeks until 10 years, then 4 weeks, then at 30 years you got 5 weeks. I have never seen a company with such a large gap until the last step up in vacation.

 

[disykat]

I guess David Spade could be sending lots of us money! I wonder about the bigger issue though of any kind of retirement planning help given to fast food employees who stay at entry level positions. Do they have retirement fund matching programs, etc to help them save? Scary thoughts. Not getting a retirement gift of any significant value was the least of our worries!

 

[Karin1984]

It depends on what you consider big. I've received a birthday gift this year, worth 70 euro. 15 from the company, the rest gathered by colleagues. Not retirement, but is that already considered big? To me it was.

In the Netherlands we also had a similar story recently, a mailwoman who had been with the company for decades, got a box of chocolates in her mailbox at home because the manager was on holiday. I think with these things it's not the gift itself, but how it's presented. If you felt appreciated as an employee and you also feel appreciated by the words or gestures from your company when you retire, the size of the gift probably is not that relevant.

 

[nancipants]

I agree but that is very old school. A lot of companies now don't want people hanging around. The longer you stay, the more you make, you bump up in the number of weeks of vacation* you get, and as you age, you require more medical treatments that cost the company money.
My last employer was spun off from another corporation in 2015. Since then the norm is for someone to work there 2 years and move on, which really isn't uncommon in broadcasting.
*My last corporation gave 2 weeks vacation until you worked there 5 years, then 3 weeks until 10 years, then 4 weeks, then at 30 years you got 5 weeks. I have never seen a company with such a large gap until the last step up in vacation.

Depends on the industry/company. My last employer was super upset when I left after 11 years. My new employer (different industry) offers unlimited PTO and I get to work from home permanently.

A lot of companies are moving to unlimited PTO because studies have shown people actually take less time off that way--and there's less time accrued that you then need to pay out when someone leaves.

 

[kanerf]

The days of the Gold watch are long gone. One company I worked at gave you service pins for every 5 years of service. They were nice and got progressively nicer the longer you stayed. They had small (real) gemstones in them. I left after 20 years and my last pin had two small diamonds in it.

 

[soccerdad72]

We get the 5 year catalog gifts and we used to have a certain amount (like $250) to spend on a retirement party for an employee who is retiring. Basically, a cake, some apps and punch in a conference room. Last I've checked, those parties have mostly gone away post-Covid.

 

[tzolkin]

I would never expect anything for retiring. I know small gifts or parties happen, but I think that's completely dependent on the company and the owner whether that's done or not. I have never really known anyone who was given money for retiring. I'm of the mindset that if I'm doing excellent work, I would prefer to receive a bonus now than to wait until I retire to be rewarded financially for my years of service.

When I see people never missing work or school all I think about is how often they came in sick and got their customers, classmates, or co-workers sick. I don't think never missing work is anything to celebrate.

I agree. Many jobs have consequences for calling in sick that force their employees to work. I always think there would likely be less illness going around their workplace if people did not come in while they were sick and spread it to everyone.

We were surprised when our son graduated from high school and got a "rope" to wear on his graduation gown for not missing a single day in 4 years. He never went to school sick, but somehow managed to only get sick on Friday afternoons and was recovered by Sunday night.
My wife worked days and I worked graveyard shift so it was easy for us to schedule regular Doctor and Dentist appointments for our kids around school hours or on days school wasn't in session so no school missed there. And the Orthodondist was open at 6 am one day a week, and stayed open until 6 pm one day a week because he was a big believer in kids not missing school.

That's great that he never missed school, but I think what the other poster was asking is do you believe that's worth celebrating or rewarding him for? If you were surprised that he hadn't missed any school, then it likely wasn't a goal that he was working hard toward achieving.

I have been to award ceremonies where speeches were given about kids that had perfect attendance and they went down the list of all the times that the kid was adamant that they had to at least make it to part of the day even when they had broken a bone or were very ill so that they wouldn't ruin their perfect attendance. There is definitely a belief in our culture that going to work when you are sick or injured is a sign of strength and good character. Reinforcing that value is the goal of these types of awards. If you were never absent by random chance, then it's not really an accomplishment worthy of being rewarded for. I think the whole point is to celebrate the fact that you still managed to make it to school/work despite being sick/injured/having familiy issues.

 

[tvguy]

That's great that he never missed school, but I think what the other poster was asking is do you believe that's worth celebrating or rewarding him for? If you were surprised that he hadn't missed any school, then it likely wasn't a goal that he was working hard toward achieving.

Had to idea. But to be honest, not missing school for medical/dental/appointments was a goal and to be honest, with all the various school breaks and days off, it wasn't even an issue to schedule those regular appointments around school time.

 

[mrodgers]

I think it's more common for companies to give gifts in honor of years of service rather than retirement. The purpose is to reward employees for longevity and encourage them to stay instead of hopping to a new company after a few years. One of my previous employers gave watches after 5 years. They became kind of a status symbol for those who had them. Newer employees would ask how we got the watches and we would tell them you get one after 5 years. It became a little incentive for them to stay. DH's company had a similar incentive program. Everyone got a personalized bomber jacket after 5 years with the company logo on the back. They were really cool jackets and the newer employees couldn't wait until they qualified to get one. Companies are less apt to reward retirees since it really does nothing for employee retention or morale. They might get a cake and a little send-off, but that's about it. Sad but true!

I do get this, 5 year anniversary gifts. I'm going to make dinner tonight out on my 25 year $500 Weber grill.

Previous years I didn't select anything. It wasn't until the 20 year that anything was worth dealing with that you didn't have to throw away after it broke. I got a $400 JVC action camera for my 20. 5, 10, and 15 year was all off brand junk, which I did select something for the 5 year and threw it away 2 weeks later when it was broken.

Also we get a selection in a catalog for X number of years of perfect attendance. I didn't get anything for that either as it would just be something to toss in the landfill in a few weeks.

 

[tvguy]

Depends on the industry/company. My last employer was super upset when I left after 11 years. My new employer (different industry) offers unlimited PTO and I get to work from home permanently.

A lot of companies are moving to unlimited PTO because studies have shown people actually take less time off that way--and there's less time accrued that you then need to pay out when someone leaves.

My former employer switched to PTO about 4 years ago. However, I am in California so they have to pay you out when you leave. It is illegal to have a "use it or lose it" policy here. And that was a big issue when they went to PTO. Company has 42 locations, two in California, and outside California that is the policy, use it or lose it. They spent a year with Labor lawyers trying to get around the California law but threw in the towel. We have 12 pages in the employee handbook that cover the two California locations since some other corporate policies are illegal here.