I will be 60 next July and have been teaching at a further education college for more than 20 years. This means I will be eligible to retire and claim mypension, but I don’t have to.
There are many changes taking place at the college and it is looking at merging with other institutions. The job has becomestressful, plus I have diabetes.
To claim my pension from July 2017 I have to give between six weeks’ and six months’ notice – which means decision time is looming.
I have no concrete plans as to what to do after retirement, but I know I would want to do something. Colleagues say I should just reduce my teaching hours and carry on in the same job.
I want to change to a lower non-teaching and less demanding role in my present college, perhaps as a teaching or learning support tutor.
I don’t know whether I should approach my head or HR to discuss my future now, as I worry this may put doubts in their mind about my competence and commitment as a teacher – if the only choice is to carry on as I am – and my fitness.
Or should I just give in my notice and plan something new on retirement? If so, what is my best plan?
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
