Retirement Terminology

noun a gesture of respect or acknowledgment made by bending the body forward

verb to withdraw or resign from a situation or activity gracefully

• After much consideration, he decided to bow out of the competition.
• She's going to bow out of the project because it's taking up too much of her time.
• I'm going to bow out of this party early, I'm not feeling it tonight.
• It's time for him to bow out gracefully and retire from the spotlight.

adjective A title given to a retired professor or other professional as an honor.

• Dr. Smith is now emeritus professor of History at the university.
• After retiring, Professor Johnson became an emeritus faculty member.
• My grandpa is the coolest emeritus teacher at his old school.
• The retired CEO still holds emeritus status in the company's board meetings.

verb to retire someone from work and pay them a pension

• The company decided to pension off several long-time employees as part of their cost-cutting measures.
• They finally pensioned off that old guy who never did any work around here.
• They were planning to pension off the dead weight in the office.
• It's time to pension off that outdated technology and upgrade to something more modern.

verb to retire or become ineligible for active duty due to age or infirmity

• Employees are encouraged to superannuate once they reach the retirement age.
• Many people choose to superannuate once they hit a certain age.
• Some folks just want to superannuate and enjoy their golden years.
• Ideas that are outdated and no longer relevant should superannuate in order to make room for new innovations.