Retirement Advice please

[Fitzer]

My partner (female) is 64 and thus past retirement age, she continued to work for her employer of thirty years with the agreed intention of reducing to four and then three days a week. Since the beginning of the year she has been working three days a week but they have not reduced her workload as agreed, as she is a conscientious person she has been attempting to get the job done and has essentially been working four days for three days pay. To top it all, a colleague who used to provide material support to enable her to do her job has been made redundant and her job is now untenable. She now wishes to retire, citing the above but without prejudicing any further attempt to seek part-time employment elsewhere (she isn't the sort of person to do nothing all day :-)). Can she just state a desire to retire as soon as possible or should she resign, my suggestion to her is to go for constructive dismissal but she doesn't want the hassle. Any advice gratefully received, thanks.

[factor-fiction]

Is there really a distiction here between resignation and retirement? If she resigns she will be eligible to start drawing her company pension, just as if she retires.
Of course she may be able also to draw her pension without resigning.
Of course the best option would be redundancy if it's available and the terms are reasonable but I assume that's unlikely as there seems to be so much work for her

[Fitzer]

No, redundancy is not being offered, worse luck (mind you they only paid the other guy state minimum!). The difference (hopefully) between resigning and retiring is the length of time to get there, her notice period is three months, we don't know how much notice is required to retire. However, if this level of pressure keeps up then her doctor will sign her off anyway, she's not sleeping or eating properly as it is.

[ethandron]

i'm absolutely no expert but i can't see why there would be a difference in the period of notice required for retirement or resignation.