Retirement

Retirement was the action of ceasing to work in a professional capacity or the state of having done so.

The Doctor

The Sixth Doctor decided to retire from his adventures when he believed he was destined to become the Valeyard, until the Fates told him that becoming the Valeyard was but one possible future, reinvigorating the Doctor's desire to roam the universe again. (PROSE: The Spindle of Necessity ^[+]Loading...["The Spindle of Necessity (short story)"])

In a possible future for the Eighth Doctor, (PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows ^[+]Loading...["The Tomorrow Windows (novel)"]) the Doctor retired on his home planet of Gallifrey before aliens invaded, and most of the Time Lords retreated into the Matrix before the Doctor and the Master sent the aliens "packing". The Doctor's love, however, was "truly dead", whilst the Time Lords sent the Ninth Doctor off to sort the most dangerous problems in the universe. (PROSE: Doctor Who - The Ninth Doctor ^[+]Loading...["Doctor Who - The Ninth Doctor (short story)"])

Following the loss of Amy Pond and Rory Williams (TV: The Angels Take Manhattan ^[+]Loading...["The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)"]) and narrowly averting disaster after being manipulated by the Daleks, (PROSE: The Dalek Generation ^[+]Loading...["The Dalek Generation (novel)"]) the Eleventh Doctor retired from his travels to Victorian London, secluding himself in his TARDIS for a lengthy period of time. (TV: The Great Detective ^[+]Loading...["The Great Detective (TV story)"]) He eventually returned to action to investigate the mystery of Clara Oswin Oswald. (TV: The Snowmen ^[+]Loading...["The Snowmen (TV story)"])

Upon seeing the burnt and ruined Trenzalore, where he was fated to die, the Eleventh Doctor sardonically joked that he had hoped to one day retire and take up a quiet hobby. (TV: The Name of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...["The Name of the Doctor (TV story)"]) When he later visited the National Gallery, he again voiced this hope, musing that he could become the museum's curator. Immediately after, he met the Curator himself, who implied that he was a future incarnation of the Doctor. (TV: The Day of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...["The Day of the Doctor (TV story)"])

The Twelfth Doctor promised Nardole he would semi-retire from leaving Earth to guard the Vault at St Luke's University. Upon meeting Bill Potts though, he struggled to keep this promise. (TV: The Pilot ^[+]Loading...["The Pilot (TV story)"]) He eventually broke it completely. (TV: Oxygen ^[+]Loading...["Oxygen (TV story)"], World Enough and Time ^[+]Loading...["World Enough and Time (TV story)"])

The Fourteenth Doctor, coming to terms with admitting his mental decline and emotional trauma, and having seen how his successor emerged from his bi-generation a more happy and well adjusted person, would retire on Earth with the Noble family and Melanie Bush on the suggestion of the Fifteenth Doctor. By deciding to retire, the Doctor created a bootstrap paradox with it being acknowledged that the Doctor had effectively completed rehab "out of order". (TV: The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

By one account of the Unbound Doctor's life, he eventually returned to Hong Kong and grew to enjoy his exile as a peaceful retirement. (AUDIO: The 100 Days of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...["The 100 Days of the Doctor (audio story)"])

Humans

In 1964, Rachel Jensen retired to raise begonias and write her memoirs, ending her career in her early forties. (PROSE: Remembrance of the Daleks ^[+]Loading...["Remembrance of the Daleks (novelisation)"], Who Killed Kennedy ^[+]Loading...["Who Killed Kennedy (novel)"]) However, she later came out of retirement. (AUDIO: Threshold ^[+]Loading...["Threshold (audio story)"])

In 1976, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart retired from UNIT and became a mathematics teacher at Brendon Public School. (TV: Mawdryn Undead ^[+]Loading...["Mawdryn Undead (TV story)"])

As the oldest-serving staff member by several centuries, Jack Harkness' Torchwood pension would be massive, should he ever retire. (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive ^[+]Loading...["The Torchwood Archive (audio story)"])

Jeremiah O'Kane retired as director of Hawthorne and left his successor, Colin Dove, with a lifetime supply of tea. (HOMEVID: The Zero Imperative ^[+]Loading...["The Zero Imperative (home video)"])

Whittaker was headmaster of Winterborne School for decades before the governors persuaded him to retire, replacing him with the younger Gavin Purcell. (HOMEVID: The Devil of Winterborne ^[+]Loading...["The Devil of Winterborne (home video)"])

Dave Cooke retired as a cleaner at Torchwood Tower and was given a cake and engraved pen by Yvonne Hartman. (AUDIO: Locker 15 ^[+]Loading...["Locker 15 (audio story)"])

Tommy Pierce wished to retire after fifty years of working at Torchwood One. However, Yvonne told him that he had agreed to work at Torchwood for life. (AUDIO: Retirement Plan ^[+]Loading...["Retirement Plan (audio story)"])

Anne Hartman retired from the Land Registry due to her increased workload and depression. She moved to a small cottage in Shropshire. (AUDIO: The Rockery ^[+]Loading...["The Rockery (audio story)"])

Graham O'Brien was a bus driver, but had retired prior to becoming a companion of the Thirteenth Doctor. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth ^[+]Loading...["The Woman Who Fell to Earth (TV story)"], Rosa ^[+]Loading...["Rosa (TV story)"])

In 2066, shortly after Herbert Bittle retired from being a postman, he bit a dog as revenge for the years of being bitten by dogs. Bittle was to appear in court roughly a week later charged with cruelty to animals. (PROSE: Solar Streak A.O.K. ^[+]Loading...["Solar Streak A.O.K. (short story)"])

In the Unbound Universe, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart was disgraced and removed from UNIT. Though he'd hoped to settle in New Zealand, he retired to Hong Kong and managed the Little England pub. (AUDIO: Sympathy for the Devil ^[+]Loading...["Sympathy for the Devil (audio story)"]) By one account, the Doctor eventually returned him to Hong Kong and joined him in retirement. (AUDIO: The 100 Days of the Doctor ^[+]Loading...["The 100 Days of the Doctor (audio story)"]) By another, Alistair had spent some time as the Doctor's companion and chose to retire on Skaro following the Quatch invasion, acting as a mediator for the Thals and Daleks. (AUDIO: Masters of War ^[+]Loading...["Masters of War (audio story)"])

Other species

Prentice retired from adventuring to Keelmouth in 1933. (PROSE: Bide-a-Wee ^[+]Loading...["Bide-a-Wee (short story)"])