"will have retired" vs "will have been retiring"

Question

"will have retired" vs "will have been retiring"

Both phrases are grammatically correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Will have retired' is used to talk about someone completing their career and no longer working, while 'will have been retiring' is used to talk about the ongoing process of retiring leading up to a future point. They are not directly comparable as they convey different meanings.

Last Updated: March 19, 2024

This phrase is used to talk about someone who will have stopped working in the future, after a certain period of time.

Examples:

By the time I turn 65, I will have retired.
She will have retired by the end of the year.
In five years, he will have retired from his job.
They will have retired after working for 40 years.
When he reaches 70, he will have retired for a decade.

Alternatives:

will retire
will be retired
will stop working
will have left the workforce
will have ended their career

This phrase is used to talk about the continuous action of retiring over a period of time, with the focus on the process rather than the completion.

Examples:

By next year, she will have been retiring for five years.
He will have been retiring since he turned 60.
They will have been retiring gradually over the past decade.
In 10 years, she will have been retiring for a long time.
By the time he reaches 70, he will have been retiring for a while.

Alternatives:

will be in the process of retiring
will have been in the retirement phase
will have been transitioning into retirement
will have been preparing for retirement
will have been moving towards retirement

Answer 1

will have retired

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to indicate someone completing their career and no longer working.

Answer 2

will have been retiring

This phrase is correct and used to describe the ongoing process of retiring leading up to a future point.

"will have retired" vs "will have been retiring"

will have retired

will have been retiring

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