What Happens to Retiring Real Estate Agents?

As the broker of a successful real estate company for 20 years one of my biggest challenges was how to treat my agents who retired from the business.  Most of these agents simply fade away leaving behind their client base.  Occasionally they would refer a former client to one of the active agents in the office.  Most often they would simply have a former client just call their former office for assistance.  It always concerned me that this agent had spent years developing a loyal following.  This same agent spent years nuturing a repeat and referral network of clients. I know that a few companies have tried to implement some sort of program to reward these retiring agents for their years of loyalty to the company.  However, more often than not, most of these attempts failed over time because of the lack of time and staffing to administer the program.  It does not have to be this way for the retiring agent. I am very pleased that I am part of company today that assists these agents in establishing a retirement income for years to come.  I only wish something like this was available to me during my years of ownership.  All broker/owners should assess what they do to insure that the client base from their retiring agents does not just fade away.