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Important: Agrilife-Supported Accounts
If you are retiring from the College of Agriculture, Agrilife Research, Agrilife Extension Service, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, or another group supported by Agrilife IT, please read this section carefully.
Unlike other Texas A&M retirees, you will lose your Agrilife email account and access immediately upon retirement. Your email account will be deleted, and any messages will be permanently removed unless you take action before your retirement date.
If you have email messages or attachments you need to keep after retirement, you must export your email before your last day of employment. See the section Before You Retire: Important Actions for Agrilife Employees for detailed instructions.
Overview
Congratulations on your retirement from Texas A&M University. The good news is that you retain access to your email account for life. Your NetID remains active, and you can continue to use your email and other computing services just as you did while employed.
This guide walks you through everything you need to know to keep your email active, access it after retirement, and manage your account settings. Most retirees do not need to take any action—your email is automatically preserved. However, if you are retiring from an Agrilife-supported department, special steps apply.
Information About Your Email
Understanding Your Email Account Type
Texas A&M provides email through two platforms: TAMU Gmail and TAMU Exchange. During your employment, you used one of these two systems. Upon retirement, you retain whichever system you were using.
TAMU Gmail is Google's email service. If you had a Gmail account while working at Texas A&M, you keep it after retirement.
TAMU Exchange is Microsoft's email service. If you had an Exchange account while working at Texas A&M, you keep it after retirement. Note that your Exchange storage is limited to a maximum of 50 gigabytes after retirement.
If you are unsure which email system you used, check the email address you currently use to send and receive messages. Addresses ending in email.tamu.edu are using TAMU Gmail, and addresses ending in exchange.tamu.edu are using TAMU Exchange. You can also log in to the Outlook Web App with your NetID and password. If there is email in that portal, you are using TAMU Exchange. If there isn't, you are likely using TAMU Gmail.
What Happens to Your Email Upon Retirement
Your email account and all its contents remain available. No messages are removed, and no data is deleted as part of the retirement process. All your historical email, contacts, and calendar information remain accessible to you.
Exception: If you are retiring from an Agrilife-supported department, your Agrilife email account will be deleted immediately upon retirement. See Important: Agrilife-Supported Accounts at the top of this guide.
No Action Required for Most Retirees
If you are retiring from a non-Agrilife department, you do not need to take any steps to keep your email. Your account will remain active automatically. You can continue to use your email address and log in with the same credentials you used while employed.
Your email is ready for you to use immediately after your retirement date.
Special Instructions for Agrilife Employees
If you are retiring from the College of Agriculture, Agrilife Research, Agrilife Extension Service, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, or another Agrilife-supported group, your Agrilife email account will be deleted immediately upon retirement. You must take action before your retirement date to preserve any email messages you wish to keep.
Go to the section Before You Retire: Important Actions for Agrilife Employees for step-by-step export instructions.
Accessing Your Email After Retirement
After retirement, you access your email using the same login credentials and portals you used while employed. Your NetID and password remain active for life.
Accessing TAMU Gmail
If you retired with a TAMU Gmail account, log in as follows:
- Open a web browser and navigate to google.tamu.edu.
- Enter your Texas A&M email address (in the format your-netid@tamu.edu).
- Enter your NetID password.
- You now have access to your Gmail account and all its messages, contacts, and calendar information.
Accessing TAMU Exchange
If you retired with a TAMU Exchange account, log in as follows:
- Open a web browser and navigate to outlook.office.com.
- Enter your NetID and password.
- You now have access to your Exchange mailbox, including your messages, contacts, and calendar.
Remember that your Exchange storage is limited to 50 gigabytes after retirement. If you are approaching this limit, consider archiving or deleting older messages.
Choosing Between Gmail and Exchange
After retirement, you may switch your email platform, but the direction matters. If you have been using TAMU Exchange, you can switch to TAMU Gmail. However, if you are using TAMU Gmail, you cannot switch to Exchange.
To learn more about the differences between Gmail and Exchange, and to see step-by-step instructions for switching from Exchange to Gmail, visit the Gateway NetID tamu.edu Delivery Settings documentation.
Before You Retire: Important Actions for Agrilife Employees
If you are retiring from an Agrilife-supported department, your Agrilife email account will be deleted when your employment ends. To preserve any email, documents, or attachments you wish to keep, you must export your email before your last day of work.
Do this as soon as possible after you learn your retirement date. Do not wait until your final day.
Step 1: Determine Your Email Platform
First, confirm whether you are using TAMU Gmail or TAMU Exchange. Log in to your Agrilife email account and note which system you are using.
Step 2: Export Your Email
Export your email messages and save them to your personal computer or external storage device. The method depends on your email platform.
If you use TAMU Gmail:
- Open a web browser and navigate to google.tamu.edu.
- Log in with your Agrilife email address and NetID password.
- Click the Settings gear icon in the top right corner.
- Select See all settings.
- Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
- Enable IMAP.
- Use an email client such as Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, or Mozilla Thunderbird to download and save your messages locally.
If you use TAMU Exchange:
- Open a web browser and navigate to outlook.office.com.
- Log in with your Agrilife NetID and password.
- Click the Settings gear icon.
- Select Mail > Message rules or use the export function if available.
- Alternatively, open Microsoft Outlook on your personal computer, add your Agrilife email account, and download your messages locally.
If you are unsure how to export your email or need assistance, contact your local IT support personnel before your retirement date.
Forwarding Your Email
You can set up your Texas A&M email to automatically forward incoming messages to another email account, such as a personal Gmail or Outlook.com address. This is useful if you prefer to receive your retirement email in one central location. Complete instructions on this process are available in our Gateway documentation. A summary process is described here.
To Set Up Email Forwarding:
- Open a web browser and navigate to gateway.tamu.edu.
- Log in with your NetID and password.
- Locate the email forwarding settings (the exact location depends on your email platform).
- Enter the email address where you want your messages forwarded.
- Save your changes.
From this point forward, all email sent to your @tamu.edu address will automatically be forwarded to the external email account you specified. Your original messages also remain in your Texas A&M email account.
Wireless Access
In addition to email, you retain access to on-campus wireless networks as a retiree. If you visit the Texas A&M campus and need to connect to WiFi, your existing credentials work after retirement.
For setup instructions and troubleshooting, visit the TAMU WiFi Information knowledge base article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my email address change after retirement?
No. Your email address remains the same. If your address is your-netid@tamu.edu, it will continue to be your-netid@tamu.edu after retirement.
Can I access my email from my phone or tablet?
Yes. Download the Gmail app or Outlook app (depending on your email platform) to your mobile device. Log in with your NetID and password, and you have full access to your email, contacts, and calendar on the go.
What if I forget my NetID password?
You can reset your password using the Texas A&M password reset portal. Navigate to gateway.tamu.edu/password-reset/ and follow the instructions. Your NetID remains active after retirement, so password resets work the same way they did while employed.
Can I access other Texas A&M services after retirement?
Yes. In addition to email, you retain access to Google Workspace (including Docs, Sheets, and Drive), Microsoft 365 online web applications (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and Teams - local desktop applications are not available), and on-campus wireless internet. Some services may be limited compared to active employees, but core productivity and communication tools remain available.
What happens to my calendar and contacts?
Your calendar, contacts, and all other data in your email account are preserved. You access them the same way you did while employed.
Can I change my email forwarding settings after retirement?
Yes. You can update your forwarding settings at any time by logging in to gateway.tamu.edu and adjusting your preferences.
Can I switch from Exchange to Gmail after retirement?
Yes. If you retired with a TAMU Exchange account, you can switch to TAMU Gmail after retirement. However, if you retired with TAMU Gmail, you cannot switch to Exchange. For step-by-step instructions on changing your email delivery settings, visit the Gateway NetID tamu.edu Delivery Settings documentation.
Your past email will not transfer from TAMU Exchange to TAMU Gmail. You will need to export past email using the same process described in the section Before You Retire: Important Actions for Agrilife Employees.
What if I retire from an Agrilife-supported department? Do I lose access to everything?
You lose access only to your Agrilife email account and any Agrilife-specific services. Your main Texas A&M email (if you have one), your NetID, and other university-wide services remain active. However, if your only email was an Agrilife email account, you must export it before retirement to preserve your messages. See Important: Agrilife-Supported Accounts for details.
Need Help?
If you have questions about your email or other retirement services, contact your local IT support personnel. They can provide guidance specific to your department and help you troubleshoot any issues you encounter.
For general questions about Texas A&M computing services available to retirees, you can also contact Help Desk Central: