Being addressed/addressing others by rank after retirement

I use it where I feel it is appropriate to shows respect, but I don't harp on it.

I work around a lot of retirees that were in my chain before they retired. I use Mr. and their rank interchangeably.
Air Force Regs do not make the use of their rank mandatory, but optional as a sign of respect.

The retiree has earned the rank, so it is never inappropriate to use it UNLESS the circumstance specifically calls for some other form of address or regulations dictate otherwise. Examples: AR 25-50 specifies that retired Soldiers serving as Government civilians only use military rank regarding their personal retirement issues (i.e., not in the workplace). Strictly speaking, while they were in their post-military government roles, Director or Doctor Petraeus or Secretary Shinseki rather than "General," though "General" would certainly have been appropriate if they were in their retired uniform and/or at a function based on their former capacity. While I (having recently retired) never plan to insist on being addressed as "Colonel," I will certainly respond to it as appropriate and (unless/until I take a government civilian or other job that requires me to do otherwise) note it where appropriate in professional and social circles. (In my own case, I could be in situations where I or others would be choosing between "Colonel" or "Doctor" as being more appropriate.)

It should be used by a junior to a senior, but never require outside of active duty. Likewise respect should be shown for the junior, especially retired. Most Marines I know (NOLOAD or no longer on active duty) use certain enlisted ranks as a nickname......e.g. Many people still cal me Gunny and I know a retired First Sergeant we all call Top (and a Master Gunnery Sgt who will always be MasterGuns). I think we generally follow the advice handed us from the Royal Marines. "A senior officer, if he is a gentleman, will never bring it to mind, and the junior, if he is a gentleman, never forgets it". And this courtesy continues life long (unless the receiver says to knock it off)

I have a retired 2 star Marine General on my mail route, he insists I call him by his first name, I do and as two Marines we joke and laugh a lot over past experiences.

It's a nice thng to do, if you know the rank, and it's in the proper setting. I gives the retiree a oment of pride, and is a great conversation opener.

I agree with CPO (Join to see). If a retiree demands that you address them by their rank, no matter the time and place, that person wouldn't hear it come from me from that point moving forward.

Rank means nothing to civilians, and may actually hinder communications. I do use my rank when I communicate with members of Congress or other government officials when discussing military matters. With other veterans, I use the other person's rank as a sign of respect, but don't insist on anyone recognizing my rank.

Somehow this 5 year old question popped up in my feed but to the original posters question, I do use rank for those retired. In most cases with me as an officer its me referring to retired enlisted far more so than other O's..I guess I know more enlisted these days. But why shouldn't I use their title? It doesn't hurt, harm, or bother me in the least. They earned their title after years of service to their country. Me using it is a very easy way to show respect to someone who dedicated that much of their life to protecting the freedoms of others.

Would I insist on anyone using my title once I'm retired, certainly not but I wouldn't mind if they did. :)

It depends on the person and the situation

I refer to older retired Sergeants Major as such out of respect, I feel odd calling guys Bill or Ed when they have always been "Sergeant Major" to me. Same with officers I worked for or with even though none would be offended if I called them by name.
I run into it myself and what I am called pretty much tells what time frame I knew people. To Guys who I had in my Squads and Platoons; I'm Sergeant Saint, Folks who were in the company I'm "Top" and those from the Battalions it's Sergeant Major. I gave up telling them to call me Richard or Rick long ago and am just happy they remember me and take a moment to stop and say hi.

I live in a rural area where 99.9% of people are addressed by their first names. I very seldom make it to a Military Installation but when I do I have to admit that it feels good to be addressed as Sergeant again.