Retirees: Microsoft Has Changed Access to Desktop Office Apps

Posted: 2026-06-08 11:01:34   Expiration: 2026-08-24 11:01:34

Microsoft has updated how the desktop versions of Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) are licensed, and that benefit no longer extends to retiree accounts.

If your installed Office apps have stopped opening or are asking you to sign in repeatedly, this licensing change is the likely cause. This is a decision made by Microsoft, not SIUE, and it affects users at institutions nationwide. ITS is unable to restore the desktop license for retiree accounts.

The good news: you can keep using Office. Free web-based versions and personal subscription options are available, and your existing documents are not deleted.

For an explanation of what changed and your options going forward, please see Microsoft Office (Retirees) - Why Desktop Apps Are No Longer Available.

-- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville: Jeff Price