After retiring, sister palace maids could choose to be honorably supported within the palace, or they could opt to leave the palace. Not only did they retain their rank, but also received a stipulated amount of silver every month until their death; from time to time, they were even invited back to the Imperial Palace.
Although being a sister palace maid was not an official title that conferred power, apart from members of the royal family, sister palace maids did not need to kneel before high-ranking officials.
Most importantly, as the sister palace maids held a close relationship with their former masters, naturally, everyone would give them some level of respect. Famous aristocratic families even vied to employ retired sister palace maids as either a Sister of Penitentiary or Sister Steward for their household's daughters, hence raising the girls' statuses. The remuneration for sister palace maids was also quite high.
