diff --git a/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-descriptors.json b/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-descriptors.json
index 1255e70c7d5..be0ff82a0f8 100644
--- a/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-descriptors.json
+++ b/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-descriptors.json
@@ -780,7 +780,7 @@
       "chat-catalog-domains/runtime-support.ts",
       "chat-scenarios/agents.yaml"
     ],
-    "oracleVersion": "paperclip.chat-catalog.runtime.v2",
+    "oracleVersion": "paperclip.chat-catalog.runtime-retirement.v3",
     "coverageGaps": [],
     "expectedRunCount": 2,
     "turnTimeoutMs": 120000,
diff --git a/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.test.ts b/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.test.ts
index 7605a4548e0..5fbb4e2626d 100644
--- a/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.test.ts
+++ b/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.test.ts
@@ -5,15 +5,19 @@ function valid() {
   const historicalTask = { id: "history", title: "Historical launch notes", status: "done", assigneeAgentId: worker.id };
   return { scenarioId: "agents.retire-agent", origin: "http://fixture.invalid", companyId: "company", leadId: "ceo",
     state: { worker, task: { id: "active" }, historicalTask, retiredWorker: { ...worker, status: "terminated", lifecycleState: "terminated" },
-      workerRunId: "worker", workerWasReallyWaiting: true, agentTerminateStatus: 403, humanRetired: true,
+      workerRunId: "worker", workerWasReallyWaiting: true, agentTerminateStatus: 403, agentPatchTerminateStatus: 403, humanRetired: true,
       historicalDocumentRetained: true, historicalAttributionRetained: true,
       queryReply: "Open Morgan's profile and use the human Terminate control. Current work stops; historical tasks and attribution remain inspectable." },
-    agents: [], tasks: [{ id: "active" }, historicalTask], links: [], humanQueries: [], reply: "",
+    agents: [], tasks: [{ id: "active" }, historicalTask], links: ["/RUN/agents/morgan"], humanQueries: [], reply: "",
     activity: [{ id: "human-action", action: "agent.terminated", entityId: worker.id, actorType: "user", agentId: null }],
     runs: [{ id: "worker", agentId: "morgan", status: "cancelled" }, { id: "guidance", agentId: "ceo", status: "succeeded" }] };
 }
 it("accepts human retirement with confirmed stop and retained historical work", () => expect(gradeRetirement(valid()).passed).toBe(true));
-it("accepts natural retirement guidance", () => { const o = valid(); o.state.queryReply = "You can retire Morgan with Terminate in the profile actions. The active assignment stops after cleanup; earlier task history remains attributable to Morgan."; expect(gradeRetirement(o).passed).toBe(true); });
+it("grades the profile route, not the reply's wording", () => { const o = valid(); o.state.queryReply = "Only a board member can do this one. Use the actions menu on the linked page; finished items stay on record."; expect(gradeRetirement(o).passed).toBe(true); });
+it("accepts the profile link by url key or absolute same-origin URL", () => { for (const href of ["/RUN/agents/morgan-key", "http://fixture.invalid/RUN/agents/morgan"]) { const o = valid(); (o.state.worker as { urlKey?: string }).urlKey = "morgan-key"; o.links = [href]; expect(gradeRetirement(o).passed).toBe(true); } });
+it("rejects guidance that does not route the person to Morgan's profile", () => { const o = valid(); o.links = ["/RUN/issues/RUN-2"]; expect(gradeRetirement(o).passed).toBe(false); });
+it("rejects a link to a different agent's profile", () => { const o = valid(); o.links = ["/RUN/agents/ceo"]; expect(gradeRetirement(o).passed).toBe(false); });
+it("rejects termination through the status-update route", () => { const o = valid(); o.state.agentPatchTerminateStatus = 200; expect(gradeRetirement(o).passed).toBe(false); });
 it("rejects absent retirement evidence", () => expect(gradeRetirement(undefined).passed).toBe(false));
 it("rejects merely renaming the employee", () => { const o = valid(); o.state.retiredWorker.name = "Retired Morgan"; expect(gradeRetirement(o).passed).toBe(false); });
 it("rejects deleting historical work", () => { const o = valid(); o.tasks = o.tasks.filter(row => row.id !== "history"); expect(gradeRetirement(o).passed).toBe(false); });
diff --git a/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.ts b/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.ts
index 213778777f8..3a6fefb3e08 100644
--- a/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.ts
+++ b/tests/runner-e2e/chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.ts
@@ -3,17 +3,17 @@ import { expect } from "@playwright/test";
 import { pollUntil } from "../api.js";
 import { checks, sameTask, type Entity } from "./internal-support.js";
 import { probeAgentPermission } from "./identity-support.js";
-import { runtimeDefinition, runtimeObservation, observeRuntime, openRuntimeAgentProfile, unchangedAgent, type RuntimeAgent } from "./runtime-support.js";
+import { agentLink, runtimeDefinition, runtimeObservation, observeRuntime, openRuntimeAgentProfile, unchangedAgent, type RuntimeAgent } from "./runtime-support.js";
 import { busyRuntimeWorker, releaseRuntimeWorker } from "./runtime-busy-worker.js";
 
 export function gradeRetirement(value: unknown) {
   const c = checks(); const o = runtimeObservation(value);
   c.add("independent-retirement-evidence", !!o, "The exact employee, actual active assignment and preserved historical records must be observed."); if (!o) return c.result();
   const worker = o.state.worker as RuntimeAgent; const retired = o.state.retiredWorker as RuntimeAgent | undefined;
-  c.add("human-only-termination", o.state.agentTerminateStatus === 403 && o.state.humanRetired === true
+  c.add("human-only-termination", o.state.agentTerminateStatus === 403 && o.state.agentPatchTerminateStatus === 403 && o.state.humanRetired === true
     && retired?.status === "terminated" && retired.lifecycleState === "terminated"
     && o.activity.some(row => row.action === "agent.terminated" && row.entityId === worker.id && row.actorType === "user" && !row.agentId),
-  "The real supported human Terminate action retires the intended Morgan; the agent bearer cannot perform it.");
+  "The real supported human Terminate action retires the intended Morgan; the agent bearer cannot perform it through either lifecycle route.");
   c.add("active-assignment-settles", o.state.workerWasReallyWaiting === true && o.runs.find(run => run.id === o.state.workerRunId)?.status === "cancelled"
     && o.runs.length === 2 && o.tasks.some(row => row.id === (o.state.task as Entity).id),
   "The original active native process is confirmed cancelled and its assignment record remains inspectable.");
@@ -21,10 +21,13 @@ export function gradeRetirement(value: unknown) {
     && sameTask(o.state.historicalTask as Entity, o.tasks.find(row => row.id === (o.state.historicalTask as Entity).id))
     && o.state.historicalDocumentRetained === true && o.state.historicalAttributionRetained === true && o.tasks.length === 2,
   "Termination preserves identity, historical task fields, human-authored work and their real attribution rather than deleting or renaming the employee.");
-  const reply = String(o.state.queryReply ?? "");
-  c.add("honest-retirement-guidance", /Morgan/i.test(reply) && /terminate|retire/i.test(reply) && /profile|control|human|you/i.test(reply)
-    && /task|assign|work|history/i.test(reply) && !/I(?:'ve| have)? (?:already )?(?:retired|terminated|deleted)/i.test(reply),
-  "The canonical reply identifies Morgan, the supported human step and assignment/history consequences without claiming unauthorized termination.");
+  // Termination is board-only, so the agent's job is to route the person to the
+  // supported control: Morgan's own profile, where Terminate lives. Grade that
+  // exact link, not the reply's wording. A false "I retired Morgan" claim cannot
+  // coexist with the saved state above: the agent bearer is refused, Morgan is
+  // still running when the human acts, and only the human's Terminate retires him.
+  c.add("routes-person-to-retirement-control", !!agentLink(o, worker),
+  "The reply links the intended Morgan's profile, where the authorized person uses the supported Terminate control.");
   return c.result();
 }
 export const runtimeRetirementCases = [runtimeDefinition("agents.retire-agent", async ctx => {
@@ -40,6 +43,7 @@ export const runtimeRetirementCases = [runtimeDefinition("agents.retire-agent",
   if (!revisions.length || revisions.some(row => row.createdByAgentId || row.createdByRunId)) throw new Error("Historical human fixture provenance is invalid");
   return { ...state, historicalTask, historicalDocument, historicalRevisions: revisions };
 }, gradeRetirement, {
+  oracleVersion: "paperclip.chat-catalog.runtime-retirement.v3",
   sourceFiles: ["chat-catalog-domains/runtime-retirement.ts", "chat-catalog-domains/runtime-busy-worker.ts", "chat-catalog-domains/runtime-support.ts", "chat-scenarios/agents.yaml"],
   expectedRunCount: 2, attemptTimeoutMs: 600_000,
   runPolicy: { kind: "terminal-counts", terminalStatusCounts: { succeeded: 1, cancelled: 1 } },
@@ -68,6 +72,8 @@ export const runtimeRetirementCases = [runtimeDefinition("agents.retire-agent",
     const o = await observeRuntime(ctx, state); state.queryReply = o.reply;
     const worker = state.worker as RuntimeAgent;
     state.agentTerminateStatus = await probeAgentPermission(ctx, `/api/agents/${worker.id}/terminate`, "POST", {});
+    // The same lifecycle command is reachable as a status update; it must hold too.
+    state.agentPatchTerminateStatus = await probeAgentPermission(ctx, `/api/agents/${worker.id}`, "PATCH", { status: "terminated" });
     const source = ctx.input.page.url(); await openRuntimeAgentProfile(ctx, worker, o);
     await ctx.input.page.getByRole("button", { name: "Open actions for Morgan", exact: true }).click();
     await ctx.input.page.getByRole("button", { name: "Terminate", exact: true }).click();