What to write / What to write in a retirement card
What to write in a retirement card
A retirement card usually goes round the office with a pen tucked inside, and everyone who is handed it has the same thought: what on earth do I put? "Happy retirement" is fine. It is also what the last six people wrote.
Here are 55 messages to use as they are or change to fit: for a close colleague, your boss, someone you hardly knew, Mum or Dad, your husband or wife, a teacher, a nurse, and for someone who is retiring sooner than they had planned.
The thing that matters most: say something about the person, not only about retirement. One true line about what they were like to work with beats any number of gardening jokes.
How to write one
Say what they were like to work with
Patient, funny, unflappable, always first to offer a hand: one or two plain words about how they were at work mean more than a paragraph of good wishes. It tells them they were noticed.
Name one thing they did
Pick one real thing: the evening they stayed late to help you, the way they ran the Monday meeting, the fact that they taught you the job. A detail is what makes a card worth keeping.
Finish with a wish for what comes next
If you know their plans, name them: the allotment, the grandchildren, the camper van. If you don't, wish them time and good health and leave it there.
In a group card, keep it to a line
When thirty people sign one card, nobody needs a paragraph. Read what is already there, then write one short line that is different from the message above yours. A small memory or a thank you for one thing works every time.
If you didn't know them well
Keep it short, kind and true. A good wish and the one thing you did notice (a smile in the corridor, a name for being helpful) is plenty. There is no need to invent a friendship.
If retiring wasn't their choice
When someone is going early or through ill health, leave out the jokes and the "lucky you". Thank them for what they did, say they will be missed and wish them easier days.
Short retirement messages
One line for a crowded card.
Happy retirement. You've earned every single lie-in.
Congratulations on your retirement. The place won't be the same, and neither will the tea round.
Enjoy it all: the slow mornings, the long lunches and never again having to ask for a day off.
A job well done. Now go and do exactly as you please.
Happy retirement. Monday morning has just lost its hold on you.
Heartfelt retirement messages for a close colleague
For the person you sat beside, covered for and will miss.
I learned more sitting next to you than on any course they ever sent me on. Thank you for all of it, and enjoy every day of what comes next.
You were the person I went to when I didn't know what to do, and you never once made me feel daft for asking. I'll miss you more than I can fit in a card.
Work was better because you were in it. You made the bad days bearable and the good days funnier. Happy retirement, my friend.
Thank you for covering for me, sticking up for me and always putting the kettle on first. I hope retirement is as good to you as you have been to the rest of us.
Nobody else will ever understand the filing system, and nobody else will make me laugh in the Monday meeting. Have a wonderful retirement. You will be so missed.
Retirement messages for your boss
Respectful, with one thing you learned from them.
Thank you for being the sort of boss who backed us in public and put us right in private. I have learned a great deal from you, and I'll go on using it. Happy retirement.
You gave me a chance when I was new and nervous, and I have never forgotten it. Thank you, and have a wonderful retirement.
You always knew when to step in and when to leave us to it, which is rarer than it sounds. Wishing you a long and happy retirement.
Thank you for your patience, your good judgement and for never calling a meeting that could have been a chat. Now go and enjoy yourself.
It has been a pleasure to work for you. You set the standard here, and we'll do our best to keep to it. All the very best for your retirement.
What to write when you didn't know them well
Short, kind and true is all it needs.
I only knew you from the corridor and the queue for the microwave, but you always had a smile. Have a wonderful retirement.
We didn't work together often, but you were always kind when we did, and people notice that. Wishing you a very happy retirement.
Congratulations on your retirement. Everyone I know here speaks well of you, which tells its own story. Enjoy it.
All the best for your retirement. I hope it is full of the things you have been meaning to get round to.
Retirement messages from the whole team
For the front of the card, the collection envelope or the speech.
From all of us: thank you for the years, the know-how and the biscuits. The place won't run half as well without you, but we'll try. Happy retirement.
We clubbed together for the present but couldn't agree on the words, so here is the short version: you're brilliant and we'll miss you.
Happy retirement from the whole team. We'd say don't be a stranger, but we know where you live and several of us like your garden.
With thanks and best wishes from every one of us. You taught half this team the job and the other half how to do it better.
Retirement wishes for Mum or Dad
Say what their working years gave you.
Mum, you worked hard for years and still made it to every school play. Now it's your turn. Happy retirement, with all my love.
Dad, you have been getting up at six for as long as I can remember. Turn the alarm off, have a second cup of tea and take your time. You've earned it.
Mum, I have watched you put everyone else first my whole life. I hope retirement is the bit where you come first. Congratulations.
Dad, thank you for all the early starts and late finishes that paid for my school shoes, my driving lessons and everything in between. Now go and spend some of it on yourself.
Congratulations on your retirement, Mum. I'm so proud of everything you have done, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing more of you.
Happy retirement, Dad. The shed is waiting, the grandchildren are queuing up, and nobody needs anything from you by Friday.
Retirement messages for your husband or wife
The start of a new chapter for both of you.
You have given that job your best for all these years. Now I get you back. Happy retirement, my love.
No more Sunday night dread, no more packed lunches, no more waving you off in the dark. I can't wait for all the ordinary days with you.
I've seen how hard you worked, and what it cost you some weeks. I'm so proud of you. Now, where shall we go first?
Happy retirement, darling. I have made a list of jobs. I have also booked us a table, so you can read it over lunch.
Retirement wishes for a friend
Glad for them, and gladder still to see more of them.
Welcome to the club. The pay is poor but the hours are wonderful. First coffee is on me, any weekday you like.
Somebody to have lunch with on a Tuesday, at long last. Congratulations on your retirement. I'll bring the diary.
You have talked about this day for years, and here it is. Go and do every single thing on that list. I'll come along for the good ones.
Congratulations, my friend. You have worked hard, complained fairly and earned every bit of this. Let's celebrate soon.
Retirement messages for a teacher
From a parent, a pupil or the staff room.
Thank you for every lesson, every bit of patience and every time you saw something in a child that nobody else had spotted. Happy retirement.
Marking, wet playtimes and Sunday evenings at the kitchen table with a red pen are all behind you now. Happy retirement to a wonderful teacher.
Our children still talk about your class. Thank you for making school a place they wanted to be. Wishing you a very happy retirement.
Whole families in this town learned their times tables from you. Thank you for all of it, and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Retirement messages for a nurse or NHS worker
A thank you for the nights, the weekends and the kindness.
You have looked after other people for a whole career, on nights, weekends and Christmas Day. Now it is your turn to be looked after. Happy retirement.
All those long shifts, calm words and cups of tea you never got to finish: thank you. Now go and have a hot one, sitting down.
A great many people had a better day, on their worst day, because you were on the ward. Thank you. Enjoy every minute of your retirement.
You were the one the rest of us wanted on shift when things got difficult. The ward will miss you badly. Happy retirement.
Funny retirement messages
Gentle teasing for someone you know will enjoy it.
Congratulations. You never have to set an alarm again, except to remind you that it's time for a nap.
Happy retirement. The garden has no idea what is about to hit it.
Enjoy the golf. From what we've seen, you'll need all the practice you can get.
Welcome to daytime telly, where it is always time to buy a house, sell an antique or shout the answer at a quiz.
A word of warning: the 'to do' list at home has been growing for twenty years, and somebody knows exactly where it is.
You'll soon wonder how you ever found the time to go to work. We have wondered that for years.
For someone retiring early or through ill health
No jokes here. Thank them and wish them well.
You gave this place so much, and we're sorry you are leaving sooner than you had planned. Thank you for all of it. We're thinking of you and wishing you easier days.
Stopping now is the right thing, even if it wasn't the plan. Look after yourself first for once. We are all behind you.
Thank you for everything you have done here. I hope the time ahead is gentle, with plenty of rest and the people you love close by.
We'll miss you very much. There is no need to keep in touch until you feel like it, but there is always a chair and a cup of tea here when you do.
What to leave out
- Jokes about age or being past it, unless you know them very well.
- Predictions such as "you'll be bored within a month".
- "Lucky you" to someone who is retiring through ill health or didn't choose to go.
- Work they have left unfinished, even as a joke.
- The same words as the message above yours in a group card.
Questions people ask
What do you write in a retirement card?
Three things, in any order: what they were like to work with, one thing they did that you remember, and a wish for what comes next. Two or three sentences covers it.
How long should a retirement message be?
In a group card, one line. In your own card to someone you worked with closely, three or four sentences. If you have more to say than that, put it in a letter and tuck it inside.
What do you write in a retirement card for someone you don't know well?
A warm wish and one true thing: that they were always friendly, or that people speak well of them. Short is better than padded, and nobody minds a brief message from someone who was not close.
Is it all right to be funny in a retirement card?
Yes, if you know they will laugh. Tease about alarm clocks, golf and the list of jobs at home, not about age or health. If they are retiring early or unwillingly, leave the jokes out altogether.
What do you write when someone retires through ill health?
Thank them for what they did, tell them they will be missed and wish them rest and easier days. Don't mention the illness unless they talk about it themselves, and don't ask about plans.
What if you missed the card going round the office?
Send your own. A card that turns up a week into retirement, once the fuss has died down, is a nice thing to get, and an animated card sent by email or WhatsApp can reach them wherever they have gone.