What Do I Write in a Retirement Farewell Card?
Coming up with retirement messages to put in a card when a colleague leaves can be a tricky one to get right. Especially, if youâre not nearing retirement yourself. How do you say something sincere without sounding patronising or like a twenty/thirty-something whoâs just been handed a random card over the kettle? Tricky business!
The words you write are one thing, but the message youâre sending is something else entirely. And, arguably, much more important.
So, weâve compiled four types of messages that will help you strike the right note.
You’ve put in a great stint
These are congratulatory messages. As we all know, reaching retirement age at work â unless youâre the heiress of a fortune or incredibly entrepreneurial from age 16 â is a long old road. So let your colleague know in the card that theyâve achieved something massive!
Caveat : not in a patronising way. Donât go OTT â OMG you made it! â to avoid making your colleague sound like theyâve been working for 100+ years, or that youâre surprised they lasted!
If youâre not confident in your abilities as a wordsmith, donât worry. Here are some examples of how to say congrats on your retirement, without risking cancellation.
- Congratulations! What a milestone. Hope youâre looking forward to a well-earned break.
- Congratulations on your retirement!
- Hereâs to you, [Name] for all your work, kindness, and everything in between that youâve brought to the team over the years!
You’ve escaped!
Letâs be real, not all workplaces are rosy.
Is your retiring colleague frankly blessed to be escaping the madness? Making a joke of their escape can be a fun angle to take in a retirement farewell card. And even if your workplace isnât awful and itâs a fun and thriving place to be, humour is a great way to differentiate from all the âgood luck for your next step!â messages that make up the majority of leaving cards.⊠and donât pretend youâve not written this before. Cookie cutter good luck messages are surely the most common way of saying I have no idea what to write but Iâve been told I must write something.
Here are some examples of escape-based leaving messages:
- Take me with you. Iâm serious.
- Youâre outta here, baby! So long to [thing that always happens]. Hereâs to the start of life being luxurious.
- Hereâs to never [reference to something annoying that happens all the time] ever ever ever again!
You’ll be SO missed
Are you genuinely gutted to be losing this person from the office? Then this is the message for you. Being sentimental in a leaving card is lovely when you really mean it. So donât hold back if the person leaving is a massive legend!
Here are a few examples of how you can say to someone that youâre going to miss them dearly :
- [Name], itâs the end of an era â and what an era itâs been! Iâll miss you so much, but you deserve all the bigger, better things to come (i.e., not getting up on a Monday morning).
- Itâs been an absolute pleasure. The office wonât be the same without you!
- Who will I [activity youâve done together often at work] with now?!
Thanks a bunch
up to them since youâve worked there? A great way to send someone off is to recognise the impact theyâve had on your experience and, of course, to thank them for all theyâve done.
This is especially good if the person leaving was on your team and/or more senior than you. Everyone wants to know theyâve done a good job, right? So, this is an opportunity to say all the things that felt too cheesy to say over the water cooler :
- Youâve taught me so much! Thank you for everything.
- If Carlsberg did managers⊠[you know where weâre going with this one!]
- I couldnât have got to where I am today without you. Youâve been such a great mentor and friend.
What about a retirement gift?
Check out our blog on what to buy someone as a retirement present for some 10/10 ideas. Or, alternatively, what about removing the risk altogether and setting up a Collection Pot instead? Thereâs surely no better way to send someone off than getting them something they actually want.
Just send a link around to the team to collect their cash, then once the Pot is closed, the receiver can just take the money and run as far away from your workplace as they can!
Weâre joking â but transferring the cash to their bank account is one of the options. If the receiver prefers to choose something for themselves, they can do that too! Their Pot can be exchanged for vouchers at up to 60 high street stores.
Itâs a win-win, really.