Congratulate the retiree on a long and successful career by writing the perfect retirement message to send them off. You can write a heartfelt note about how much you’ll miss them at work, acknowledge their hard work over the years, or joke about their newfound free time. Whether you’re a co-worker or family, we’ve provided some guidance below on what to write in a retirement card. And don’t forget: all of these messages pair perfectly with a sweet retirement gift idea.
Jump to:
- What To Write In A Retirement Card
- General Retirement Card Messages
- Well-Wishes For A Co-Worker Or Boss
- Funny Retirement Messages
- Congratulations On Your Retirement Messages
Step by Step: What To Write In A Retirement Card
Writing messages for greeting cards isn’t always easy, especially if you’re writing for a colleague or someone you aren’t especially close to. Writing messages for cards can even be hard for your closest friends and family since you only have a specific amount of space to fill. If you can’t find the right words to say, follow these simple tips on writing your retirement card message for the retiree
- Say congratulations. Congratulate the retiree on the news of their retirement and let them know how happy you are for them.
- Acknowledge how hard they’ve worked. Let the retiree know that their hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. You can speak about your admiration for their work ethic or remind them how proud you are.
- Share a favorite memory. If you’re a co-worker, share a favorite memory from work or let your co-worker know you’ll miss them. If you’re a family member or friend, share what you remember most about the retiree’s journey to success.
- Send well-wishes for the future. Send the retiree off with well-wishes for their next chapter. You can wish them a relaxing future, wish them endless vacations, or write a humorous message. You can also write about how you’re looking forward to spending time with them.
General Retirement Card Messages
Retirement is a life event that can come with a mix of emotions: smiles and tears, excitement and uncertainty, a career full of memories and a future full of possibilities. When you add your own personal message to a retirement card, it’s a golden opportunity to emphasize the positives and make your recipient feel good about both past and future. Send the retiree off with well-wishes and a custom card that compliments them on their long career. Here are some examples of retirement wishes you can add to your card:
- For the person who gave their best, cheers to your retirement! May you have the best and most fulfilling one. Enjoy!
- It’s great to see someone retire who is as deserving as you. Make sure you work just as hard at relaxing as you have in your long career.
- I’m glad you get to retire while you still have many good and capable years of life left in you! Congratulations!
- We’re glad that you are retiring, and we are looking forward to spending more time with you. Best wishes!
- You can be taken out of the workforce, but the workforce can never be taken out of you. I am confident you’ll never stop working on things you love to do.
- Cherish every moment you’ll spend outside the work. It’s time to enjoy your life. Happy Retirement!
- I wish you a happy retirement filled with fun and happiness.
- I’m wishing you a long, healthy, and happy retirement!
- Congratulations, now the fun begins. Best wishes on your new chapter in life.
- Your new job is to ensure that you enjoy your retirement. The hours are flexible, and you have complete autonomy.
- Don’t forget to spend a little of your extra time with us. We’re so happy for you!
Well-Wishes For A Co-Worker Or Boss
If you’re writing a retirement message for a co-worker or employee, remind them how wonderful it’s been to work with them. Here are sample retirement wishes that you can customize for your own use when you have the opportunity to wish a treasured colleague all of the best in retirement. These retirement words wish the coworker the very best thoughts for the future. Check out a few examples of retirement messages from a co-worker below, which you can use for greeting cards or personalized gifts for retirees.
- I hope you have a wonderful retirement! You will be missed, but never forgotten. You’ve done so much for all of us.
- Thank you for being a tireless professional, a helpful coworker, and a good friend. Now go and relax!
- You will be remembered for the things that you did here. Thanks for your years of hard work and dedication. Congratulations on your retirement.
- We’ll miss you. You are one of a kind and not easily replaced.
- Having someone like you as a coworker has been no less than a gift. Wishing you a wonderful retired life ahead! You will be missed, but never forgotten.
- We’ll miss you. But, the time is right for you. I sincerely hope that retirement is wonderful and I wish you lots of joyous time with your family.
- You are one of the hardest workers I have ever known. You deserve a great retirement, but I know you will still keep yourself busy.
- It was great working with you—your work truly made a lasting impact, and one that has changed the company for the better in so many ways. Congratulations on your retirement!
- It has been a pleasure working with you. I am wishing you a relaxing, fun, and long retirement. Don’t think too much about this place. Congratulations on your retirement.
Funny Retirement Messages
Sometimes the silliest retirement wishes can be perfect for someone you know who’s witty and has a great sense of humor. These funny retirement wishes and humorous retirement wishes can also be great to add to a retirement party invitation. A funny card can be just as effective as a thoughtful card if you have a great relationship with the retiree. Add some humor to your card with these funny retirement messages:
- Congratulations on your retirement! If you get bored, you know you can call and hang out with us.
- Retirement – the only real excuse you’ll ever have to spend your entire life’s savings. Have fun!
- Best wishes in your retirement. Here’s to watching your grandkids instead of the bottom line.
- You can be taken out of the workforce, but the workforce can never be taken out of you. I am confident you’ll never stop working on things you love to do.
- No matter how many college degrees, skill development courses and professional accreditation you have received, there is one more qualification you will still receive after your retirement – Master of Doing Nothing. Congratulations!
- Congratulations on beating me to retirement. I’ll try not to hold it against you.
- Now that you’ve gone through birth, crawling, walking, school, and many years of work, you can finally relax!
- Congratulations on gaining two new best friends upon your retirement. Their names are Bed and Couch. You will be hanging out with them a lot.
- From the bottom of our hearts, we’re going to miss you. Best wishes to your retirement! Feel free to call and visit when you get bored playing around.
- There are all sorts of things that you will have to learn how to do off the clock now, like making coffee.
Congratulations On Your Retirement Messages
Sometimes a simple “Congratulations” is your best bet for the right retirement card message. Especially for a retiree who truly loved their career, or devoted years of their life to the same job, you might want to emphasize the contribution they’ve made and they legacy they’re leaving. If you’re gifting the retiree a loving photo book, these congratulations message could look great next to your favorite photos together. From short messages to longer letters, we have you covered with the sentiment examples below:
- Congratulations on your retirement. You truly deserve all the relaxation coming your way.
- Congrats to the retiree! You deserve it!
- Congratulations are in order. We’re so excited for all the fun memories coming your way, but we’ll miss you when you’re gone!
- Congratulations! I hope retirement brings you the chance to do whatever it is that you always wanted to do but didn’t get to. All the best!
- Congratulations not only on your retirement but on all the incredible years of work you put into getting there.
- I want to wish you a heartfelt congratulations on all the hard work to put in leading up to this retirement. You deserve it!
- Congratulations! I hope you use this opportunity to soak up all the sunshine and fun memories you can!
- I can’t believe you’re retiring! Congratulations and enjoy every minute!
Closing Thoughts On Retirement Messages
If you’re also hosting the retirement party, explore our fun guide on retirement party ideas and themes before choosing retirement party invitations. Retirement parties can be a great way to honor your dear friend, family member, or co-worker. Be sure to send the retiree off in proper fashion with a thoughtful customized gift and genuine message of appreciation. And for additional help with organizing the party, make sure to visit our resource on retirement invitation wording.
