SendMyVoice

8 min readOleksii Sribnyi

Retirement messages for a coworker, boss or friend

69 retirement messages to copy or adapt, sorted by who you're writing to.

Then how to write your own, and how to collect a spoken message from the whole team.

Colleagues in party hats celebrating in the office
Photo: Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

The best retirement messages mention something real: a habit, a shared project, a plan for what's next. Use the ones below as they are, or change a detail so the message is clearly about your person. If you're saying goodbye to someone moving to a new job instead, see these farewell messages for a colleague.

For a coworker

For someone you worked alongside for years, even if you weren't close outside work.

  • It's been a pleasure working down the hall from you. Thanks for always having time for a quick question, even on the busy days.

  • You were the first person to say hello on my first day, and I've never forgotten it. Have a wonderful retirement.

  • I'll miss your Monday stories about the weekend. Now every day is the weekend, so I expect better stories.

  • Thank you for every time you covered for me when the kids were sick. I hope the next chapter is full of slow mornings.

  • You made a hard job look calm. I learned more from watching you handle a bad week than from any training course.

  • Wishing you long lunches, no alarm clock and plenty of time for the garden you keep talking about.

  • The meetings will be shorter without you, but they'll be a lot less fun. Good luck with whatever you take up first.

  • Thanks for twelve years of good advice and terrible coffee. I'll keep the advice.

For a boss or manager

Thank them for something they did for you, not for being a great leader in general.

  • Thank you for trusting me with work I didn't think I was ready for. It turns out I was, because you said so.

  • You never made anyone feel small for getting something wrong. That's rarer than you might think, and we all noticed.

  • Working for you has been the best part of my career so far. I hope retirement gives you back all the evenings you spent on our problems.

  • You set the bar high and then helped us reach it. Thank you for that, and for the Friday pastries.

  • I still use the meeting notes format you taught me in my first month. Your habits will be around here long after you've gone.

  • Thank you for backing the team when it counted. We knew you were on our side, and it made the hard years easier.

  • I hope you find something to do with all that energy. The rest of us will be catching our breath.

For a close work friend

You can be personal here. Mention the in-jokes, and make a plan to see each other.

  • Who am I going to complain to about the printer now? I'll miss you every single day. Lunch next month, and I mean it.

  • Fifteen years of sharing a desk, two office moves and one flood. You've been my favorite part of this place.

  • You got me through a divorce, a promotion and a reorganization. I owe you more than a card can hold. Let's keep the Thursday walks.

  • I'm happy for you and a bit sad for me. Promise you'll send photos from the trip.

  • Work was easier because you were in it. Call me when you get bored, which I give about two weeks.

  • Thank you for the laughs in the kitchen, the honest advice and the spare umbrella you never asked to get back.

  • You were the person I went to when I didn't know what to do. I'm still going to call you. Fair warning.

  • Here's to the end of status meetings and the start of whatever you want. I'll miss you, friend.

For someone on your team

As their manager, say what their work made possible. Be specific about it.

  • Thank you for 22 years of steady, careful work. Half our processes exist because you noticed something the rest of us missed.

  • You trained most of this team, me included. We'll keep doing it your way, at least when nobody's watching.

  • Customers asked for you by name. That says more about your work than anything I could write here.

  • It's been a privilege to manage someone I learned so much from. Thank you, and enjoy the time with your grandchildren.

  • You never missed a deadline, and you never made a fuss about it either. The team won't feel the same without you.

  • Thank you for being the calm one in every crisis. I hope retirement is quieter than the year-end close.

  • We'll miss your knowledge, but mostly we'll miss you. The door is always open if you want to visit.

For a friend

Outside work, you can skip the thank-you and go straight to what happens next.

  • Now you finally have time for that trip we keep planning. I'm holding you to it. Happy retirement.

  • No more Sunday-night dread. Let's celebrate with a long lunch on a Tuesday, just because we can.

  • You worked hard for a long time, and it showed. Now go be lazy for a bit. You're allowed.

  • I can't wait to see what you do with your time. My guess is the boat, the grandkids and a pottery class within a year.

  • Congratulations on getting out. Weekday walks start next week, rain or shine.

  • Forty years of early starts. I hope you sleep until ten and never feel guilty about it.

  • Retirement suits you already. Here's to more dinners, more travel and more of you.

For your mom or dad

A parent's working years often paid for yours. Saying so is the whole message.

  • Mom, you went to work every day so we could have more than you did. Thank you. Now it's your turn.

  • Dad, I remember you leaving before it was light. I hope retirement gives you all those mornings back.

  • You taught me what showing up looks like. I'm proud of everything you did, and I'm so glad you get to rest.

  • Congratulations, Mom. The garden, the book club and the grandkids are all waiting. So am I, for that trip to the coast.

  • Thank you for working so hard for so long, Dad. Your next job is to relax, and I expect you to be good at it.

For a grandparent

Short and simple works best, especially from younger grandchildren.

  • Grandpa, now you have no excuse to miss my soccer games. Happy retirement. I love you.

  • Congratulations, Grandma. I hope you spend your free time doing exactly what you want, and some of it with me.

  • You worked for 45 years. That's longer than Mom has been alive. You deserve every lazy day ahead.

  • Happy retirement, Grandpa. Can you teach me to fish now that you have time?

For your husband or wife

This one is about the two of you, and the time you finally get back.

  • For years I've watched you give your best hours to work. I can't wait to have them. Happy retirement, love.

  • No more 6 a.m. alarms, no more Sunday emails. Let's go everywhere we said we'd go.

  • I'm so proud of you and everything you built. Now let's see what we build next, together.

  • Welcome home, for good this time. The coffee's on, and nobody's in a rush.

Short lines for a group card

When the card has twenty names on it, one honest line is plenty.

  • Thank you for everything. We'll miss you.

  • Happy retirement. The place won't be the same.

  • Go enjoy all those Mondays off.

  • It was a pleasure working with you.

  • Thanks for always helping out. Best of luck.

  • Wishing you slow mornings and long holidays.

  • You'll be missed around here.

  • Congratulations. You earned this one.

  • Thanks for the advice and the laughs.

  • Here's to whatever comes next.

  • Don't be a stranger.

Funny but kind

Tease the job, not the person. Keep age jokes out unless you know they'll land.

  • Congratulations on your retirement. Your new boss is your spouse, so good luck with that.

  • You're trading meetings for naps. Smart move.

  • Enjoy retirement. We'll be here, still trying to work out how to book the big meeting room.

  • Officially off every reply-all thread. Congratulations.

  • Who's going to fix the copier now? Seriously, can you leave instructions?

  • Every day is Saturday now. Try not to rub it in.

  • Now you can call golf a full-time job.

  • You have about 40 years of vacation to catch up on. Better start today.

How to write your own

A message you write yourself will always beat one you copied. You only need three things, and two or three sentences hold all of them.

  • Name one thing they did. The spreadsheet everyone still uses, the way they ran Monday meetings, the new starters they looked after.
  • Add a memory. One moment is enough: the snow day, the office move, the quiz they won three years running.
  • Wish them something specific. If you know about the boat, the garden or the grandchildren, mention it by name.
  • Sign it the way they know you. “Priya from accounts” helps more than a first name on a card with forty signatures.

Putting it together

Sam, you taught me to read a balance sheet on my second day and never made me feel silly for asking. I still think of you every time the projector breaks, because you ran that whole Christmas quiz from memory. Enjoy the boat. Priya, accounts

A spoken message from the team

A retirement card goes round the office and comes back full of “Enjoy!”. Twenty years of working together, and everyone gets one line.

Hearing the voices is different. The story about the snow day, the thank-you from the new starter they trained. That's what gets played again later.

With a SendMyVoice voice form, you send one link to the team. Everyone records a message on their phone. No app, no account.

A message for Sam

14 messages, 12 min

Download all
  1. PS

    Priya Shah · Accounts

    0:52

    You taught me to read a balance sheet on my second day and never made me feel silly for asking.

  2. MB

    Marcus Bell · Warehouse

    1:10

    Remember the snow day when you drove the forklift keys across town? I still tell that one.

  3. ER

    Elena Ruiz · HR

    0:38

    Thank you for every new starter you looked after. Most of them still ask how you are.

  4. TO

    Tom Okafor · IT

    0:44

    Enjoy the boat, Sam. Call me if the radio needs a restart. That one's free.

10 more messages

One link went to the whole team. Each message comes back as a recording with a transcript, ready to play at the send-off.

You get every message with its words written out. Play a few at the party, and give the whole set as a gift.

The team voice messages template is ready to go. Change the name and send it.

The free plan takes 10 messages a month, up to 1 minute each. That's fine for a small team. For a whole department, Pro is $6 a month for 200 messages, up to 5 minutes each.

Having a party too? An audio guest book lets guests leave a spoken message on the night.

sendmyvoice.com/r/k7f2q9

Step 1 of 3

Your name, and how you know Sam

Tap to record. Up to 2 min.

The team voice messages template as a working voice form. Recordings stay in your browser and nothing is sent.

Start from a template

Audio guest book

A guest book of voice messages, recorded on any phone from a QR code.

  1. 1Leave us a message: a wish, a memory or your best advice.
  2. 2How do you know us?
Use this template

Questions

What do you write in a retirement card?

Thank them for one specific thing, add a short memory if you have one, and wish them well for something they plan to do next. Two or three sentences is enough. Sign it with the name they know you by.

What is a short retirement message?

One line that sounds like you. "Thank you for everything, we'll miss you" or "Go enjoy all those Mondays off" both work on a crowded group card.

How do you say happy retirement professionally?

Name what they did for the team or the company, then wish them well. For example: "Thank you for 22 years of careful work. Half our processes exist because of you. Enjoy what comes next."

What should you not write in a retirement card?

Skip jokes about age or health, comments about money or pensions, and anything about the job being better without them. Leave out office gossip too, since the card may be read out loud.

How do you collect retirement messages from a whole team?

Pass a card round, or send one link where each person records a short spoken message. With a voice form, you get every message as a recording with a transcript, ready to play at the party.

Collect the team's messages by voice

Free plan, no credit card. No account to answer.

Use this template