What To Write In A Retirement Card - 77 Examples

The definition of retirement is the action of leaving one’s job and ceasing work. This is a time to celebrate a long career and new adventures ahead. This is a huge moment in someone’s life, and finding the right words is often hard to do. But how do you wish someone a happy retirement? You should congratulate them on their retirement, but also let them know they will be missed. Sending a retirement card is a thoughtful and respectful thing to do. However, it can be hard to know what to write in a retirement card, so we’ve selected our favourite retirement messages - some are funny, some are sentimental, but we’re sure you’ll find one message that can apply to your relationship with the person retiring from their work. The below retirement messages are perfect for whichever relationship you have with them. The messages apply to friends, colleagues, bosses, mentors, grandparents, and family.

The below retirement messages work as a good starting point to wishing your family, friends, colleagues, and bosses best wishes on their retirement. The messages can be personalised with extra details on the person retiring, such as:

• The hobby they are likely to pursue - gardening, DIY, music, or art.
• Who they will spend their time with - husband, wife, or grandchildren.
• Where they will be retiring - a country, city, or town.

Simple Retirement Messages

Short, sweet, and simple is a great approach to writing a retirement card. It may not be necessary to write an essay on their retirement and the many reasons they will be missed. Our simple messages are to the point.

1. Congratulations on your retirement.
2. To your new adventure.
3. Enjoy this time.
4. Time to put your feet up and relax.
5. You’ve earned this!
6. Happy retirement!
7. The best is yet to come.
8. Congratulations on a successful career.
9. Best of luck on your retirement.
10. You will be missed! Congratulations.

Heartfelt and Sentimental Retirement Messages

Sometimes the person who is retiring is a person you’ve grown close to over the years of working together. Congratulating them on their retirement should be the first part of the message, but it is equally important to let them know they will be missed. Use the below as a starting point, but feel free to add in a memory you have of working together. This could work as a funny retirement message, or a sentimental message.

1. Congratulations on your retirement. We will all really miss you.
2. Replacing you will be impossible. Many Congratulations.
3. Please don’t be a stranger!
4. You deserve this time. Good luck on this new chapter!
5. This isn’t the end - it’s just the beginning.
6. Retirement isn’t the end of the road, but just a turn in the road.
7. Retirement is a time to enjoy the things you never could before.
8. We envy you, but are excited for you!
9. Wishing you the best retirement ever! Enjoy the new chapter of your life and enjoy being your own boss.

Witty and Funny Retirement Messages

If you have often shared a joke with the person who is retiring, then you may wish to make the retirement card wording more light hearted and funny. Below are our favourite funny retirement messages.

1. See you later Grandad / Grandma
2. Hip Hip Replacement!
3. The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off!
4. Drinking wine does not count as a hobby!
5. Enjoy your free senior bus pass.
6. Enjoy your new weekends which will last 7 days!
7. Time to practice your golf… you need it!
8. Everyday is a weekend day now.
9. The only thing getting you out of bed in the morning now is your bladder.
10. You’re leaving? I never knew you got here.
11. Congrats on being so tired that you had to retire.
12. I’d forgotten you were here?
13. Enjoy being the master of absolutely nothing.
14. They’re replacing you with a chimp.
15. You’re officially old.
16. This isn’t the end. I know where you live.
17. Every hour is happy hour when you’re retired.
18. Here’s to grey hair, elasticated pants, and velcro shoes.

What to Write in a Retirement Card for Grandparents

In some cases retirement means being able to spend more time with your family, including grandchildren. We’ve selected our favourite retirement message for grandparents below.

1. Enjoy this special time off with your family.
2. You’re now a full time grandparent!
3. Time to make more memories with your grandchildren.
4. Enjoy your new role as head chef in the mud kitchen with your grandchildren.
5. Now you have even more time to spoil your grandchildren.
6. Your grandchildren are your new boss!
7. The best part about retirement is spending time with the grandkids.
8. Time to have some fun with the little ones. Enjoy being a full time grandparent.

What to Write in a Retirement Card for Colleagues

The messages below will help you know what to write in a retirement card to a colleague. Reflect on your time working together, what they’ve brought to the company, and how they will be missed. 

1. You’ll be missed. We’ve all learnt so much from you.
2. Thank you for your hard work, dedication, and support.
3. You’ve been an inspiration to the entire team. Congratulations!
4. You are irreplaceable.
5. The office party will never be the same again!
6. It’s sad to say goodbye, but great to see you are on your way to greener pastures.
7. We could never forget you.
8. Congratulations on being able to never have to call in sick again.
9. Congrats on your new adventure. Thank you for all that you’ve done.
10. Cherish this chapter of your life.
11. You deserve this. Time to put your feet up and rest.
12. Wishing you a long and happy retirement.
13. From the whole team here, best of luck on your new adventure.
14. Sorry to see you leave, but wishing you a happy retirement.
15. Keep in touch! 
16. Enjoy being the boss of your retirement!
17. Just think, you’ll never have to sit in on another conference call. Enjoy your retirement!
18. Happy retirement to the best colleague I could have asked for.
19. Thanks for showing me the ropes all those years ago!
20. Thank you for taking me under your wing.

Quotes on Retirement

Sometimes it’s best to sign a card using a quote. We’ve picked our favourite retirement quotes to use.

1. “I never had the sense that there was an end: that there was a retirement or that there was a jackpot.” Leonard Cohen
2. "For many, retirement is a time for personal growth, which becomes the path to greater freedom." –Robert Delamontague
3. "Retirement, a time to enjoy all the things you never had time to do when you worked." –Catherine Pulsifer
4. "There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want." –Bill Waterson
5. “Retirement life is different because there is no set routine. You are able to let the day unfold as it should. Enjoy, be happy and live each day.” – Suzanne Steel
6. “I found out retirement means playing golf, or I don’t know what the hell it means. But to me, retirement means doing what you have fun doing.” – Dick Van Dyke
7. Often when you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else." –Fred Rogers
8. "A retired husband is often a wife's full-time job." –Ella Harris
9. "Retirement is not in my vocabulary. They aren't going to get rid of me that way." –Betty White
10. “Retirement: That’s when you return from work one day and say, “Hi, Honey, I’m home — forever.” – Gene Perret
11. “Living each day as if it were your last doesn’t mean your last day of retirement on a remote island. It means to live fully, authentically and spontaneously with nothing being held back.” – Jack Canfield.
12. "Retirement: It's nice to get out of the rat race, but you have to learn to get along with less cheese." –Gene Perret