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  3. What to write in a retirement card

What to write in a
retirement card.

Name one thing they built, say what you will miss, and wish them a good Monday. A retirement card is a thank you and a goodbye.

The retirement card messages below are sorted by who is signing. Pick your group, add the specific thing, then sign.

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A bunch of flowers. Thank you for all of it. Happy retirement.

Enjoy every Monday. You earned them.

From Sam

Your retirement is our loss. Enjoy the lie-ins and the long lunches.

From Aisha

We will miss your calm when the server goes down. Enjoy the peace.

From Tom

Retirement card messages

Pick your group, add the specific thing, and sign.

From a colleague

  • Your desk will be quieter and the coffee round will take longer. Happy retirement.

  • I will miss your stories about the old system. Thank you for showing me how it worked.

  • Happy retirement. The place will not be the same without you.

  • You taught me how to do the job and then how to enjoy it. Thank you.

  • Enjoy every Monday. You earned them.

From their manager

  • Thank you for thirty years of turning up and making it work. We will try to keep the standards.

  • Your retirement is our loss. Enjoy the lie-ins and the long lunches.

  • Happy retirement. The team you built will carry on, but we will miss the builder.

  • You leave this place better than you found it. That is the work. Enjoy the rest.

From the whole team

  • Thank you for the years, the patience and the Friday biscuits. Happy retirement from all of us.

  • We will miss your calm when the server goes down. Enjoy the peace.

  • To the person who knew where everything was. Happy retirement. We have the map now.

  • Thank you for showing up, for knowing the answer and for sharing it. Enjoy your Mondays.

For a friend at work

  • Happy retirement. The pub is still there on Thursdays.

  • You are leaving the job but not the friendship. First round is on you.

  • Congratulations on the promotion to full-time you. I will miss the part-time you at the next desk.

  • No more early alarms. I am jealous. Happy retirement.

Short

  • Happy retirement. You will be missed.

  • All the best for your retirement.

  • Enjoy your well-earned retirement.

  • Congratulations on your retirement.

What to leave out

Do not write about getting old, slowing down or being put out to pasture. They are starting something, not ending.

Do not mention the pension or the money. They know what they saved for.

Do not give advice on how to spend their time. They have plans.

One card from the team

One link goes round, and the card opens on their last day.

  1. 01

    Add their last day.

    The card opens that morning and not before.

  2. 02

    Ask everyone at work.

    Each colleague gets one link and writes once, in a browser.

  3. 03

    They read it on the day.

    Every message is signed with a name. They keep it.

Create a card

Pick a design

  • An envelope. Happy retirement. You can go to the post office at eleven now.
  • A teapot. Happy retirement. Tea at a sensible time.
  • A sun. Happy retirement. Long lunches from here on.
  • A bed. Happy retirement. The lie-in starts now.
  • Marker lettering with a highlighter stroke. Happy retirement from everyone who's ever asked you where something is.
  • Marker lettering with a highlighter stroke. You were the office. We're just people who sit in it.
  • A mug. Happy retirement. The kettle's on all day now.
  • Lino-cut lettering in a printed band. Happy retirement. Go and do the thing you kept saying you'd do.
  • A pot plant. Happy retirement. The garden's been waiting.
  • Two-colour printed lettering. All those meetings. You've earned the quiet.

Questions

What is a short message for a retirement card?

Name the job they are leaving and wish them well. 'Enjoy your retirement, John. We will miss your calm on Mondays.'

What do you write in a retirement card from a team?

One message signed by everyone. Each person adds their name. It reads as one voice, not a list of separate messages.

Should a retirement card be funny or serious?

It should sound like the person signing it. If you joke with them, the card can joke. If you do not, keep it warm and specific.

Drafted with Claude on 4 October 2026, checked by code, and read by a person when the subject or the checks ask for it.

Part of retirement card from the team.

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