Writing a Retirement Congratulations Letter (with Sample)
Use this sample retirement congratulation letter as a template for your formal congratulation letter.
Last updated on February 20th, 2019
A retirement congratulations letter needs to be well thought through before it is written. Not everyone sees retirement in the same way. Some are happy and looking forward to a new life, and some believe they will be out of the loop of life and left behind. Whether writing to a co-worker, a friend or family member, it’s important to know how the person views retirement.
The letter may be formal or friendly depending on the sender’s relationship with the retiree. It can be printed from a computer or hand written on company letterhead or personal stationery. These are the choices the sender needs to make. If the retiree is a co-worker, a handwritten letter may be best, but if the retiree is a supervisor in a large company, a typed and printed letter is probably a better choice.
The letter may be formal or friendly depending on the sender’s relationship with the retiree. It can be printed from a computer or hand written on company letterhead or personal stationery. These are the choices the sender needs to make. If the retiree is a co-worker, a handwritten letter may be best, but if the retiree is a supervisor in a large company, a typed and printed letter is probably a better choice.
If the person initiated retirement, they are probably looking forward to it. However, if they are being forced to retire because of age or heath issues, they may not be very happy about it.
The most important part of a retirement congratulations letter is to express appreciation for their years of service, mentoring, innovative initiatives or any other highlight of their working life. A group of people in an office can send a group letter that is signed by everyone, but a personal letter will be more appreciated.
Sincere Tone
The letter should have a sincere tone and not appear to be generic even if it is written in formal style. It needs to be original and personal. If it seems like something copied from a model, it will be more of an insult than not sending a letter.
If the letter is to a supervisor, it would be wise to ask some coworkers about their experiences with the retiree. If there are any good comments, they can be included in the letter as if from the whole group of employees. Clients and customers who worked closely with the retiree may also have some flattering comments.
Career Successes
The sender should mention what things about working with the retiree they will miss. This may be a great attitude or the home baked cookies they regularly brought for everyone in the office. It should also mention career successes and accomplishments of the retiree and congratulate them on a successful career.
When writing to a friend or relative retiree, the letter can be less formal and even humorous. The sender can make statements such as, now you can work on your sail boat on your own time. If the retiree is a co-worker, the letter should mention that the sender enjoyed working with them and wish them luck in their future endeavors. The sender can name a few things he or she learned from the coworker and commend them for their contributions to the success of the company.
The letter should begin with a statement of congratulations. After that, the sender can express their personal account of how the retiree benefited the organization including the sender’s personal experience.
The letter should end with a desire to stay in touch along with the sender’s personal phone number and email address as well as a sentence wishing the retiree a happy and relaxing retired life. If the sender knows what the retiree plans to do after retirement, they can mention that and wish them success.
Even if the sender knows the retiree well, it’s nice to send a formal congratulatory letter, because they may keep it as a memento. Here is an example of a retirement congratulations letter to a team leader.
Sample Retirement Congratulations Letter
Name of Sender
Address of Sender
City, State, Zip Code
DATE
Name of Retiree
Address of Retiree
City, State, Zip Code
Dear Name of Retiree,
I want to wish you the warmest congratulations on your retirement. I understand that you will be leaving the office on DATE. I will miss your positive and enthusiastic attitude, because you always kept me looking at the bright side of life.
Your extraordinary ability to keep the team on task in a perfectly harmonious way is a good example of your professionalism and attention to detail. I sincerely hope we can live up to your example and continue with our new team leader in the same way, although I doubt anyone has your infectious laugh and good humor.
I know retirement isn’t going to slow you down, so I won’t tell you to relax, and I wish you all the best in your new endeavor of environmental consultant for construction companies. Please keep in touch and let me know how you are doing with an email now and then. My address is Name@email.com. I’ll be watching your Facebook and Twitter pages for your news.
Congratulations again for a job well done in Name of Company.
Sincerely,
Signature of Sender
Printed Name of Sender
By Andre Bradley
Related Articles