Sample Retirement Recognition Letters

Use these sample retirement recognition and appreciation letters to congratulate your coworker on their impending retirement from your company. These retirement appreciation letters acknowledge what your coworker has meant to you and reinforce and recognize the contributions they have made to you and to your workplace, in general.

The retirement congratulations letters wish your coworker continued success and happiness in their retirement and are accompanied by additional appropriate retirement celebrations. These retirement celebrations can include parties, luncheons, meeting at a local tavern, and gifts, including company logo merchandise or any other traditional gift your organization offered such as a watch or wall plaque.

Your Retirement Recognition Letter Is a Gift

You make a difference in the life of a retiring coworker when you tell them what you have valued in their work and in your relationship with them. They leave their job with warm feelings about the difference that they made in your workplace.

Sample Retirement Recognition Letter From a Coworker

You would send this letter in addition to any efforts to recognize her that are put forth by her manager or the Human Resources department.

This is a retirement recognition letter example. Download the retirement recognition letter template (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online) or see below for more examples.

Sample Retirement Recognition Letter From a Coworker (Text Version)

Alice Rodriguez
123 Main Street
Anytown, CA 12345
555-555-5555
alice.rodriguez@email.com

September 1, 2018

Ms. Donna Smith
18976 W. Elm St.
New York, N.Y., 10000

Dear Donna,

I would like to personally congratulate you on your retirement from Big Company. I enjoyed working with you during your time here, and I consider you not only a valuable asset to our company but an enjoyable presence in the office, as well.

While you will be missed by all of us at Big Company, you certainly deserve your retirement. Your hard work and diligence have greatly benefited our company, and I hope that the remaining employees here will strive to follow your stellar example.

Your contributions to our overall marketing strategy and the daily operation of the department with the guidance you provided to the product marketing managers will be sorely missed. We do appreciate your recommendation that the team is self-directed and developed sufficiently to not need a leader, just a way to keep in touch with and understand the overall direction.

It has always been my pleasure to work with you. So, while I am saddened to see you go, I am confident that you will find the same success and happiness in retirement that you experienced during your time here.

I wish you the best in your future endeavors. Retirement will surely offer you many new opportunities, which I know you will embrace wholeheartedly, just as you did at Big Company.

Please keep in touch, and visit often if you find that you have the time. I hope you have a fun and fruitful retirement!

Best wishes,

Alice

Sample Retirement Recognition Letter From a Team

This is a sample retirement congratulations letter that would come from a team of coworkers.

Date

Ms. Margaret Firman

Address

City, State, Zip Code

Dear Margaret,

To celebrate your retirement, the customer service team is scheduling a lunch at Gabriel's that the whole team plans to attend. Since you said that you'd enjoy a final lunch with the team, we're making it happen.

It's our small way of letting you know how much we have appreciated you and your contributions for all of these years. The department and our work would never have been so excellent without your guidance and vision of service.

You have truly passed on to the rest of the team the knowledge that devotion to customers and understanding their needs is what keeps us in business. Your groundbreaking work in trying to determine what the customer needs before the customer knows he needs it has also had a huge effect on the success of the team.

We'll keep you in our thoughts and hope that your retirement is all that you deserve. We hope that you'll stay in touch and let us know about your next journeys. 

Regards,

Mary for the Customer Service Team

Sample Retirement Recognition Letter From a Coworker

This is a note that you might send to a co-worker who is retiring and you are not in her department or familiar with her work on a daily basis. But, you still want her to know that her contribution will be missed.

Date

Hi Terry,

This note is to congratulate you on your retirement. I'll attend the retirement party the company is providing on Friday. But, just in case I miss talking with you in the crowd, I want you to know that I have valued you as a colleague and will miss seeing you at work.

On the plus side, it sounds as if you have many hobbies, volunteering opportunities and travel that you are planning for retirement. So, I hope you have a rich, multi-faceted future that will reward you for your many years of hard work.

Sincerely,

Ron Pence