We Wish You the Best: 3 Touching Messages for Retirement Plaques

When a valued co-worker is leaving the office for the last time due to retirement it is had to know what to do to commentate them. If they have been at the same company for decades their passing can leave a big impact on the people who worked with them and the company itself.

You want to commentate them in a special way but it can be hard to know what to do or say. With the retirement age different in certain circumstances the message might also depend on the age of the person.

Retirement plaques can be a good way of showing appreciation to them and ensuring their legacy is remembered in the company.

Here are some of the best retirement quotes for plaques.

1. Simple Congratulations

Sometimes keeping it simple in terms of retirement quotes for plaques is the best option. You can ensure that you are conveying everything you want to without sounding cheesy or trying to come up with a complicated message.

Simply state the years of service that the employee has offered the company and mention some of their achievements over the years and a little bit about the impact they have had on the company.

You also might want to highlight how much their retirement is well deserved and that, although the pension age is rising, you hope they will enjoy their newly found freedom at last.

2. Formal Thanks

If the company you work for is very traditional and the retiring employee has held a senior position, a retirement engraving bearing a more formal notice of thanks might be appropriate. Perhaps yours is not the sort of company to host a beer pong tournament. 

Words that you could use could include ‘Presented to [name of employee] on their retirement from [name of company] with sincere thanks after [number of years] service.

You could also try a notice addressed from the company itself, e.g. ‘Walmart P.L.C offers its sincere thanks to [name of employee] upon their retirement after [number of years] service.’

If this sounds too formal then the name of the company could be replaced with ‘the management and CEO of the company’.

3. Personal and Informal

Whilst a simple congratulations and a formal thanks all do a good job of conveying the thoughts and feelings of the company if the company is more close-knit and a younger company it might be more appropriate to include something more personal or informal.

Some examples that you could try include:

• You Will Be Sorely Missed. This is heartfelt and offers the opportunity for some co-workers to think about why they might miss their retiring co-worker.

• You Were an Inspiration to Us All. This message is very personal and gives a sense of the enthusiasm the retiring employee brought to the role.

Think About Which Retirement Plaques Are Right for the Company

Good retirement plaques should not only reflect a sentiment personal to the employee who is leaving they should also reflect the values and ethos of the company itself. This could depend on how old or big the company is, how long the employer served and what this approach to business is.

Once you have decided this you can start to figure out if you would like a formal thanks, something simple like a congratulations message or whether the message should be informal and conversational.

If you are interested in our collection of trophies, medals or plaques be sure to browse our online shop for ideas.