There are two retirement speeches, and they are written from opposite chairs. One is given about the retiree, usually by a manager or a long-time colleague, and its job is to tell the room what this person’s career amounted to. The other is given by the retiree, and its job is to say thank you and goodbye without running long.
This guide covers both, with a structure and complete examples for each. The examples are deliberately different in length and setting, because a toast at a restaurant and remarks in a break room are not the same speech.
How long to speak
- A toast at a dinner: about a minute. People are standing with a drink in hand.
- Remarks at an office gathering: two to three minutes for the person sending them off, and about the same for the retiree.
- A formal event for a long or senior career: up to five minutes, and only if you have the stories to fill it.
Write it out, read it aloud once with a timer, and cut whatever you stumbled over. A speech that ends while people still want more is the right length.
Speaking about the retiree: the structure
- Place them in time. When they started, and what the place was like then. It shows the room how much has changed around them.
- Tell one story. Not a list of achievements. One moment that shows who they are.
- Say what they leave behind. People trained, a way of doing things, a standard.
- Turn to them and thank them directly. Use their name. Then present whatever is being presented.
If you are handing over an award at the end, the last sentence should lead into it. How to present an award covers the handover, with a different retirement example from the ones here.
Example: a manager at an office gathering
About two minutes. The retiree is a dispatcher at a regional delivery company.
When Carol started here, the routes were written on a whiteboard and the drivers called in from pay phones. She has seen four dispatch systems come and go, and she has made every one of them work better than the people who sold it to us promised it would.
I want to tell you about one morning. A few winters ago the roads closed with nineteen trucks out. Carol stayed on the radio for eleven hours. She did not just reroute them. She knew which driver had a new baby at home and sent him back first. She knew who had a long-haul license and who did not. Every truck came in, and every driver went home.
That is what she has done here for twenty-nine years. Not just moved trucks. Looked after people.
The dispatchers on this floor learned the job from her, and they will teach it the way she taught it. That is what she is leaving us.
Carol, thank you. From every one of us, and from a lot of drivers who are not in this room. This is for you.
Example: a colleague’s toast at dinner
Under a minute. Friends and family are present, so it avoids shop talk.
I have shared an office wall with Ben for sixteen years, which means I have heard every phone call he ever made. So I can tell you with authority: he is exactly as patient as he seems.
He never once raised his voice. He never took credit that was not his. And he never, in sixteen years, let me buy lunch.
Ben, you have made work feel like a good place to be. Please join me in a toast: to Ben, and to a retirement as generous as he is.
Speaking as the retiree: the structure
Your speech is simpler than you fear. The room is already on your side.
- Thank the room for coming. One sentence.
- Name a few people, or groups, who shaped your time. Keep the list short enough that nobody is waiting to hear their name.
- Say one thing you learned or will miss. This is the heart of it.
- Look ahead briefly, and finish with thanks.
Avoid settling old scores, giving advice to management, or reading a history of every role you held. If you are being handed an award, award acceptance speech examples has short versions for that moment.
Example: the retiree at an office gathering
About ninety seconds. A maintenance supervisor at a school district.
Thank you all for being here, and thank you to whoever chose the cake, because you chose correctly.
I came to this district to fix a boiler and somehow stayed for thirty-four years. I have worked for six principals, and I liked five of them, and I am not going to say which.
I want to thank my crew. You have come in during storms and on holidays, and you have never once made me ask twice. And I want to thank the teachers, who always told me when something was broken, sometimes several times.
What I will miss is walking the building early, before anyone arrives, when it is quiet and everything is working. I was proud of that every single morning.
I am going to go and find out what people do in September when they are not getting a school ready. Thank you for all of it.
Example: a short goodbye
For someone who would rather not give a speech at all. Thirty seconds.
I am not much for speeches, so here is a short one.
I have had a good career, and the reason is standing in this room. Thank you for making it easy to come to work.
I will miss you. Now please, somebody cut the cake.
Delivery, for either side
- Print it in large type. Notes on a phone time out at the worst moment.
- Check every name and number. Years of service above all. The retiree will know if it is wrong.
- Pause after the story. Give the room a moment before you move on.
- Look at the retiree for the last line, not at the page.
- If you feel your voice go, stop and breathe. Nobody minds. It tells them you meant it.
The years and the name you say aloud should match what is on the award. Retirement plaque wording covers the wording and retirement plaques the piece itself; you approve the wording on a design proof before it is produced. For the rest of the event, see retirement party ideas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a retirement speech be?
About a minute for a toast, two to three minutes at an office gathering, and up to five at a formal event for a long career.
What do you say in a speech for someone who is retiring?
Say when they started, tell one story that shows who they are, name what they leave behind, then thank them directly by name.
What should a retiree say in their own speech?
Thank the room, name a few people who mattered, say one thing you learned or will miss, and look ahead briefly. Short is welcome.
Should a retirement speech be funny?
A little humor helps, as long as it is about shared work experiences and not about age or health. End on a sincere line.
Who usually gives the retirement speech?
The retiree’s manager or a long-time colleague, followed by a few words from the retiree. At a larger event a senior leader may also speak briefly.
Something they will keep after the card?
A speech is easier to end when there is something to hand over. Tell us who is retiring and when the gathering is, and we will design the piece and send a proof for you to check against your notes.
See retirement plaques
