Sample retirement speech honoring a co-worker

If you are the main speaker, your tribute should include humor.   How did the retiree interact with coworkers, the bosses, or those in subordinate positions?  Such personal associations are often a source for good-natured fun.

But you'll also want to include comments about the person's character, leadership style or contributions.

Avoid a boring opening.

Start out with a joke, quote, question or some statement that captures the attention of the audience.

Then recognize special guests or family members if they have not already been introduced. 

Statistics tells us that 10,000 Baby Boomers reach retirement age every day.  And one of those retiring today is Joe Smith.

We're sorry to say goodbye to Joe.  But, every ending has a bright side when it also marks a new beginning.

We're here to say a few words about his life at Always There and wish Joe well as he goes to that place in life we all look forward to . . . retirement. 

Thank you, friends and coworkers,  for joining us . . . .   Joe, you didn't know, did you, that so many people would be celebrating your departure!

Before we get started, I'd like to take just a minute to introduce some special guests.  . . .

Make your remarks about the retiree and address the person directly as well as occasionally describing the retiree in third person.

Tell a story about the retiree and his work habits. The story should relate in some positive way to others in the organization.

Make some comments about the retiree's role in the overall organization.

Tell some stories about his work or experiences others had in working with the retiree.

Seriously, Joe, … you've been an anchor in our marketing department for the past 15 years. He was one of the first ones in every day and would watch we Gen X’ers and  Millenials come dragging in an hour after he’d finished his second cup of coffee. And he’d always have something cheerful to say before 8 a.m. Sometimes it was irritatingly cheerful for those of us who are night owls. (How could someone smile that broadly just after daybreak?)

He’s definitely not like those people who come in late but make up for it by leaving early.

Joe was always here, greeting us with a wide grin. I asked him once why he was always so happy and Joe simply said, “You might as well smile because you’re here anyway and there’s no point in bringing anybody else down by complaining.”

That comment says a lot about who Joe Smith is. His glass is always half full. And on those occasions when our marketing team's creativity had run wild and out of bounds, Joe knew how to gently guide us back in the fold while complimenting their ingenuity.

One of the things people like most about Joe... besides his ability to smile all the time . . .  is the fact that he can laugh at himself.  And Joe has provided the rest of us with some laughs along the way.

Remember that time when his team developed the campaign with the talking locks? That campaign had a memorable slogan:  Always There makes every house a safe house.  Joe’s bright idea to the idea was to show everybody how we were the one insurance company with the talking locks that could make every house safe.

His pitch  – Let Always There Insurance put you in a safe house today and tomorrow – was a great success until it was abruptly ended. As you recall, that was the time the Wilkes police launched a raid on a prostitution ring that covered five states and was headquartered in a safe house in nearby Winston.

Suddenly Joe’s idea of pitching Always There as the backer of the safe house didn’t fit the image the executive suite wanted.

I think cracks about  Joe's  safe house went on for months. . . . And he laughed every time he heard it.    Thanks, Joe, for being such a good sport.

Make some overall comments restating how the honored guest has influenced the organization or his work area.

Repetition of a key phrase can emphasize your point.

Looking back over Joe’s career here, we all have stories about him. Others will share some of those shortly.

To Joe, I want to say how much we admire your dedication to your colleagues and this company. When Joe started working here, Always There was a small agency with just 6 employees but with a vision of customer service that would transform us into a major player in this market. And Joe... you have been a major player in our growth and prosperity.

It’s the people like Joe, who come into work with a smile, make our clients happy and understand that we always have to keep  improving our service  . . . those people like Joe are the ones who have made Always There Insurance the success it is today.

It’s impossible to measure what Joe has meant to this company all these years. And I know I speak for everyone when I say this is a bittersweet moment . . . saying goodbye to a friend and coworker who has meant so much. But we are all happy that Joe and Laura will have time to kick back, get off this treadmill and do what they want.

Work in some lighter comments to say how much the person will be missed but how happy everyone is for the retiree as he or she embarks on a new life.

End with some comments that refer back to one of your stories.

We’re now at the point in a retirement party when someone presents the retiree with a watch. But we don't have one and that's okay because Joe will no longer need a watch.

What we do have are some more memories we’d like to share.

It is obvious that you will be missed. We wish you and Laura all the best and like knowing that your smile will be even broader now that you don’t have to take that commute in every morning.

And we know that if the Wilkes police ever break up another safe house, they can call you because you’ll know just what to say.

Invite people to applaud the retiree and close family members. Others should then share their own reflections.

Joe and Laura, would you please stand so we can say thanks.
(Lead others in applause.)