How to Write a Retirement Letter (Tips + Sample)

After decades of hard work, the time has finally come to step out into retirement. Excited, apprehensive, or both at the same time, you need to handle all the formalities associated with your resignation. Only then can you really focus all your energy on making plans for your work-free future.

In this article, you’ll find a retirement letter template that makes for a graceful exit from the full-time workforce. You'll learn how to write a retirement letter to an employer with plenty of UK-specific advice and based on expert retirement letter examples.

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Had a different letter in mind? See:

• Acceptance Letter Sample
• Apology Letter Sample
• Appeal Letter Sample
• Appointment Letter Sample
• Appreciation Letter Sample
• Leave Letter Sample
• Recommendation Letter Sample
• Reference Letter Sample
• Resignation Letter Sample
• Termination Letter Sample

Simple retirement letter to an employer: template

Using this sample letter as something of a retirement letter template, it’s time to work through making your retirement letter at least as good:

1. Start your retirement letter with a proper header and salutation

There’s no doubt that retirement takes some planning and forethought. While you’re at it, double check that you know who to address your retirement letter to. In most cases, you’ll be able to submit it to your immediate superior or HR department and they’ll get it to where it needs to go. 

Make sure your retirement letter complies with the standard business letter format and a typical business letter structure. Start with the header: align to the right your name, postal address, email, and phone number. Leave a line and add the date of writing, then leave another line.

Now align to the left your reader’s name, their job title, the company name, and the company’s postal address. Type out both your and your superior’s postal addresses just as though you were addressing an envelope. 

On a first-name basis with your reader? Is everyone in your organisation on a first-name basis by default? Use ‘Dear’ plus your reader’s first name in either of these cases. Otherwise, keep it more formal and use ‘Dear’ plus your reader’s surname. Follow this by a comma and leave a line.

Retirement letter template: UK header sample

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2. Be clear and formal in the very beginning of your retirement letter

If your retirement letter has one purpose, it’s to clearly state that you’re retiring from your job, complete with information on when you intend to stop acting in your current role. Do this first of all. Everything else is a courtesy: important but not critical.

Then, in a single sentence, put your reader’s mind ease regarding your intention to make your leaving of the organisation as smooth as possible. Add a reason for your retirement if it’s an early one and if you feel the need. This should bring your retirement letter opening paragraph up to 3–5 short sentences.

Retirement letter template: opening paragraph sample

3. Write about the notice period in your retirement resignation letter

Employers often worry about the disruption that might come with having someone retire. Put your employer’s mind at ease. Let them know what you plan to get done before you retire. Offer to help with any hiring, training, and handover processes, if appropriate. Set boundaries as to what you can reasonably do.

Be specific in listing larger projects and more complex or critical duties that you intend to wrap up during your notice period. Summarise and group together clusters of smaller duties. Keep all this to a maximum of two projects or responsibilities—it’s assumed that much of your work will be left undone.

Less is more for another reason: you don’t want to over-commit to an unreasonable amount of work during your notice period. This is more about making a good gesture and inspiring confidence. There’ll be more appropriate opportunities for you to agree on the details with your employer.

Make yourself available to answer any questions your reader might have. Leave your personal email and phone number if you’re retiring with little or no notice and feel comfortable doing so. Keep in mind that your work email probably won’t work once you’ve left, and that you’ll be leaving your work phone behind.

Retirement letter template: main body paragraph sample

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4. End your retirement resignation letter with an expression of gratitude

A big part of writing a resignation letter for retirement is knowing how to end it. It’s tempting to take this opportunity to reminisce, to try to summarise your time with the organisation, or even your whole career. But this isn’t the time or the place. Your closing can be warm, but it has to be brief.

Find something positive to say about your time with the company you’re leaving. This can be difficult at first if you’re leaving under less than ideal circumstances, but there’s always something. Focus on the work itself if you had problems with your colleagues, or vice versa if the work wasn’t great.

Your sign-off is the full stop at the end of this momentous letter. Use ‘Yours Sincerely’. This is not the time for the usual ‘Cheers’ or ‘Best Regards’. Leave a few lines blank for your handwritten signature (or a digital image of the same, if you like) and type out your full name. You’re done!

Retirement letter template: closing paragraph sample

5. Mind the right formatting in your retirement resignation letter

Your retirement letter is a formal document. The header, salutation, and sign-off you’ve written are all elements of the standard business letter format. So be sure to follow our advice and setting out to the letter. It’s not just about being professional to the end, it’s the fact that this is a formal document.

Use margins and leave enough white space

Set all four margins to one inch. Increase the line spacing to 1.15, dropping it to 1.00 if you can’t fit your retirement letter on a single A4 page at 1.15 spacing. Double space between paragraphs in either case. You’ll need to shorten your letter if it doesn’t fit. Resist the urge to bunch up your text.

Choose a clear, legible font

Choose an understated, easy-to-read CV font for your job retirement letter. Consider choosing one of the classics: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, or Book Antiqua will do just fine. Leave the font size at 11–12 points. Your retirement letter doesn’t fit on the page at this font size? Once again, you’ll need to cut back on the word count.

Save the finished retirement letter in PDF

PDF is generally better than something like a *.docx file when it comes to saving your retirement letter. It’ll help preserve your formatting and layout and will look the same on most devices. It also prints more predictably than other formats, just in case your letter is printed out and archived.

Has this article helped you get the simple, short retirement letter you were hoping for? Even though a letter of retirement is something most of us will only have to write once, it’s nice to go out strong with a nice one. Please leave any questions, comments, retirement stories, and advice down below.

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.