57 Awesome Retirement Quotes

Chances are that someone you know will be retiring this year — in recent years, more people have been retiring than ever before. When beginning to write a message for a retirement card, it can be not easy to know how to start. Need a bit of inspiration for your message? We’re ready to help you find the perfect retirement quote for them.14 Inspirational Retirement Quotes12 Funny Retirement Quotes

We’ve curated a master list to find you the best quote on retirement, getting older, and living well to give you some inspiration as you begin writing your best wishes to the retiree. (Need retirement gift ideas? We have those too!)

The great thing about retirement quotes is that not only can they help inspire you as you write an original message and include a section in a message to your retiree.

Whether you want to send a funny retirement message, an inspirational retirement message, or a simple congratulations and good luck, starting your letter off with a quote can be an excellent way to tell someone how you feel about them and send them happy retirement wishes.

Take a look at some inspiring, funny, poignant, or delightful quotes to inspire you as you write your own retirement messages. One of these quotes could be an excellent message to start your retirement card for the retiree in your life.

14 Inspirational Retirement Quotes

A quote on what it can mean to live well can be a great message to write to retirees who can’t wait to pursue their passions and begin enjoying life after work.

“To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“It’s not the days in life we remember, rather the moments.”
-Walt Disney

“And in the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
– Abraham Lincoln

“Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”
– Maya Angelou

“In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”
– Gordon B. Hinckley

“The first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want.”
– Ben Stein

“You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream.”
– C.S. Lewis

“Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”
– Albert Einstein

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
– Maya Angelou

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”
– Sophia Loren

“A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.”
– James Allen

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want…everything else is secondary.”
– Steve Jobs

“Days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.”
– Marcus Aurelius

6 Short Retirement Quotes

These quotes are perfect if you need to add something short and sweet to your friend, colleague, or family member.

“Don’t think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire.”
– Samuel Johnson

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.”
– Frank Lloyd Wright

“Count your age by friends, not years.”
– John Lennon

“There are far better things ahead than we ever leave behind.”
– C.S. Lewis

“Retire from work, but not from life.”
– M.K. Soni

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life”
-Audrey Hepburn 

4 Quotes On Ending An Era

Leaving the workforce is a significant milestone. These quotes on ending one thing and beginning a new chapter can remind your retiree that greener pastures are ahead.

“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.”
– Fred Rogers

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
– Dan Wilson

“Goodbyes make you think. They make you realize what you’ve had, what you’ve lost, and what you’ve taken for granted.”
– Ritu Ghatourey

12 Funny Retirement Quotes

If your retiree loves to laugh and you know they appreciate retirement humor, one of these funny retirement quotes written on a retirement card could be great to include—or to display at their retirement party!

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”
– Mark Twain

“My parents didn’t want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that’s the law.”
– Jerry Seinfeld

“There’s one thing I always wanted to do before I quit . . . . retire!”
– Groucho Marx

“There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.”
– Bill Waterson

“Retirement: That’s when you return from work one day and say, ‘Hi honey, I’m home forever.”
– Gene Perret

“Working people have a lot of bad habits, but the worst of those is work.”
– Clarence Darrow

“Just living is not enough…..one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
– Hans Christian Andersen

“Why are people afraid of getting older? You feel wiser. You feel more mature. You feel like you know yourself better. You would trade that for softer skin? Not me!”
– Anna Kournikova

“We don’t grow older, we grow riper.”
– Pablo Picasso

“Gainfully unemployed, very proud of it, too.”
– Charles Baxter

Retirement is wonderful. It’s doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it.”
– Gene Perret

“Getting old is like climbing a mountain; you get a little out of breath, but the view is much better!”
– Ingrid Bergman

6 Retirement Quotes for Teachers

Teachers can be one of the most influential figures in a person’s life. If a teacher in your life is retiring, one of these quotes can be the perfect thing to write on a teacher’s retirement card to show them how much they mean to you.

“Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth.”
– Helen Caldicott

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
– Henry B. Adams

“What greater joy can a teacher feel than to witness a child’s success?
– Michelle L. Graham

“The greatest use of a life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”
– William James

“When the untapped potential of a student meets the liberating art of a teacher, a miracle unfolds.”
-Mary Hatwood Futrell

“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.”
– Bob Talbert

9 Quotes on Starting a New Adventure

With so much more free time to come for a retiree, these quotes on new adventures can be a perfect thing to add to a retirement card. 

It’s time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I’d much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure.”
– Ernie Harwell

There is a whole new kind of life ahead, full of experiences just waiting to happen. Some call it ‘retirement.’ I call it ‘bliss.’”
– Betty Sullivan

“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.”
– Oprah Winfrey

“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To me, retirement means doing what you have fun doing.”
– Dick Van Dyke

“Life is a journey, not a destination.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I see retirement as just another of these reinventions, another chance to do new things and be a new version of myself.”
– Walt Mossberg

“Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.“
– Helen Keller

“What is that feeling when you’re driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? – it’s the too-huge world vaulting us, and it’s good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”
– Jack Kerouac

3 Quotes on Retirement for a Colleague

We spend so much time around our colleagues, working toward a common goal. A kind quote and message on a retirement card to your colleague can show how much you appreciate them. These quotes can be added to a retirement card or inspire you as you write a message to your retiring coworker. 

“You and I will meet again, When we’re least expecting it, One day in some far off place, I will recognize your face, I won’t say goodbye my friend, For you and I will meet again.”
– Tom Petty

“There is nothing to regret with a job well done.”
– Joe Garcia

“Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.”
– Garrison Keillor

3 Quotes for a Family Member or Loved One

Family is forever; through every different path and journey of life, your family and loved ones are people you can depend on. These quotes show the importance of family and the vital place a loved one can hold in your life. 

“Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.”
– Rumi

“No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other’s worth.”
-Robert Southey

“The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye, the story of love is hello and goodbye, until we meet again.”
– Jimi Hendrix

Retirement is an important milestone. Retirees can use their newfound time to throw themselves into their favorite hobby, reflect, set off on new adventures, enjoy more time with their family, and so much more!

Starting a kind message with a quote on retirement can be an excellent way to inspire your retiree, make them laugh, and give them some happiness.

If you are starting a retirement card for a retiring person, we’d love to be a part of it! With a Kudoboard, you can wish your 2024 retiree a happy retirement and send them your messages and wishes — create a board for your retiree today, or check out our suggestions for great retirement gifts and retirement gift cards.

Retirement Card FAQs

How do I make a retirement eCard?

Making a retirement eCard is simple with Kudoboard! Simply click on the “create a board“, enter in the information, choose your board type (multi-post, or single), choose which type of board will suit your needs, and finally start creating your board. You can easily add contributors by sending a QR code, email, or through social media.

Should I make an eCard or go the traditional route?

Both traditional paper cards and eCards have benefits. Traditional cards are a classic and if you have a small team, it may be preferable and easy to pass around. However, they aren’t very personalized and can be hard to get around to everyone.

Virtual cards take a little more planning, but are easy to personalize (everyone can add their own media and messages), and are extremely easy to have everyone contribute to.