Retirement letter, Walter Brennan, Hollowbrook College

Retirement congratulations letter to a groundskeeper after 22 years

A retirement congratulations letter from an employer has two jobs: to thank someone specifically for what they did, and to confirm the practical arrangements for their last weeks. This one names a groundskeeper's three biggest contributions in numbers, then sets out his final day, final pay and farewell in a short table and a callout.

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Hollowbrook College
1 Orchard Rise, Hollowbrook ยท office@hollowbrook.example

Tuesday 6 October 2026
Walter Brennan, Head Groundskeeper
Hollowbrook College

Congratulations on your retirement

Dear Walter, I have received your letter telling us you will retire at the end of this school year, and I write first to thank you. Twenty two years is longer than any student, and most staff, have known this school, and the grounds they know are largely the ones you made.

22
Years at Hollowbrook
340
Trees planted
400+
Garden club students

You rebuilt the drainage under the main oval in 2014, so sport stopped being cancelled after heavy rain. You planted the 340 trees that now shade the bus line, and for fifteen years you ran the Wednesday garden club, where more than 400 students learned to grow something.

Final working day
Friday 18 December 2026
Final pay
Salary to 18 December and all accrued leave, paid on 24 December 2026
Retirement savings
Contributions continue on every pay up to and including your final day
Your farewell, Thursday 17 December at 10.30 am
Morning tea in the school hall with staff, the garden club and your family. A bench bearing your name will be unveiled on the northern boundary.

With the thanks of everyone at Hollowbrook, yours sincerely,

Catherine Oduya, Principal
Date
:

Section by section

What each section is for, so you can keep the ones you need and drop the rest.

Letterhead and addressee
Hollowbrook College masthead letterhead, Tuesday 6 October 2026, to the head groundskeeper.
Congratulations
Thanks for 22 years and acknowledgement of his retirement letter.
Contribution in numbers
Stats for 22 years, 340 trees and more than 400 garden club students.
What he did
The 2014 oval drainage, the shade trees along the bus line and fifteen years of garden club.
Final arrangements
A table of the final working day, final pay date and retirement contributions.
Farewell
Morning tea on Thursday 17 December at 10.30 am and a bench bearing his name.
Signature block
One party, the principal, with a date line.

How to adapt this document

For an office or professional role, replace the trees and drainage with the projects, clients or people the retiree shaped, and keep each one as a number or a named outcome rather than an adjective. For an employee moving to a phased retirement, add a row to the table showing the reduced days and the date they start, and say who to talk to about changing them. For a retirement during a period of restructure, keep the letter entirely about the person, and send any operational changes to the team separately so the two are never read together.

What makes this document work

The thanks is made of facts

Instead of praising loyalty in general, the letter names the oval drainage rebuilt in 2014, the 340 trees that shade the bus line and fifteen years of the Wednesday garden club with more than 400 students. Those three facts are what Walter will reread, and what colleagues will quote at the farewell.

Final arrangements fit in three rows

Final working day Friday 18 December 2026, salary and all accrued leave paid on 24 December, retirement contributions continuing to the final day. The table answers the questions a retiring employee is often too polite to ask.

The farewell is concrete

The callout gives Thursday 17 December at 10.30 am in the school hall, says his family is invited, and announces a bench bearing his name on the northern boundary. A date, a place and a lasting gesture make the letter feel like an event rather than a form.

Questions people ask

Who should sign a retirement letter?

The most senior person who actually knew the employee's work. Here the principal signs because the grounds were part of the school's daily life she saw. A letter signed by an HR officer who never met the employee reads as administration, while a principal or owner signature tells the retiree the organisation noticed them.

Should the letter confirm the retirement date if the employee already gave notice?

Yes. The employee's own letter states an intention, and the employer's reply turns it into an agreed final day. Writing Friday 18 December 2026 in the table removes any doubt about whether the last day is the end of term, the end of the pay period or the end of the calendar year.

Is it appropriate to mention entitlements in a congratulations letter?

Briefly, yes. Retirees often worry about leave balances and retirement contributions more than they let on. One table row for final pay and one for contributions answers that quietly, without turning the letter into a payslip. Detailed figures can follow from payroll in a separate statement before the last day.

Can an employer suggest retirement to an older employee?

Raising retirement unprompted can amount to age discrimination in many countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. This letter responds to a retirement the employee announced himself. Any conversation about future plans should be open to every employee, framed around their wishes, and never tied to age.

How long should a retirement letter be?

One page is right for most roles. It leaves room for one paragraph of specific thanks, the final arrangements and the farewell details, which is everything the retiree needs. Longer tributes belong in a speech or a card signed by colleagues, where they can be personal without sitting on the personnel file.

Should the letter go to the employee's home or be handed over?

Handing it over in person, ideally by the person who signed it, makes the most of a once in a career moment. Post a copy home as well if the employee is likely to want it framed or kept, since the handed copy often ends up in a work bag.

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