Make Your Coworkers Retirement Memorable with the help of our Best Retirement Gift Ideas

When a person stops working full time it is known as their retirement. If the person is only planning to reduce their work hours then they are semi-retired. Many people nowadays are choosing to postpone the moment of retirement in favor of existing in a state of semi or pre-retirement.

The time that people choose to retire varies, but often revolves around a person’s entitlement to claim a public or private pension. Some people, however, are forced to retire because of ill health. Retirement is a relatively new idea, that was first introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Up until that time in history people had tended to work until death. This was due to the lack of pension arrangements and low life expectancy. The first country to introduce retirement was Germany, in 1889.

Today, it is considered to be the right of a worker to retire with a pension, and many battles have been fought over this right. Most developed countries have systems in place that provide pensions for people in their old age. This system can be sponsored by employers or the state. In poorer, and underdeveloped countries, support for old people largely comes from family.

If you know of a colleague or coworker who will soon be ending their career and starting a new chapter in their life you might be considering various ideas for retirement gifts for coworkers. To save you the trouble of endless hours of online research let’s look at some of your options.

Ways to celebrate a coworkers retirement

There are lots of ways to celebrate a coworkers retirement, not just by giving them a gift. Here are a few suggestions.

• Plan a retirement party – The type of party you choose to organize will depend on the wishes of the retiree. They might prefer a low key event, or will be happy with a more grand affair. It’s best to ask them which they’d prefer, rather than guessing and getting it wrong. Some will prefer a lunch date just with close colleagues, as they’d be very embarrassed to be part of a bigger celebration. If you know your coworker particularly well you’ll know exactly how they will react to your party plans.
• Give them a retirement card signed by everyone – It’s always a good idea to give the retiree a retirement card. Get the card signed by everyone in the company that knows them, and this will serve as a reminder in the future. This kind of gesture is also a good idea because even people who don’t know the retiree very well can participate in saying goodbye and wishing them all the best for the future.
• Plan a retirement gift – There is nothing wrong with coworkers purchasing their own individual retirement gifts, but you might want to try and coordinate people’s efforts to avoid duplicate gifts. It might be an idea to pool resources, so the retiree can be given a couple of really memorable presents. Gifts will be better if they relate to the retiree’s interests, hobbies, or feature something relating to the company.
• Personalized retirement gifts will stand out from the crowd – You’ll need a little more time to organize this kind of gift but the extra effort required will be worth it. Create a scrapbook or memory book that includes photographs of people who have enjoyed working with the retiree over the years, as well as company memorabilia.
• Plan an event for the closest coworkers – Alongside any public event you might want to consider organizing a small get together for coworkers who work the closest with the employee retiring. Going out to lunch together will be the perfect opportunity to cement friendships, share retirement plans and reminisce the good times.
• Don’t forget the company thank you – Why don’t you start a company tradition? There’s nothing better for company morale than official acknowledgement of an employee’s retirement with the giving of an official company gift.

These are just some of the ways in which you can mark the retirement of a coworker. There are plenty more and we’d also be interested to hear from you, our readers. Time to move on and look at some retirement gift ideas for coworkers.

Good retirement gifts for coworkers

When it comes to gifts for retiring coworkers the best often focus on accomplishments in the workplace. They can also express how much they will be missed. Gathering photographs of work colleagues, workplace happenings, and mementos shouldn’t take a lot of time but will be a meaningful reminder for the person retiring.

It can sometimes be difficult to make retirement gifts for women coworkers personal, especially if the gift is being given by a department or all the staff. Some may not have know the retiree very well. A gift certificate can be a good collective gift to recognize years of work, even if the people contributing didn’t collaborate with the retiree.

If you have a special friendship with the person retiring a more personal gift could be called for. Take them out to lunch before they retire, or even better, arrange a dinner date after they’ve departed. This is a gesture that will show the strength of your relationship. Retirement is a time for life changes and they may be pleased to know that your friendship will continue.

And what if the coworker is your boss or superior? Let’s look at some of the retirement gift ideas for a different kind of colleague.

Retirement gift ideas for bosses and superiors

A card thanking the retiree for their leadership is often enough, but a gift will do so much more. Such as show them how much they’ll be missed. Being a leader and managing others takes a lot of hard work, and a gift will recognize their dedication. It will be a way of saying thank you and encouraging them to celebrate their accomplishments. Give the retiree a year’s membership to a local golf club, a pack of gold dipped poker cards, or pay for them to enjoy a weekend relaxing at a luxury resort.

Tailoring your retirement gift to their individual interest is another way of adding a personal touch. If your boss is planning to travel then give him some new luggage, or upgrade travel tickets to business class for the next adventure. If more travel is on the cards then a digital camera or video recorder would also be appropriate gifts.

Mark our website, corporateretirementgifts.com, as one of your favorites because we’ll also be featuring executive retirement gifts, retirement gifts for mom, unique retirement gifts and more.

Whatever the scenario, you can be sure that a person’s retirement is going to be more memorable with a retirement gift. Especially if that gift comes from the heart. It doesn’t have to be an expensive gift, or one that’s extravagant. Sometimes some of the simplest gestures, such as a well-worded card, can be much better than a trinket that will spend its life gathering dust. The goal of a retirement gift is to celebrate the life of the recipient. Not just where they have worked, but also where they’ve been, what they’ve done, and the person they are today.