To not do a retirement collection

Ted's lovely card signed by all and a really
Lovely bunch of flowers or a nice plant

So you respect her wishes: no collect, she
will get a pension as she said. And if anyone says anything you say that you respect people's wishes and boundaries so you are therefore giving her a card.

Flowers and a bottle of something are gifts. People would need to put money into a collection to pay for them and as this person has never contributed to collections herself, it wouldn't be appropriate for OP to ask people to contribute. A card will be sufficient.

I'd just do a card in this situation . Leave people to get individual gifts if they choose.

Absolutely correct that people who say they hate a fuss are often disappointed when their colleagues take them at their word!

The posters who say senior management or HR should be taking the lead didn't work for the same company I did! We had to arrange and fund everything ourselves.

Given your colleague's views on collections, I agree it should be a card only but if you feel uncomfortable about that and are prepared to buy them yourselves, then some flowers would be a nice touch.

At our place I think we would make a little book of nice messages. Make her feel valued in a different way. But you need to get a feel for whether she hates a fuss or likes one, hates being the centre of attention or will be resentful if she isn't. Confusingly, people who hate a fuss are also often devastated if they don't get one...

Why not just ask her? “We understand your feelings on work collections and don’t want to cause any offence but would like to mark the occasion. Have you any objection to us getting you a card and sharing some cake on your last day to wish you well for the future?”

One school I worked at, there was a staff social club you could opt into. £30 per year. And then all the collections came from that pot. If you opted out, you wouldn’t have ever received a gift. Maybe that only works at schools though where there’s a clear end of year.

In my opinion, they could have improved the system with senior management, £50, teachers £30, TAs £10 to slightly reflect different salaries.

Yes this is the right call, I think.

You've only been there three years, how do you know age hasn't in decades not contributed?

Somone at your company is confused. A retirement collection is to purchase something nice fir the retiree. The board should be doing this anyway, as she has been there so long.

A retirement collection is not a lump sum to support the retiree as well as their pension.

Somebody will be sorting it out. Ask the most senior person or hr. Intimate how shit the company is if they do nothing.

Whom is her long term friend at the company or her boss.? Ask them who is doing the staff collection.

Agree. It depends. If she doesn't ever contribute to anybody she shouldn't really get a present just a card. Leave the collecting to somebody else.

I’ve always found collections to be so random too. Different work places collect for different things. People seam to miss out, whilst get collections for all manner of things.
I would have thought retiring after 25 years was a valid reason to have a collection but if she doesn’t agree with them then don’t do one.Just buy a card.

I wouldn't give her the option of a gift if she has vocally never donated to others. I certainly wouldn't do a collection for her.

She won't be expecting anything then. I'd do flowers, bottle of something she likes if appropriate, and a card signed by the team

Discuss it with her! "You've always been against collections so does a card from the staff sit better with your views?"

Though if she says no to that and she's never donated to others, I imagine people might make their own choices about donating to hers.

At my last workplace you could opt in or out for collections. If you opted out, you got a card when you left. It worked very well, presumably that’s what she would prefer.

A card, and if it's within policy where you work, flowers on expenses 'from all at Company X'.

Oh right. Card it is then

I assumed she contributed to others collections and just didn't like the idea of one for herself.

Now I see she doesn't contribute at all then I would just stick to a card

Aren't the company going to get her something? I'd ask HR or her manager if flowers or similar can be expensed.

She doesn't contribute to collections and has been very vocal about not agreeing with them. It's going to bite her on the bum but I think just a card with nice messages would do.

If you feel it would usually be your responsibility to do the collection, I'd ask her directly what she wants. "I'm assuming you don't want a collection for your retirement as you've always been against them. Is that right?" Don't do this if you're no usually in charge of collections.
Yes, collections are always horribly unfair. Some people are forgotten, some leave at the same time as a few other colleagues and people can't stretch to giving what they usually would, some people leave due to ill health/redundancy and aren't acknowledged at all, and people have completely different ideas around who should give and how much.

What’s the point of that? Obviously good for the charity, but why when she hasn’t even suggested that she’d want or expect that!

Just get a card - it’s as simple as that. She’s made her views very clear in word and deed.

It would be wrong, bizarre even, to place an expectation on others in the team to hand over their hard earned money to buy something for someone who has expressly said they don’t want it!

Card only. And tbh I kind of agree about collections- especially in the current COL crisis and most people have many and varied demands on their finances. But that does depend on office culture. Most of my colleagues are on min wage.