I`ve heard you can retire early at 55 instead of 65, is this true?

Question

if so, does the company ask you or do you have to ask the company for early retirement? also, they say the pension is`nt as big but you can get full pension at 65. (my own retirement is a long way off so it probably wont apply to me just yet but i`m just wondering)

Answer 1

Always depends on who you worked for: If for the Postal Service or some such big union outfit (firemen, policemen...) you can have a nice pension at 55. If you worked for a zero outfit all you life, though you might have been an honest worker and all, your pension will be close to zero and you might have to work till you're 80...

Answer 2

I'm retiring at 40. Thats just cause 37 will be 20 years here... nice pension and benifits and plenty of time left for another job :)

Answer 3

i retired at 55 but i did not have a company pension just the 401k plans and of course i did not collect ss till i reach 62!!! you can retire at any age  -- you just have to have the money to live on!!!

Answer 4

Sure if you have the money and can afford the insurance.........about 1K a month for a small family..........

Answer 5

Corporate retirement ages vary by company. You should inquire with your company's human resources department to see the age requirements at your specific company.

For years many companies set their retirement age at the age set by the social security administration to redeem full benefits, which was 65. This has recently changed, the SSA now requires those born after a certain date to be 67 to redeem full benefits. Social security benefits can be redeemed as early as age 62, but at a lower rate than if redeemed at 65, and with the disincentive of never receiving the full yearly benefit amount.

Please see www.SSA.gov for more information.

Answer 6

Health insurance is the big hindrance to retiring early.  Most people can't afford the insurance until they are eligible for medicare.