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Retirement Age
Definition
Retirement age is the age at which a person stops working full-time or begins drawing retirement benefits, typically ranging from 55 to 70.
Explanation
The full retirement age for Social Security is 66-67 depending on birth year. Early retirement (62) reduces benefits permanently. Many people retire between 62 and 65. Early retirement requires substantial savings since retirement may span 30+ years.
Working longer increases Social Security benefits, allows more time for savings to grow, and reduces the number of retirement years to fund.
Example
Delaying retirement from 62 to 70 can increase Social Security benefits by 76% and allow 8 more years of compound growth on savings.