Is 62 Too Early to Retire?

For years, retirement advice sounded simple: work until 65, retire, and start the next chapter.

Real life is more complicated than that.

For people considering retirement between 62 and 65, the decision is usually less about a single age and more about whether the pieces of the life you want actually fit together.

Start With the Life, Not the Date

Before choosing a retirement date, think about what an ordinary Tuesday will look like after work is no longer structuring the day.

Where will you live? What will healthcare cost? How much travel do you want? Will you work part-time? What gives you purpose? How much flexibility do you want to preserve?

Those questions matter because retirement is not only a financial transition. It is a lifestyle transition.

62, 63, 64 and 65 Are Not the Same

Social Security can begin as early as 62, but starting earlier generally means accepting a permanently smaller monthly benefit than waiting until full retirement age. Medicare eligibility usually begins at 65, which makes health coverage one of the biggest planning issues for anyone leaving work before then.

That gap can change the math significantly.

It is also worth looking at taxes, withdrawals from retirement accounts, debt, housing expenses and whether one spouse plans to keep working longer than the other.

The Question Worth Asking

The goal should not be to retire as early as possible or to work as long as possible.

The goal is to build enough flexibility that you can choose.

For some people, 62 will be the right answer. For others, working another year or two may create considerably more comfort. And some people will discover that a gradual transition — consulting, part-time work or seasonal work — fits them better than a hard stop.

The best retirement age is the one that supports the life you actually want to live.

— Allen S. Robinson
The Pacific44 Journal