# Global Retirement Age Reality Check: Where You Can Actually Retire Early

Retiring at 60 sounds like a dream, but it's already happening in 10+ countries. Here's the plot twist: most of them are raising the bar anyway.

**The Early Exit Squad:**
- **Indonesia & Saudi Arabia**: 57-58 (but Indonesia is phasing up to 65 by 2043)
- **China**: 55-60 for men; 50 for blue-collar women (yeah, gender gap is wild)
- **Russia**: 55-60 (though they're hiking to 65/60 soon)
- **Colombia**: 57-62
- **Austria**: 60 for women now, 65 for men (women's age climbing to 65 by 2033)

**The Catch:**
You can't just show up and cash out. Most systems require 10-25+ years of contributions. China's basic pension? 15 years minimum. Saudi needs 120 months (10 years) just to start collecting at 58.

**What's Actually Happening:**
Populations are aging globally, so pension funds are getting squeezed. Even "early retirement" countries are quietly raising their retirement ages. Indonesia's doing it gradually every 3 years; Turkey locked in a sunset clause (65 by 2044). The writing's on the wall: early retirement is becoming a luxury, not a right.

**Bottom line**: If you're banking on retiring at 60, you need to lock in those contribution years NOW. Time matters more than your age.