%0 Report %D 2019 %T Retiring earlier than planned: What matters most? %A Alicia H. Munnell %A Matthew S. Rutledge %A Geoffrey T. Sanzenbacher %K Health Shocks %K Retirement Planning & Satisfaction %K Wealth Shocks %X The brief’s key findings are: More than a third of older workers retire earlier than planned: the question is why? This study looks at: 1) the impact of unexpected changes in health, employment, family, and finances on early retirement; and 2) the prevalence of these shocks.The findings suggest that: Health shocks play the largest role, mainly because they are widespread.Job loss without finding a new job, while not as prevalent, is also important. Family transitions have a modest impact, while financial shocks appear to have little effect. A key caveat is that all the shocks combined explain only about a quarter of earlier-than-planned retirements, so clearly other factors are also at play. %B Issue in Brief %I Center for Retirement Research at Boston College %C Newton, MA %G eng %U https://crr.bc.edu/briefs/retiring-earlier-than-planned-what-matters-most/