For the full retirement benefit, you must be 62 years old at retirement or, if you have 30 years of credited service, you may retire as early as age 55. With 20 years of service credit, you can apply for early retirement regardless of your age.Make sure you are familiar with the retirement application form and are aware of the decisions you will have to make in completing the forms. Have you met the age and service requirements to be able to retire with full benefits? Apply for your monthly retirement benefit any time between age 62 and 70. Note: Age reductions will not apply to members who retire with at least 30 years of Total Service Credit or to participants in the Age 55 Retirement Program who. I wish to give you a high-level overview of the. Program, and alert you to some hard rules around eligibility and designing your own plan to phase out work in. Generally, early distributions are those you receive from a qualified retirement plan or deferred annuity contract before reaching age 59½. If you retire at age 62, the earliest possible Social.