The earliest normal retirement age which an employer pension scheme can use is which of the following?

The earliest normal retirement age which an employer pension scheme can use is which of the following?

• A. 50
• B. 60
• C. 55
• D. 65

Answer: (B)

Normal retirement age is the age at which pension benefits become payable without any actuarial reduction under the scheme’s rules. The earliest such age that an employer pension scheme can designate is 60. If the NRA were set younger, benefits would effectively be treated as early retirement and typically reduced to reflect the longer payment period, and it could raise discrimination concerns. Ages like 50 or 55 would imply early retirement rather than normal retirement, while 65 is simply a later NRA. So 60 is the earliest age at which benefits can be paid in full under a scheme.

Normal retirement age is the age at which pension benefits become payable without any actuarial reduction under the scheme’s rules. The earliest such age that an employer pension scheme can designate is 60. If the NRA were set younger, benefits would effectively be treated as early retirement and typically reduced to reflect the longer payment period, and it could raise discrimination concerns. Ages like 50 or 55 would imply early retirement rather than normal retirement, while 65 is simply a later NRA. So 60 is the earliest age at which benefits can be paid in full under a scheme.