Abstract: In this paper, a life-cycle model with utility from both consumption and leisure which is obtained from retirement is setup to inquire how the individuals optimally chose the retirement age facing the given wage growth rate, longevity and given survival schedule. It is proved that there exists an optimal retirement age under conditions of exponential survival or realistic survival and the retirement age increases with respect to the wage growth rate and the longevity. In the end, the effect of wage growth rate and longevity on the retirement age is presented by numerical simulation.

Key words: life-cycle model, optimal retirement age, optimal consumption and asset path