Early retirement is changing — here’s what to consider, according to the experts

Retiring early is a dream for many, but can often appear impossible unless you’ve made millions throughout your career.

“Twenty years ago rates of early retirement were fairly similar across different wealth levels,” Heidi Karjalainen, a research economist for retirement, saving and aging at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), told CNBC.

But this has now changed, according to an IFS report on retirement trends in the U.K. that was released last month, with “retirement before state pension age is increasingly concentrated amongst the wealthier population.”

Meanwhile, those who hold average levels of wealth in their late 50s and early 60s are most likely to be employed, and work until they hit pension age, the report showed.

In the U.K., people can currently claim the state pension at 66.

The key factor in whether early retirement is possible is, of course, money, Karjalainen said.

“It appears that the increase in employment among people with average levels of wealth is largely driven by financial necessity, as many, for example, still have an outstanding mortgage,” she said.

For Gary Smith, a partner in financial planning and retirement specialist at Evelyn Partners, the key question then becomes whether people can afford “the life they want.”

Various factors play a role in making the answer “yes,” and many of them relate back to saving, Smith said. This is especially important in the U.K., as many pension-specific savings cannot be accessed until the age of 55.

In some cases, accessing these funds to retire early may be a good idea, but caution is needed, Karjalainen noted.

“It is important for these individuals to consider the implications of using a pension pot to fund immediate needs in the lead-up to the state pension age, as it may impact their long-term financial security and income in retirement,” she said.

Anyone who wishes to retire even earlier “will have to have non-pension savings in…