Every hard-working person dreams of someday being able to enjoy a long, relaxing retirement. However, over the decades, the average age of retirement has only risen, with the current retirement age being 62. Can't bear the thought of working for that long? If not, then it might be time to begin looking into the possibility of retiring early. Unfortunately, retiring early isn't something that just anybody can do However, if you've been on the ball in terms of your retirement planning, you just might be able to shave a few years off your retirement age.

Got Any Debt?

First of all, before you retire, it's in your best interest to pay off all of your remaining debt. Therefore, if you still have any consumer debt, then you're definitely not in a place to reitre early. However, if you can figure out a way to pay off your consumer debt by your desired early retirement age (perhaps by making larger monthly repayments), then early retirement isn't necessarily out of the question.

Got Enough Saved?

Keep in mind that, for some retirement funds, you won't be able to withdraw any money until you reach the average retirement age of 62. If you're wanting to retire early, then, you'll need to make sure that you have enough retirement money available to you and that you won't be setting yourself up for financial disaster down the road by tapping into those funds early. Typically, you can withdraw early from a 401k or Roth IRA, but it's a good idea to track your spending for a year to figure out whether or not early retirement is do-able before you start taking money out of these accounts.

Got Medical Insurance?

Unfortunately, you won't be able to get on Medicare until you're at least 65 years old. Therefore, if you retire early, you'll need to have your own individual health insurance plan to cover your medical expenses until that point. Make sure you factor these costs in with your retirement budget as you determine whether or not you can afford to retire early, as medical insurance doesn't come cheap.

These are a few of the most important questions to ask yourself as you try to determine whether you're ready for early retirement. If you answer "yes" to all of these questions, you might be in a good place to begin retirement life a little early, but it's still best to check with your retirement advisor to be sure.