Right: Otto Von Bismarck, the first Chancellor, or leader, of Germany, when it became a nation in the late nineteenth century. Bismarck introduced the first national social security system, under which Germans over 65 were to receive a state pension. Of course, in those days, not many citizens actually reached 65. Today, almost everyone does.
Background information
(Much of the information contained in the following has been drawn from Wikipedia's entry on 'Retirement'. The full text of this entry can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retirement)Retirement occurs when a person stops employment completely (or decides to leave the labor force if he or she is unemployed). A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.
Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to work any more (by illness or accident).
In most countries, the idea of retirement is of recent origin, being introduced during the 19th and 20th centuries. Previously, low life expectancy and the absence of pension arrangements meant that most workers continued to work until death.
Germany was the first country to introduce retirement in the 1880s. The age of 65 was originally selected as the time for retirement by the "Iron Chancellor," Otto von Bismarck, when he introduced a social security system to appeal to the German working class and combat the power of the Socialist Party in Germany during the late 1800s. Bismarck knew that the program would cost little because the average German worker never reached 65, and many of those who did lived only a few years beyond that age.
When the United States finally passed a social security law in 1935, the average life expectancy in America was only 61.7 years.
Nowadays most developed countries have systems to provide pensions on retirement in old age, which may be sponsored by employers and/or the state. In many poorer countries, support for the old is still mainly provided through the family.
Today, retirement with a pension is considered a right of the worker in many societies, and hard ideological, social, cultural and political battles have been fought over whether this is a right. In many western countries this right is mentioned in national constitutions.
Ageing populations in developed countries (the result of declining birthrates and increased longevity) are putting pressure on this 'right'. Many nations are taking steps to increase the 'retirement age', that is, the age at which government-funded age pensions can be accessed.