Statutory retirement age is the most visible parameter of the old-age pension system and one which sets a clear signal for people in making economic decisions. The contribution analyses different concepts of statutory retirement ages under the different welfare regimes. These regimes and models have been heavily influenced by the politics and public choice. Early retirement age regimes became a new phenomenon in the latest half-century, making the retirement more flexible and risky – for the providers. The Czech experience reveals the fiscal risk of the retirement age reforms and of the financial illiteracy of the clients. Actuarial neutrality of the early retirement benefits should decrease the fiscal risk and support the equivalence principle in the Czech pension system. Statutory and early retirement ages play a different role under different pension pillars and products.