As todays life expectance is growing in most developed countries more and more people work through their sixties or seventies. This is both because it is easier and better for them to be able to support themselves but also it is because a life without occupation is something they are not used to. People nowadays have very busy lives with a fast pace.
This is why I think that retirement age should not be mandatory but optional. Everyone's circumstances are different so having to choose if you want to work or retire from paid employment would be the right thing to do. Also I agree with the difference in the age that men and women are able to stop working. Currently in the UK I think it is 65 for women and 67 for men allthough I understand this is ewxtending and expected to be 68 for women and 70 for men in the next decade.
I am aware that the situation may not be the same in other countries, especially in underdeveloped ones. Here people struggle to get work and the conditions are harder so the life expectance is probably lower. This is why governments take this into consideration when establishing what would the ideal retirement age should be. I still think that it should be an option and that people should not be obliged to retire when they are 50. In conclusion I have to say that the government needs to think about ways of helping people stay in labour rather than mandatory early retirement age as this would benefit the state but also the people.