In an effort to discover the impact of early retirement plans on school districts and early retirees, researchers sent questionnaires to 147 superintendents in districts that offer early retirement plans and to 51 early retirees from those districts. Responses were received from 98 administrators and 46 retirees. Fiscal needs were seen by administrators as the motivating factor in establishing an early retirement plan and the desire to stop working was perceived to be the primary motivation for employees' choosing early retirement. Over 46 percent of the retirees indicated that teacher burnout caused them to retire early. Administrators indicated that early retirement plans had little financial impact on the districts. The major benefit retirees realized from early retirement was an improvement in their recreational and leisure activities. Most districts rated their retirement programs as excellent or good and more than 95 percent believed the retirees were satisfied with their decisions to retire. Retiree responses were congruent with administrator perceptions. (WD)