When does a veterinarian retire?

Answer 1

If the veterinarian is an employee of a practice which offers a retirement plan, yes. If the veterinarian is self employed, they can prepare for retirement by choosing the right type of plan for themselves and still have a comfortable retirement.

Answer 2

This varies by species treated, type of practice and the financial planning of the individual veterinarian. A rough average would be about age 65 in the United States, although plenty of veterinarians work longer than this. In general, veterinarians retire either when they want to get out of the profession (which typically takes 30 or more years of practice) or when they are physically no longer able to do the work (more common with large animal and equine veterinarians).

Answer 3

Yes, most veterinarians in private practice receive a moderate increase in salary most years. The raise comes from being able to provide better medical care faster (a new graduate may need 20 minutes for a recheck appointment, but with experience can drop that to 15 minutes) and being able to provide more advanced medical care (such as bladder surgery to remove stones).