Over the course of the demographic transition with an aging and shrinking work force, work participation of older employees becomes more and more important. Earlier investigations found social groups to be different in work-related and individual aspects, which were shown to be associated with motivation for early retirement.The aim of the study was to investigate the differences between older employees from distinct social groups in the motivation and determinants for early retirement.Within the framework of the prospective lidA cohort study ( www.lida-studie.de ) socially insured employees born in 1959 and 1965 were asked about work, health and work participation. Based on data from the 3961 participants who were employed at the time of both study waves (2011, 2014), associations between variables of horizontal (gender, migration background) and vertical (education) social inequality and motivation for early retirement were analyzed with multiple logistic regression and interaction analysis.There was an educational gradient regarding the motivation to retire in the expected direction. The wish to retire before the age of 65 years was less common in male than in female older employees. Employees with a lower level of education and with a first generation migration background wished to retire early significantly less frequently than those without a migration background. Besides the interaction between migration background and education there were no further significant moderating effects of work-related or non-work-related variables on the association of social variables and the wish to retire early.According to the results there are differences between social groups of older employees in the motivation to retire early. The reasons and the final realization still have to be investigated. As a result, consequences for companies and politics with respect to the preservation of the work force can arise.