NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Veteran CBS correspondent Mike Wallace is retiring from "60 Minutes" after more than 40 years at the network, it was announced Tuesday.

"I've often replied, when asked, 'I'll retire when my toes turn up'," Wallace said in a statement. "Well, they're just beginning to curl a trifle, which means that, as I approach my 88th birthday, it's become apparent to me that my eyes and ears, among other appurtenances, aren't quite what they used to be."

Wallace won 19 Emmy Awards during his career.

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Known for his straight talk, and tough but fair interviewing style, Wallace has reported for the CBS (Research) network's television news magazine program since its 1968 inception. The 2005-2006 season of the show marks his 38th on the broadcast.

Among his high-profile subjects were Presidents Lyndon Johnson and George H. W. Bush. His journalism experience dates back to the 1940s, when he was a radio news writer and broadcaster for the Chicago Sun.

Wallace said the move was his decision, adding that "CBS is not pushing me."

CBS News President Sean McManus said Wallace would stay on as "Correspondent Emeritus."

"Mike Wallace is one of a few giants of broadcast journalism for whom a list of endless superlatives can't and don't do justice," McManus said. "Mike has completely embodied what good, tough, fair journalism should be."

Wallace said he'll work on special projects, including "whatever chores CBS News, 60 Minutes, the CBS Evening News, have in mind for me."

He first joined the network in 1951, left it in 1955 and returned in 1963 as a correspondent for CBS News.

He has won 19 Emmy Awards, and a host of other broadcast journalism awards.

Wallace, whose birthday is in May, said he would maintain his CBS office, "on the same floor, just around the corner from where I've holed up for 43 years."

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