Weekend Reading: Mind the Age Gap Please: Planning for Couples Who Retire Together, or Not

Posted: 08/27/2021

|Forbes |Financial Planning |Purpose-Based Planning

This article appears as part of Casey Weade's Weekend Reading for Retirees series. Every Friday, Casey highlights four hand-picked articles on trending retirement topics and delivers them straight to your email inbox. Get on the list here.

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A question our team often faces is, “When should I retire?” And for couples, a follow-up inquiry can also include whether or not that answer should differ from your spouse.

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A retirement timeline: Maybe in your ideal world, you and your partner are able to step into retirement at the same time – Or, maybe not. Many financial and non-financial aspects need to align in such a case, and often, that isn’t always realistic for a couple. Much like with many instances in a relationship, this can be a time for compromise, and that may include adjusting your spending, while also ensuring you don’t have to sacrifice your time together.

Cost-saving options for couples: One major way to cut costs in preparation for retirement is to downsize your living arrangement and try out some easier-to-maintain housing options that pique your interest. Another option is to scale down your travel or the manner in which you travel to more cost-effective alternatives. If in the event you are financially able, a third opportunity could be easing into retirement by going part-time together as a couple. Ultimately, all of these options should take into consideration your overall happiness, financial stability and where you feel you can make the biggest impact at this stage in life with the person you care about most.

Talk it out: The best idea may seemingly be to retire with your spouse, but that’s rarely the case. As with every big decision, don’t take it lightly. Talk, talk and talk some more.

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