Couples with a significant age gap may have already faced several challenges in their relationship, and retirement planning is another potential challenge – but it doesn’t need to be as complicated as you think. If one of you is at the height of your career while the other is winding down, it may seem like an impossible task, but with a bit of soul searching, you can work together to find the right retirement plan that suits you both.
There are a few options, realistically, when it comes to how you want to retire – either retiring together, at the same time, retiring part time (where both partners switch to a part time working situation until a full time retirement), one partner retiring, or a different compromise (potentially one partner retires while the other switches to remote work or part time work).
Retiring Together
While retiring together full time may seem like the ideal, it may not be possible without the right financial situation – and the younger partner may not be ready to fully stop working yet. However, with the right circumstances this could be the perfect fit, and you could spend these years travelling or volunteering. You may even decide to step down into retirement by both working part time for awhile before fully retiring, to give yourselves space to ease into the transition together.
Retiring Apart
While retiring apart in time may sound the least appealing, it may work the best for some couples not only financially, but also due to their personalities. This could look different for different couples – perhaps one person fully retires while another works part time for a few years longer. Or, one person fully retires while the other retires in a few years down the line. This situation depends on your finances, your preferences and your lifestyle. Working with a financial planner can help you to determine the many factors at play with your decision.
Retirement Compromise
There are several potential compromises you may work on as a couple with an age difference when you may have different ideals as to when you’d like to retire. If one of you is ready to retire and the other isn’t, perhaps you might switch to part time or remote work so that you can still prioritize your time together in a different way. Again, working with a financial planner can help you not only to work through the financial parts of planning for your retirement, but also working through the lifestyle needs of your retirement as well.
Having both partners on the same page regarding retirement is a key factor in your retirement planning, and will likely make the process much easier.
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