My husband and I have a 12-year age gap – how do couples like us coordinate retirement timing?

Significant age gaps between couples aren’t all too uncommon. While a gap of over 10 years may entail thinking differently about retirement and financial planning versus couples at or around the same age, I do think that it doesn’t need to be difficult to adjust for the age gap. Indeed, the elder family member may retire a decade sooner, or if the younger member embraces the FIRE (short for financial independence, retire early), perhaps the couple could retire at around the same time.

Either way, let’s check in on the case of an expecting Reddit couple with a 12-year age gap that’s aiming to retire at the same time at the ages of 55 and 67, respectively. Indeed, I think it’s a great idea to pursue early retirement if it means retiring alongside one’s spouse and maximizing time together during the so-called “go-go” years that entail adventures and somewhat more extravagant spending. Of course, retiring at 55 is no easy feat. However, things can be accelerated if the older partner contributes to their much-younger spouse’s nest egg.

In any case, several factors ought to be considered before going with a retirement game plan, especially if there’s a child on the way. Indeed, raising a child from diapers to college could easily cost six figures and set one’s retirement plans back a bit. Either way, budgeting and obtaining the help of a retirement planner seems like a wise idea so that any obstacles to a shared retirement can be tackled well ahead of time.

Let’s look into a few key points that the couple may wish to consider before settling on a retirement date.

Healthcare and long-term care costs ought to be planned for

This goes without saying: if one member of the family is much older than the other, healthcare must be planned well ahead of time. Whether we’re talking about ensuring proper insurance coverage or having a more padded nest egg to prepare for those unexpected medical bills or long-term care commitments expenses that can arise, perhaps early on into the younger spouse’s retirement.

Of course, if the younger spouse has an employee-sponsored medical plan, it may be a tougher call to retire at the age of 55, especially if their nest egg isn’t as developed. In such a case, a staggered retirement may be the more conservative option so that unexpected medical costs don’t end up cracking open the nest egg after the couple is fully retired.

Indeed, there’s quite the trade-off here, especially since the younger spouse may feel added pressure to leave the workforce earlier, even if it’s not the best financial decision in the world. As always, a retirement planner should be consulted to deal with the personal nuances of retiring early with a much older partner. It’s too often that retirees underestimate the costs of healthcare and long-term care.

Reduced benefits for the younger spouse

Indeed, retiring at 55 would leave one a whopping seven years away from being able to draw down Social Security benefits. To achieve FIRE, one had better have a lofty nest egg to make up for the lack of such a benefit. Whether we’re talking about a seven-figure nest egg that can allow a comfortable lifestyle using the “4% rule” or a massive one that allows one to live off interest and not the principal, it’s important to find the right FIRE number and achieve it, rather than being set on a particular date.

At the end of the day, it’s a risky move to coordinate a retirement date if it means coming up short. The last thing one wants to do is head right back to work at 60 after missing out on five years’ worth of prime earning years.