Our Podcast Library
Tune in to Gatewood’s podcasts for financial insights from our experienced team.
Listen Now →
Retirement Checklist
How to Plan for Retirement as a Couple
Most retirement planning assumes one person's timeline. Couples often discover late that they pictured different retirement ages, different lifestyles, or different plans for the house.
This checklist gives you the questions to work through together, covering retirement age and lifestyle expectations, savings targets, the key ages between 50 and 73, how to align or combine accounts, and Social Security timing. Download your free copy below.
Sneak Peek
What's Inside the Checklist
Retirement planning for couples means reconciling two sets of expectations — about when to stop working, where to live, and what the money is for. This checklist gives you the prompts to work through those questions together, in five sections.
The ages that matter:
- 50 — catch-up contributions to a 401(k) or IRA begin
- 59½ — penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts
- 62 — earliest Social Security eligibility, at a reduced benefit
- 65 — Medicare eligibility
- 70½ — qualified charitable distributions from an IRA become available
- 73 — required minimum distributions begin for most accounts
The checklist also covers lifestyle and timing questions to discuss, a savings target calculator, guidance on aligning or consolidating accounts, Social Security claiming strategy for two people, and a final confidence checklist.
