Don’t do it….

Okay, I didn’t meant that title the way it sounded (although I do know a few couples who probably wish they weren’t retired together). By saying you shouldn’t “retire together” I mean you probably shouldn’t retire at the same time.

At least that was my advice when Investopedia asked me about staggered retirement.

From the article:

Many working couples dream of the day when they can retire and sail off into the sunset together. The investment and insurance industries have done much to convince the public that this ideal is possible only with the help of certain products and services, and the financial media has endorsed that idea.

However, working couples should take a moment to consider whether retiring at the same time is a wise course of action. This article will compare the financial ramifications of joint retirement versus one spouse working longer than the other, and why the latter option may be more advantageous in the long run. It’s a good idea to start thinking about these issues earlier than you may realize – say, at mid-career, when there is still time for each partner to map out a trajectory of how and when they’d like to leave the workforce and how those plans mesh together.

“A staggered retirement date is a great idea for financial and marital health reasons,” says certified financial planner Kristi Sullivan, Sullivan Financial Planning, LLC, Denver, Colo.