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Retirement Planner for Two Working Spouses with Different Retirements

Your staggered retirement

You
$
$
$/ yr
Your spouse
$
$
$/ yr

Retirement accounts are pre-tax 401(k), 403(b) or IRA money. Salaries, benefits and spending are in today's dollars. If one of you has already retired, enter the current age as the retirement age.

$

Bank or brokerage money you can spend without tax.

$/ yr

After tax, once the first of you retires.

The working spouse's plan stays invested. Once you have both retired, withdrawals come from the older spouse's accounts first.

More options
%
%
%
%

Income and payroll taxes together.

%

Also applied to 85% of Social Security.

%
%
%
%

The years on one paycheck

Savings when you have both retired

–

Gap between retirements

–

Drawn from savings in the gap

–

Savings last until

–

Those savings in today's dollars–
Working spouse's take-home pay in the first gap year–
Spending not covered by pay or benefits, first gap year–
Early-withdrawal tax (under 59½)–
Joint savings run out–

–

Drawing order compared

The same plan run both ways. After-tax value counts retirement accounts net of the withdrawal tax rate.

ResultJoint savings firstRetirement accounts first

Year by year

For the drawing order you chose, in future dollars. Withdrawals from retirement accounts include the tax on them.

Your ageSpouse's ageStageTake-home paySocial SecuritySpendingFrom joint savingsFrom retirement accountsTotal savings at year end

Results are estimates for educational purposes and are not financial, tax or legal advice.

Focus on the years between the first and the second retirement, when one paycheck has to cover the household, and see whether drawing joint savings or retirement accounts first leaves you better off. Next, open the life expectancy calculator and enter your own details to see an estimate in seconds.