Whether you’re newlyweds or have celebrated many anniversaries, you already know you can accomplish more working together towards the same goal. The same goes with retirement savings. Both spouses can and should be involved in building up the retirement account – even if there’s one income earner! Here are some ways: Spousal IRA: A spousal IRA is a traditional IRA that a non-working spouse can contribute to, even if they don’t have income. The partners just need to file taxes jointly. For 2023, couples married filing jointly can contribute $13,000 to IRAs per year, or $15,000 if both are age 50 or older due to the catch-up contribution provision. Social Security: Social Security is all about timing and working years. Under current guidelines, a non-working spouse is eligible for up to 50% of their working spouse’s Social Security at full retirement age (FRA). As with anything related to Social Security, there are many ways to configure the payout details so it’s important to understand your specific situation. Medicare: Like Social Security, Medicare discussions can get complicated fast. There’s a literal alphabet soup of variations to account for, as well as you and your spouse’s ages and income. It can get confusing, fast! Under current guidelines, if the working spouse retires and drops their private insurance in favor of Medicare, the non-working spouse may be covered as well. It can get tricky if the non-working spouse isn’t at least 62 years old. Retirement is an exciting time – you get to call all the shots! We want to ensure you and your spouse feel like you have enough for the retirement of your dreams. There are a lot of ins and outs when it comes to planning for retirement when married. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or to take a deeper dive into what retirement may look like for you! You may reach me by phone at (804) 665-1589 or e-mail to kmurphy@capfs.com. |
Building a Nest Egg for Two
