When one partner spends much more — does joint planning still work?
Age
44
Location
Portland, OR
Income
$310k combined
Saved
$740k combined
A 44-year-old Portland couple earns $310k combined but has very different spending patterns: one partner is frugal at $45k/year while the other spends $75k, partly due to ongoing medical costs. Combined that is $120k — but optimizing retirement timing requires modeling each person's expenses separately rather than averaging them.
The earliest retirement age at which this plan does not run out of money is 46, after 2 more years of full-time work. Market risk matters more than that headline: the earliest age that succeeds in at least 80% of 500 Monte Carlo simulations is 47.
| Retire at | Full-time years left | Semi-retired years | Best Monte Carlo success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 1 | 0 | Runs out of money |
| 46 | 2 | 0 | 47% |
| 47 | 3 | 0 | 84% |
| 48 | 4 | 0 | 99% |
| 49 | 5 | 0 | 100% |
| 50 | 6 | 0 | 99% |
| 51 | 7 | 0 | 99% |
| 52 | 8 | 0 | 100% |
You retire at Age 47, partner retires at Age 67.
Growth rate (4.0%) keeps compounding during spending — the extra buffer matters most against bad early-retirement market sequences.
Social Security: $38k/yr starting at age 67 is included. Healthcare: $22k/yr before Medicare at 65.
Across the simulated market histories (in future dollars, not adjusted for inflation), the median portfolio is $2.06M at 70, $1.93M at 80, $1.81M at 90. In a poor sequence of returns (10th percentile) it is $0k at 70, $0k at 80, $0k at 90.
This example uses illustrative figures and should not be treated as financial advice.