Forest Hill's Jeff Judge in AARP: Why couples with an age gap should plan around the survivor

ByJeff Judge, CFP®, AEP®, ChFC®, CLU®, Managing Partner, Chesapeake Financial Planners, Forest Hill, MD.

When couples in Harford County ask me about Social Security, the question is usually when to claim. If there is a big age gap between spouses, that question hides a bigger one.

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AARP recently asked me about retirement planning for couples where one spouse is a decade or more older. My answer was that the survivor benefit can be the younger spouse's primary income for a long stretch. That makes the older spouse's claiming age a decision for two people. Waiting past full retirement age raises the benefit about 8% a year until age 70, and the surviving spouse generally keeps the larger of the two checks.

In Fallston, Kingsville, and Aberdeen, I meet couples who did nearly everything right and still time the claiming date around the two people at the kitchen table today. The plan tends to work better when it is built around the one who is left.

The same conversation should cover when the younger spouse stops working. Retiring alongside an older partner can mean fewer working years, a smaller Social Security record, and health insurance costs before Medicare begins. Those are worth modeling before anyone leaves a job.

The takeaway: before anyone files, look at what the survivor's income would be under each claiming age. This is general information, not individualized advice, so bring your own numbers to your advisor.

This piece builds on "Smart Retirement Moves for May-December Couples," in AARP (September 2026).

Jeff Judge, CFP®, AEP®, ChFC®, CLU®, is Managing Partner at Chesapeake Financial Planners in Forest Hill, MD. Book an intro call.