mostly arranged for us
In my planning, up to age 92 for me and age 95 for younger spouse, we considered:
• neither EVER having to return to w@rk
• at least one will potentially require LTC, expect five years in planning with surviving spouse, if needing care, to sell house and go into LTC facility with those funds in addition to any unused funds from first-to-pass and any IRA (both tIRA and Roth) from them. Hence, I have left funds to cover this (currently over $600 k, but plan for only about $400-500 k).
• getting as much COLA'd funding as reasonable.
Spouse had somewhat higher pay (HCE) but due to HCE rules could only get 10% into 401k and salary didn't quite get to the max; I generally maxed mine out. Total comp didn't allow for Roth and didn't exist in earlier years; in later years were in thirty-whatever fed tax plus state tax so used traditional as we knew we'd be in lower bracket in retirement.
• Spouse only had a cash balance plan while I had a COLA'd pension, but it had a 50% max survivor (would have preferred 75%, took at 50% survivor).
• With age difference, and with the change in FRA's, with my slightly lower PIA the plan was spouse to delay to 70 (for max survivor benefit) and then for me to claim at somewhere between FRA and 70.
If I pass earlier, as would be expected, then spouse claims my SS as survivor and delays their own until 70. My 50% pension plus both Roth, tIRA, and taxable should very easily cover any needs.
While I delayed, the 2022 downturn in both equities and bonds triggered the clause in the IPS that allowed claiming at FRA, which then was started. This was also to help maintain a very large cushion in taxable that would be usable between spouse claiming survivor and the age 70 benefit, rather than potentially deplete a portfolio that was down. If we both are claiming (her age 70+ and my FRA in increased by COLA) part of those funds would be added to taxable to further bolster handling any situation.
AFA housing, the house is paid off (we paid cash) but is probably too far away and too large for either (we were DINKs so no need for large house with only one).
It's likely that either survivor would sell and then decide what they do for housing; if I happen to be survivor then I would almost certainly relocate since this location was for proximity to spouse's siblings.
AFA doc's we've got wills, POA's, trust already set up but have various siblings as backup trustees; if one of them passes we'll have to revisit potential nieces that might be good fit.