I'm 53 and currently have a lot more saved for retirement than my spouse does. How should we strategically save to maximize our gains and meet both our needs?

It’s always a good idea for married couples to be financially aligned when it comes to saving for retirement— even if there’s an age gap in the relationship and one spouse has a higher income or more savings.

Let’s say you’re 53, five years older than your spouse — you may have more savings because you’ve been in the workforce longer and have extra years of investment gains. And you may have higher earnings at this point in your career.

But you also plan on retiring sooner than your spouse. How do you ensure everyone’s financial needs are met? What happens if the marriage crumbles? It’s important to take a fair and strategic approach to saving for retirement in the coming years.

Prioritize the right accounts

Since the goal is likely to maximize your retirement dollars, figuring out which accounts to prioritize is an important part of a smart savings strategy. The first question to ask yourselves is whether each of you is eligible for a workplace retirement plan like a RRSP) that comes with an employer match.

Employer matching is essentially free money, so it's important to maximize them when you can. Your first goal should be for each of you to contribute enough to your workplace plan to snag your employer’s match in full.

From there, you should aim to contribute the maximum each year to any tax-advantaged accounts like RRSPs and TFSAs. You can prioritize which accounts to fill up first based on past returns, portfolio fees or investment flexibility.

That said, TFSAs have lower annual contribution limits than RRSPs. They currently max out at $7,000 while RRSPs max out at $32,490 or 18% of your annual income.

Either way, if your income or personal retirement savings are far ahead of your spouse’s, then you may want to cover more of your joint household expenses out of your paycheque to allow them to pump extra money into their retirement accounts. This assumes that you’re on track to have plenty of money to retire a few years ahead.

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In case things go awry

You might feel good about your marriage now, but it’s important to keep in mind that things change, and divorces can happen at any age.

Gray divorce — sometimes called silver divorce — refers to couples over the age of 50 deciding to end a marriage, and it’s on the rise.

Laws vary by location, but absent a prenuptial agreement, assets acquired during marriage are typically considered marital property in many jurisdictions across the country. That means each spouse could have rights to a portion of contributions or gains to retirement accounts made during the marriage.

So, even if you end up getting divorced where one spouse has a much larger retirement savings balance than the other, the assets could end up being split — whether equally or equitably. Couples may be able to decide how to divide their assets within a divorce settlement agreement, but it must be agreed to by a judge.

Even if you plan to spend the rest of your lives together, it’s never a bad idea to cooperate now and create a plan that’s fair to both of your futures.