More husbands and wives are choosing to retire at different times, owing to changing career aspirations and financial responsibilities, Statistics Canada suggests in a study released Friday.

Analysts Grant Schellenberg and Yuri Ostrovsky note the majority of couples still choose to retire in tandem. But, they say, between 1986 and 2001, the proportion of husbands and wives who retired within two years of each other fell to 29 per cent from 32 per cent. The slight decline, which emerged in the 1990s, is in part linked with changing roles and responsibilities.

"Throughout much of the 20th century, older couples faced only one retirement decision — the husband's. Women who had paid employment during their life typically left the workforce at an early age to care for children and work on an unpaid basis in the home," the study said.

"Increasingly, couples must make two decisions rather than just one and must balance the preferences and constraints of partners who both make substantial contributions to household income."

The study also found the proportion of wives who retired five or more years after their husband jumped by seven percentage points between 1986 and 2001. During the same time period, the proportion of husbands who chose to retire five or more years after their wives rose four percentage points, the study said.

Other considerations including age differences between partners, pension eligibility and career considerations influenced when workers elected to retire. Job losses also prompted some partners to retire early, the authors said.