After dropping the bomb.
1. When you both qualify for pension say at 65 ( if not before as your spouse hopes to do) you really have full wages for 5 years after retirement.
What I mean by this as public servants you should get tax free lump sum of 1.5 times annually salary. Add that to your pension of half your yearly salary and taking tax into consideration in a effect for the first 5 years of retirements you will have the same income as if you were working. Great.
2. While many might disagree it is great to get rid of any type of Mortgage. If you were to pay an extra 1000euro per month off your mortgage by the time your child goes to college you would not have a mortgage.
3. Save another 1000 per month and in ten years you have at least another 120k added to those great pension. Easily done? Happy days.