Did you include her in the decision-making process, or did you just make your decision and tell her what was going to happen? The way your initial post read, I get the impression that you told her you were taking a break from work and that your family would have to tighten up the budget. I would have a HUGE problem if my partner did that to me.
You see, the key word in that last sentence is partner. My marriage is a partnership that we are both in, regardless of who brings home more income and who takes care of the household responsibilities. You describe her as an outstanding homemaker and parent, so she obviously is contributing to the family and your quality of life in a positive way. If my partner made a decision that affected both of us without including me, it would be very clear to me that we are not in the type of relationship that I want to have. If he told me I would have to start spending less money, I'd wonder what century he was living in to think that he was the only person who had a say in our finances.
About a month ago, my partner came to me and expressed his desire to move. A friend of his has a rental property that would be less expensive than our townhouse and it is a single-family home. I love our townhouse. It's in a perfect location, suits all our needs, and requires no maintenance or yardwork (which is helpful in giving us more free time, since we both work). My partner has been wanting to move into a single-family home lately, since he's never really lived in one.
If he came to me and said "I found a new house and we're moving," I may well have told him that if he wanted to go, it would be without me. Instead, he asked me to look at the place with him and he talked to me. He told me why it was important, listened to my concerns, and addressed them, including talking to the owner about worries I had that he hadn't thought of. He also made it clear to me that it was important to him for me to be completely on board. He didn't want me to leave a home I felt comfortable with if it wasn't something I really wanted to do.
In the end, we decided to move. We've both found pros and cons in the new place, but I think it will be a good adventure. It's also cheaper, which was certainly a pro for both of us. But it happened because we were both willing to communicate about what we wanted and needed out of the change.
How does your spouse feel about your plans to retire and live on more of a budget?
So, to answer your original question, he feels good about our budgeting and retirement plans, because we make them together. He knows that saving now means that BOTH of us will benefit in the future (we're actually planning on having him retire a number of years before I do, because he has such a physically demanding job).
We also both understand that the balance of household responsibilities changes depending on who is working more or less. When he has more time off, he takes over more of the household chores. I do the same when I have more free time. When he retires, he will be doing a lot to contribute to our lives, even if he isn't bringing home a paycheck anymore.