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Couples keep cards close over money

Cherry Reynard
Written By:
Cherry Reynard
Posted:
Updated:
05/12/2014

Couples are surprisingly duplicitous when it comes to their finances, failing to come clean to their partners about debts, savings, investments and even how much they earn, according to new research from Prudential.

The survey looked at co-habiting couples aged over 40 and found that one in eight (13 per cent) have debts that they have not disclosed to their partners. These debts average £7,800 with women slightly more likely than men to keep quiet about their borrowing.

On the other side, nearly one in five have secret savings and investments stashes worth an average of £20,800. More than a fifth don’t know how much their partner has built in pension savings.

Prudential also found that many couples fail to disclose their true earnings to each other: Around a quarter of those who keep some or all of their earnings secret say that they do so to maintain their independence.

Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement income expert at Prudential, said: “Couples looking to secure their financial futures should be very wary of keeping elements of their finances secret from each other. The reasons for keeping quiet may seem perfectly valid, and coming clean may result in some awkward conversations, but it is important for couples to have a full understanding of their joint financial circumstances when planning for the future.

“For example, couples who are keeping separate secret stashes of savings with the intention of funding their retirements could be missing out on vital pensions tax relief. Alternatively, couples approaching retirement, unaware of their partners’ debts, could be in for a nasty shock if they haven’t been cleared when the time comes to give up work.

When asked how their secret debts arose, many of those with debts say that they have come about as a result of day-to-day life – 56 per cent cite general living costs as the main cause of their debts.

Men are more likely to have secret savings and investments than women, while 24 per cent of female secret savers say they are keeping the money hidden to provide financial security in the event of a break-up.

There may be another, more benign reasons for keeping money secrets from each other. Nearly one in four (22 per cent) of those who don’t tell their partner their full financial story about their income are planning to use the cash to buy presents for their other half, while another 22 per cent admit to planning for a major purchase such as a dream holiday or new car.


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