Retirement
One in 10 couples over 40 have never discussed retirement plans
More than one in 10 couples over the age of 40 have never discussed their retirement plans, according to research from Prudential.
The insurer found that 11% of couples had avoided the subject altogether, while 19% had not discussed their plans in the last five years.
Only one in 10 couples over 40 have seen a financial adviser jointly in the past five years to discuss their retirement.
The research results show that avoiding discussions around retirement led to a mismatch in how much money each half of a couple expects to live on in retirement.
When asked separately to estimate the couple’s expected joint retirement income, men said £35,100 on average and women £32,000.
However, it is not just retirement planning that couples avoid discussing. The study found that six per cent have never discussed their finances together and a further 12% have not discussed money for over a year.
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Despite sharing a life together, many couples are also reluctant to lay their financial cards on the table at all. Around 25% keep their current accounts entirely separate, 30% hold savings in separate accounts and 23% maintain separate investments.
This behaviour could be partly as a result of fears that financial conversations will spark arguments, Prudential said.
Money is the third most likely subject to cause disagreement among couples, with almost a quarter (23%) admitting they fight more about finances than they do about socialising (13%), work (10%), or politics and religion (7%). Family issues (33%) and household chores (27%) top the most likely arguments list.
Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement expert at Prudential, said: “It’s easy for couples to put off conversations about finances, particularly longer-term issues like retirement planning, because it’s difficult to see any short-term impact. But our research has highlighted some worrying trends.
“Avoiding the conversation is just likely to create a bigger issue in the longer term, so having open, frequent and early conversations about retirement planning really can help couples to remain financially secure.”