Retirement is often romanticized as a time for pursuing personal interests, traveling the globe, or starting an encore career. But for many married couples, it can also be a time of stress. It’s not easy to start a discussion with your spouse about financial goals, but one of the key benefits of being a couple is that you can use the power of teamwork. However, studies reveal that couples often avoid the retirement conversation and might even leave each other in the dark about their desires. Worse, they end up disagreeing on important issues.

When your goals are misaligned, strategies are not unified, and investment portfolios and risk management approaches are not harmonized, couples risk facing more problems than solutions. Couples need to balance life in retirement with their joint goals as well as individual desires.

With a solid financial plan and the right guidance, you can avoid common challenges that hinder retirement success for many couples. 

Learning Objectives:

• Practice how to envision your retirement as a couple


• Determine what to do when you disagree on important things like where to live, how to compromise on budgeting and spending, your desires for helping children and family, and more


• Recognize why retiring at the same time may not be a good idea


• Propose ways to unify your investment strategy to generate the income you need in retirement


• Determine how to maximize joint Social Security benefits, including survivor benefits


• Recognize how to set your spouse up for success if you were to fall ill or die prematurely


• Identify and list the information you need to know with legacy and estate planning and the issues associated with aging as a couple