A recent survey by Fidelity shows that wives and husband don’t share retirement-planning duties nor agree on the plan:

  • Only 41% of couples surveyed handle retirement investment decisions together.
  • Only 17% of couples say either spouse is prepared to assume sole responsibility of their retirement finances.
  • Although women are more likely to outlive their husbands, only 35% of wives say they are completely confident in their ability to take over the finances.  72% of husbands feel they can.
  • 33% of couples say they don’t agree or don’t know where they plan to retire.
  • 62% of couples nearing retirement don’t agree on the age at which to stop working
  • 47% of couples nearing retirement don’t agree on whether they will continue to work in retirement.

Here’s what you should do and know:

  • Both husbands and wives should know where critical documents are kept
  • Both need to know what to do if their spouse is no longer able to assist with financial decision-making
  • Both should have an understanding of the family’s finances, savings, and investment goals.
  • Both should become active in financial planning and meeting with the family’s financial and investment advisors.
  • Both husbands and wives should talk about retirement and finances more often together for better agreement and mutual understanding.