Discussing Retirement with Your Partner

By Brent Meyer — SafeMoney.com Founder & Editor Reviewed by Licensed Financial Professionals  |  SafeMoney.com — Trusted Since 2011  |  Updated Regularly Quick Answer: Learn key considerations for discussing retirement with your spouse. Prepare together for a secure future. Explore safe money alternatives today! Have you and your spouse discussed your goals and expectations for retirement so that you can be fully prepared? Not that much? You’re not alone. According to research from Hearts and Wallets, more than half of Americans (58%) are struggling with retirement planning, estate planning, and making investment decisions. An article on NextAvenue.org talks about why this might be case. Part of the trouble is baby boomers have a lot of emotional hopes and dreams tied up in their retirement. They also have goals they want to accomplish before they retire, which may lead to delays in retirement decisions. As for estate planning , many older Americans simply don’t feel a strong urge to deal with estate matters yet. As you approach retirement, it’s time for discussions. You should have frank conversations with your partner about retirement, what you want it to be, and how you will pay for it. This is a crucial step in being able to enjoy a secure and comfortable future. Let’s go over some important steps to take. What Do We Want Our Lifestyle to be Like? First, you and your spouse need to talk about your retirement vision. Do you want to maintain your family home? Do you want to move to be closer to family or somewhere with more appealing weather? Do you want to travel extensively? Do you want to work at all? How will you spend your days? These are important things to talk about. For one, they help create a more complete framework around which to have discussions of retirement money matters. Some couples struggle at retirement with so much time together, because they don’t have a clear plan for how they’ll spend their time and, subsequently, their money. How Much Money Will We Need? This is a very important question to answer. The answer is it depends. Up until this point, you and your partner have had a certain lifestyle and used a certain amount of income per year to maintain it. Will your lifestyle continue as it is in retirement, with just some changes? Or like some people, have you made sacrifices during the working years and look forward to higher-end living in your post-work years? This is just one reason why dis