Retiring With Your Spouse? Here’s What to Know

If you don’t know what your spouse wants out of retirement, you might be faced with unforeseen, costly mistakes. Ask yourself if you know their specific plan. Do you know the day they plan to retire? Do you know exactly how your finances are going to be handled? Retirement is all about planning, and if you aren’t planning with your spouse, then you’re missing half of your retirement equation.

Here’s an extreme example to illustrate the point. What if tomorrow your spouse says, “I crunched the numbers and talked with my family—It’s time for me to retire next month.” If you had no idea that your spouse was getting ready to retire, how would you plan to pay the bills now that he or she is at a reduced income? How would you continue to save for your own retirement? Such a decision might cause you to frantically re-strategize and may even put your financial future in jeopardy. Your and your spouse’s lives are inextricably linked, not excluding your finances. That is why planning together is key.

Here are some topics and questions you can cover now with your spouse so that you don’t end up in an unpredictable and costly situation later:

• First and foremost, when are you both planning to retire? This will help both of you to get an understanding of how your finances will shift in the coming years.
• Next: where would you like to live when you retire? It’s possible for some folks to relocate once they aren’t tied down to a location because of work. Is this something you are interested in doing as a couple?
• Another thing to consider related to the previous point: are you going to downsize your home? If you are going to stay in place, you might be interested in getting a smaller home now that the kids are on their own.
• It’s also important to strategize when you and your spouse will claim Social Security.
• Lastly, are you considering leaving wealth for your kids or grandkids, and if so, how much? This is another topic that it’s important to be on the same page about. If you have a solid plan in place for this aspect of your retirement, then you can work that into your overall plan more easily.

This is just scratching the surface when it comes to retirement planning for couples, and the earlier you start, the more you can have organized. If you are looking to have someone guide you and your spouse through the process of retirement, consider reaching out to one of our professionals today for a complimentary review of your finances.