Getting a Spouse on the Same Retirement Planning Page

Preparing for retirement isn't always just about you. If you have a spouse or a significant other that you share your life and finances with, he or she could play a pertinent role in your retirement planning and vice versa. Depending upon your situation or your knowledge of finance and investing, it might be your partner who actually helps prepare you for retirement.

In my case, my wife is certainly more than happy to let me do our retirement planning, but I don't like to leave her out of the loop. Life is never a certain thing, and I want her to be as prepared and as knowledgeable as possible regarding our personal finances and retirement plan in case something happens to me. Plus, I need to understand her retirement wants and needs in order to formulate a plan that works best for both of us. In order to do so, here are some of the things I do to help prepare my spouse for retirement.

The Talk

Sitting down and talking to your spouse or partner about retirement could be a little scary if you haven't done it before. And you might be a little rattled if you suddenly find that you don't quite see eye-to-eye on where you plan to end up or how you expect to get there. But you should look at this enlightenment as a positive, as it may be better to find these things out sooner and later. Like turning the Titanic, altering the course of your retirement plan can take some time, but doing so early can keep you from hitting an iceberg and sinking with all your hopes, plans and dreams aboard.

I regularly discuss retirement with my wife, and we are often on the same page with where we want to end up. However; her indifference to certain major decisions often makes it harder to plan than if she had a strong opinion upon the subject, and this can lead to the need to develop shared goals.

Goals

Goals are important to your retirement planning; but having widely differing goals from your spouse or partner can prove trouble for the financial path that lies ahead. Discussing where you want to retire, how much money you think you will need, how much money you need to be putting away versus how much you actually are, and where you are investing that money are all areas in which having different goals from your significant other can hurt your chances of achieving your retirement dreams.

By talking to your partner about what he or she is envisioning for retirement, you may be able to get a better feel for how you are progressing and any changes or adjustments that might need to be made to your current retirement plan and goals.

Timeline

I was surprised to find out one day many years ago, that while I sought to retire early, my wife really didn't care that much about it. If you are planning on retiring when you are 50 but your spouse plans on working until he or she is 75, you could end up facing some real retirement roadblocks. And the sooner you are able to deal with these issues, the easier it will hopefully be to determine a plan that will successfully meet both of your needs.

Coming up with a retirement timeline when it comes not only to when you plan to retire but also when you will start to rely upon certain income streams or investments such as social security, a pension, an IRA or employer sponsored retirement plan, savings, and similar assets could help you get a better idea for how your retirement will progress for both of you.

Factoring in things like when to put your home on the market if you are planning to move, your family health history -- whether you have a more pronounced tendency toward certain life threatening conditions, shorter or longer longevity, etc. -- and certain family obligations (parents or children who are still dependant upon you) can also make a significant impact upon the timeline you create.

Remedying Issues

You can't expect to be on the same page as your significant other right away when developing your retirement plans; and you may never be on the same page completely. I think that my wife and I will always have slightly different views on were we really want to be at the ends of our lives. There are often a variety of issues to be figured out with a retirement partner, but being able to compromise and think outside the box when it comes to how you work through these issues can help ease the pain and make for a more enjoyable retirement for both of you.

Such compromise might result in your spending portions of the year in different geographic locations, even other countries. You might find that one of you will be paying for more of the expenses should their retirement income be significantly more or should their retirement dreams be a bit more costly than yours. It could be that you put all your stuff in storage and spend months traveling from place to place, spending a couple months here with family, a month there with friends, then on to another family member, and so on. Such variety in retirement options is why it can be so important to know where your partner's thoughts are when it comes to when, where and how they would like to pursue their retirement dreams.

More From This Contributor:

Ready for Retirement? Are You Sure?

The 4 Retirement Questions I Ask Myself

How I'm Sabotaging My Retirement

Disclaimer:

The author is not a licensed financial, retirement or relationship professional. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. For financial advice, readers should consult a licensed financial advisor. Any action taken by the reader due to the information provided in this article is solely at the reader's discretion.