Besides all the romantic benefits, another great part of being a couple is that you can use the power of teamwork to reach your financial goals. However, recent studies have revealed that it’s the opposite for most couples – they leave each other in the dark, and cause more problems than solutions when paired together financially.
Thankfully, with a solid financial roadmap and the right team planning, you can avoid these problems, and ensure a successful retirement as a couple. Here are some tips to pull it off:
Consider your big-picture goals
The key to achieving major financial goals in retirement is to start early. Even if you’ve started planning for your own goals, sometimes couples find out they have differing retirement goals late in the game, and they have to scramble to reach a financial compromise.
That’s why it’s important to hash out your major goals – such as if you want to travel in your golden years, or buy another home. That way, you can use the power of teamwork and compound interest to live a worry-free retirement together.
Ensure your own success
As I’ve advocated plenty of times, women face a slew of unique issues in retirement. We live longer on average, we’re more likely to leave and enter the workforce, and we often have decreased earnings a result. While it’s important to work together, it’s also vital to ensure your own success when retiring as a couple. Couples should work together or utilize a trusted advisor that creates a clear retirement plan for both, rather than having one spouse depending on the other’s finances.
Don’t keep each other in the dark
What I often see is that one partner takes the lead on managing finances (contrary to what traditional Wall Street might assume, women are often the CFO of the household). It’s perfectly fine if one person prefers not to be quite as involved, as long as everyone still has an understanding of all the moving pieces of your wealth. This means knowing the location and amount of accounts, assets, and property, and whether they are held in your name, your partner’s name, or jointly. It is also part of a larger conversation on planning for your financial future together that involves your goals and investment strategy.
Learn more about retiring as a couple
At LexION Capital, we offer transparent, bespoke services that can help couples retire together. As a woman-owned and run firm, we understand and account for the unique issues facing women in retirement. If you want to learn more about retiring as a couple, contact us today.
