Most couples have disagreements about important life decisions throughout their lives. They may disagree about where to live, where to send the kids to school or even when to sell a house. A new argument that is coming up frequently is deciding when to retire. Many couples do not agree on the timing of when to retire and it's causing some friction in households around the world.
In fact, 62 percent of couples who are near retirement disagree on when to retire. The husband may be ready to retire and hit the golf course. At the same time, the wife may be enjoying her career and has no desire to cut it short prematurely.
Another common issue that couples in this situation face is determining if they have enough money to retire on. One spouse might think that they have plenty of money to live the way that they want to live while the other spouse may disagree. One of the common issues in this situation is communication. Few couples ever sit down to figure out how much money they want to have when they retire. Without knowing an exact dollar amount, the couples may have different ideas about what it would take to retire. In some cases, sitting down with a financial planner may be able to eliminate the problem.
One of the factors that can complicate things is an age difference between the spouses. For instance, many men who are near retirement are a few years older than their spouses. They may have been working longer and they are ready to be done with work. The other spouse who is younger may not be ready to give up her career quite yet. When this happens, it can cause friction between spouses and lead to further problems.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal. [3]