Retirement Planning for Couples

 

He is a risk-taker when it comes to investment. She wants her capital to be secured.  He is a travel freak. She prioritizes life goals like buying a house or children’s higher studies. 

When opposites come together as a couple, the harder it is to reach a financial decision. More so, when it’s about creating a retirement plan. So how about strategizing it the right way to ensure a happy future? 

The four steps to the right retirement plan

Here are the four basic steps you can take as a couple to chalk out the best retirement plan. 

• Step 1: Bridging the perspectives
  

  As individuals, you two might have completely different perspectives towards money. But as a couple, you need to arrive at a common retirement plan. So, share in detail your individual growing up patterns, experiences, and how you look at decisions like spending or saving. 

• Step 2: Scheduling the retirement
  

  When do you want to retire? Early or in the conventional age band of 60-65? Do you want to earn in some way during your retired life or just relax and enjoy the fruits of so many years of hard work? These are important questions to ask yourself and your partner. 

• Step 3: Balancing debt and investment
  

  It’s important to list out individual and joint loans, monetary responsibilities like family contributions, retirement beneficiaries, alimony or child support from previous marriage (if any) to arrive at the total debt. On the other hand, consider the individual risk tolerances to create an investment path accordingly. Also check out together the available investment options in India, as also retirement plans that will let you both live out your golden years comfortably.

• Step 4:  Prioritizing the goals
  

  Have in-depth conversations regarding your individual priorities. Accordingly, spread out your retirement plan. Focus on handling your money wisely when you are young so that all your couple goals get fulfilled and yet you have sufficient funds for a comfortable retired life.  

Tips for retirement planning for couples  

Here are a few tips that you can follow.

• Sort out money management conflicts from the past and seek a solution.
• Decide the retirement timeline, couple goals and individual priorities. It’ll be easier to spend, save or invest your money. 
• Respect each other’s risk appetite. Build and balance your investment portfolio accordingly. 
• Fix a percentage of income to be kept aside every month to build a corpus smoothly. 
• Choose investment plans available in India wisely and keep checking their performances from time to time. 

Retirement planning mistakes to avoid  

The following are the most common mistakes couples make while planning for retirement.

• Waiting till the 40’s or 50’s to start with a retirement plan and ending up with a smaller corpus.
• Saving less over time to focus on travel, getting a fancy car etc. 
• Not considering the inflation possibilities and suffering from a lack of funds in future.
• Having a faulty income tax plan might end up reducing your retirement corpus.
• Carrying forward too much debt in the form of EMIs. 

How to get your retirement plan started

To build sufficient funds for a smooth retirement you need to start early. While on the one hand, you need to grow your money, securing the money you invest is also crucial. More so, when one is a risk-taker and the partner is not. Here you can build a large emergency fund and invest the rest in equities for higher returns. Capital guarantee solutions can also be a good choice.

Once you commit to a future together, your financial decisions need to converge too. Keep that in mind and plan wisely. Retire to a smooth life together. 

 Related Articles:

• Financial Planning for Couples after Marriage 
•  Start Your New Life on the Right Foot with Term Insurance
• Marital Financial Inclusion - How to Plan Jointly
• How Marriage influences your Investment Decision? 
• Growing Together, Saving Together: Financial Tips for Married Couples
• Learn How an Investment Plan for 5 Years Works for You