Any married or partnered person would have learned that men and women think differently and when it comes to life in retirement, this can become painfully obvious. Each partner may have their own vision of retirement and that vision could be quite different for both of them.

But don’t despair. There are challenges out there, but there is also a solution to most of them. It’s called “communication”. It’s critical for couples to discuss how they see their lives in retirement before it happens, and during the early years of this new stage of their lives. 

Life is going to get strained if he wants to tow a caravan around Australia and she doesn’t want to be away from the family for lengthy periods.

We are all different and each of us will have our own concerns and goals, but to help get the conversation started, here are a few topics:

You will probably be together 24/7 and for many this will be the first time this has happened for a lengthy period in their entire relationship. Have you considered how to handle this?

If you are both going to be at home, have you considered re-allocating some of the domestic chores?

What do your combined and separate social networks look like? You may lose contact with old work friends. What friends do you want to spend more time with and which ones less time?

Will you have separate bank accounts, a joint account or a combination of both? Who will take responsibility for managing the finances?

How will your retirement affect the relationships with your family? Will there be a new role with the grandkids?

What are your plans now that you have the time to travel? Where do you want to go? It’s advisable to do any big trips in the early years.

Do you plan to spend some time apart so that you pursue your own interests, sports and hobbies?

You can find lots of useful information  to help the discussion on our web and in our books. The address is – www.retirementbooks.com.au