The figures suggest that the state of their finances is more likely to cause couples to fall out than disagreements over housework, staying out late or their partner’s choice of friends.
The study, which looks at how co-habiting couples over the age of 40 are planning for their retirement, also found that nearly one in five (17%) say that they don’t feel comfortable talking about finances with their other halves.
The awkwardness that couples feel around having conversations about their finances also appears to shape their attitude to retirement planning. Twenty per cent of those surveyed have never had a conversation with their partner about the income they think they will need in retirement. And while the majority of couples have discussed their pension incomes in the last year, a third (34%) of them only talked about it for half an hour or less.
When couples were asked if they knew what level of income they would need to lead a comfortable retirement, more than half (56%) admitted to having no idea.
Vince Smith-Hughes, head of business development at Prudential, said: “There is no hiding from the fact that sometimes our finances are a tough topic to talk about. It is all too tempting to put off conversations about the money we’ll need in the future.
“There can be tangible financial benefits, however, for couples who bite the bullet and have a frank and open conversation about their plans for the future.
“A conversation with a professional financial adviser should help couples to make better decisions about savings during their working lives, ensuring that their income continues to support their lifestyle in retirement and that they benefit from all available allowances.”
The Prudential study also reveals that 16 per cent of couples have never had a conversation about improving their financial circumstances, and a quarter of those surveyed have not done so in the past year.
