In many households across the U.S., there is one member of a family that takes care of the money and financial situations for everyone else. However, when it comes to retirement, it is important to talk to the whole family, especially a spouse, according to the Associated Press.Fidelity Investments recently conducted a study that showed 41 percent of couples decide on retirement investments and plans together, leaving 59 percent of pairs that have one member unsure of the financial futures. Women were the abundance of individuals who felt they could not take over if something happened to their spouse, the media outlet reported.
"The life expectancy for a woman on average is about three years longer than a man so there's a likelihood that the wife will have to manage the retirement finances alone or at least be the primary decision maker at some point in time in retirement," Chris McDermott, senior vice president of retirement and financial planning at Fidelity, told the news source.
According to the Boston Globe, couples need to decide how they want their lifestyle to be like after they retire, if they want an active lifestyle in an independent retirement community or whether they want to maintain their lives where they currently reside.
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