One in five couples over the age of 40 have avoided discussing retirement plans in the last five years and many prefer to keep finances completely separate, according to a new study.
According to the research for Prudential only 10 per cent of couples have actively sought financial advice together in the past five years and one in four (25 per cent) keep their current accounts separate. The reseach also found that money was the third most likely topic to cause arguments among couples.
One in 10 couple (11 per cent) have never discussed retirement, according to the research from Prudential. The findings will give added impetus to the IFP's Financial Planning Week which starts on Sunday and aims to encourage more people to plan their finances.
The lack of retirement conversations extends to having professional financial advice together. Only one in 10 couples over the age of 40 have seen a financial adviser jointly in the past five years to discuss their retirement plans, while 14 per cent admit that they or their partner have seen a financial adviser alone to discuss retirement planning.
The research results also show that avoiding discussions around retirement can lead to a mismatch in how much money each half of a couple expects to live on in retirement.
When asked separately to estimate the couple's expected joint retirement income, men said £35,100 on average and women £32,000.
Prudential's research found couples avoid discussing their finances in general. Six per cent admit they have never discussed their finances together and a further 12 per cent have not discussed money for over a year.
Many couples are also reluctant to lay their financial cards on the table at all. Around 25 per cent keep their current accounts entirely separate, 30 per cent hold savings in separate accounts and 23 per cent maintain separate investments.
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This behaviour could be partly as a result of fears that financial conversations will spark arguments, says Prudential. Money is the third most likely subject to cause disagreement among couples, with almost a quarter (23 per cent) admitting they fight more about finances than they do about socialising (13 per cent), work (10 per cent), or politics and religion (7 per cent).
Vince Smith-Hughes, retirement expert at Prudential, said: "It's easy for couples to put off conversations about finances, particularly longer-term issues like retirement planning, because it's difficult to see any short-term impact.
"But our research has highlighted some worrying trends, in particular the fact that nearly one in five couples approaching retirement, in the 45 to 54 age group, have never discussed jointly their plans for income in later life."
Research was conducted by Consumer Intelligence, 2 to 8 October 2013 among 1,996 adults over 40 years of age who currently live with their spouse or partner.