Couples May Need Coaching – About Finances

Although love may be blind, making financial decisions can be an eye-opener. Fidelity’s 2021 Couples & Money study found plenty of room for improvement and a need for couples coaching.

• Although 57% of respondents said they are joint decisionmakers on retirement and other long-term financial goals, more than half of all non-retired couples disagree on how much savings is needed to reach their retirement objectives.
• One in five women reported having little or no involvement in retirement planning.
• 40% of those with a same-sex partner reported having only one primary retirement decisionmaker, compared to only 27% of those with an opposite-sex partner.

The solution is clear: Make money a team sport, said Stacey Watson, senior vice president of life event planning for Fidelity.

“Money discussions are not always easy, but the fact so many couples feel they are in sync and are comfortable talking about financial topics is encouraging, even if the conversations do occasionally end in disagreement,” she said.

“Openly discussing financial matters helps people feel more confident, more closely aligned and better equipped to take on the future. For all couples, the best advice for money conversations is that it’s not a competition, so stick with it and keep the dialogue going.”

When it comes to communicating as a couple, the events of the past year have driven a third of couples to talk more about both day-to-day and long-term financial planning.

Still, some money matters are more difficult than others to discuss, according to the study. The hardest to initiate include discussions around managing debt, will and estate planning, and careers.

A critical component of any team sport is having confidence in a teammate’s ability to successfully execute what’s expected of them. And yet for many financial matters, people tend to have a higher opinion of their own abilities than that of their partner.

Despite the gamesmanship, most respondents generally have about as much confidence in their partner’s ability to assume full financial control of the finances as they do their own, an important factor when considering the differing life expectancy of many couples.

For day-to-day finances and short-term goals, almost half of respondents have complete confidence in the ability of either themselves or their spouse to take over decision-making responsibilities.

There is far less confidence, however, in taking full control of retirement finances and strategy, with only four in 10 feeling completely confident in their partner’s ability to do so — or even their own.

As in years past, the study continues to see women sometimes taking a backseat or doubting their abilities for managing longer-term planning and investing.

While more women are taking part in planning as either a primary or joint decisionmaker, women still are far more likely to credit their partner with having a better understanding of investing matters, with 56% of women indicating their partner is savvier. By comparison, only 34% of men said the same.

“The good news is over the last few years, this past year in particular, Fidelity has seen a seismic shift in women seeking out greater knowledge about investing and getting more engaged in planning for longer-term goals,” said Watson.

“We know when women do invest, they see positive results that can help reach their goals faster, so building on this and encouraging active participation in household investing decisions can help both partners feel more confident about the future.”