It can be important for a person to make a plan for what they’ll do with the free time they’ll have in retirement. When a person retires, they can find themselves with much more free time than they are used to, as the many hours that had been taken up by their job suddenly open up. This can be a major change to adjust to. Planning out one’s retirement free-time use in advance could help with making it easier to adjust to this change.
One of the effects the free-time change can have for a married couple that is entering their retirement years is that it could result in the couple spending much more time together daily than they have in the past. How such a major increase could impact a couple depends on the particular couple. For some couples, such a big increase in time together from what they are used to could be a potential source of marital discord.
Thus, one of the things planning out what one is going to do with one’s free time in retirement could potentially have positive benefits for is one’s marriage. If a married couple believes a major change in the amount of time they would spend together when they retire could affect their relationship dynamics in a negative way, they can plan their future retirement-related free time in a way that would reduce how big of a change in time spent together they would experience.
Having a good financial plan for retirement could also potentially help a married couple’s marriage as they move into retirement. Not having a good retirement financial plan going into retirement could lead to financial struggles, which could cause financial strife within the marriage. Such strife can put considerable stress on a marriage.
Thus, retirement planning, financial and otherwise, can not only impact what a married couple’s retirement will be like, but also how well their marriage will hold up in retirement.
Just as it can be important for a married individual to properly plan for retirement, it can also be important for them to properly prepare if they decide to divorce their spouse after entering retirement. Divorce attorneys can help retirees considering divorce with preparing for the various issues divorcing during one’s retirement years can raise.
Source: The Washington Post, “One way having too much free time in retirement could backfire,” Rodney Brooks, Oct. 31, 2015