Research has shown some common threads about the effects of retirement and working (or not working) on couples. One study looked at transitions in retirement involving 534 married couples in their 50s, 60s or 70s who were retired or about to retire from several large businesses in upstate New York.
Husbands and wives reported greater marital satisfaction if they retired at the same time. While men with nonworking spouses had greater marital satisfaction than those with working wives, regardless of whether the men themselves worked, those men who didn't work but had a working spouse reported the most marital conflict.
- Quiz: Should you stop working?
Women experienced the highest marital satisfaction if they entered new jobs after retiring and their husbands were also working, but men who worked after retiring from their primary job experienced more marital discord than those men who didn't work.
You may have heard the saying, “Twice the husband but half the money.” According to Ronald Manheimer, executive director of the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement at the University of North Carolina, women's fears in retirement include losing one's identity (becoming more prevalent with the increase in the number of retiring professional women), being responsible for their spouses'/significant others' social life and entertainment, experiencing a disruption of their established patterns, needing to take care of everyone, financial and health issues and outliving their spouse.
