How to Ensure Proper Retirement Planning for Couples

Retirement planning as a couple helps ensure decisions made today support both partners over the long term. For expats, differing systems can add complexity. This article highlights why a coordinated approach matters, the practical steps couples can take, and what to explore in more detail as you read on.

Many couples talk about retirement in general terms but do not always agree on the details. Research by Fidelity Investments found that over half of couples who have not yet retired disagree on key aspects of their retirement planning, including how much they need to save.

One partner might imagine stopping work in their late fifties, spending more time with family, or returning to the UK, while the other expects to work longer, stay abroad, or take on a part time role.

On top of that, pensions and savings may sit in different countries, in different names, and under different rules, which can make it hard to see the full picture.

Retirement planning for couples brings all of this into one shared conversation. It helps you align your timelines, decide where you are likely to live, organise pensions and savings across borders, and plan for tax, healthcare, and currency.

In this article, you will see why planning together matters so much, especially for expats, and how to build a practical plan that supports both partners.

Hoxton Wealth supports couples around the world with retirement planning, including many who live, work, and retire across more than one country.

Working with a wide range of expat couples has provided insight into how joint finances, pensions in several places, and different retirement ages can affect long term security.​​

Retirement planning for couples means building a single plan that reflects both partners’ goals, incomes, pensions, and risks, rather than treating each person in isolation.

It looks at how your combined finances can support your shared lifestyle, including where you want to live, how much you want to spend, and how long your money may need to last.​

This type of planning needs to consider joint pensions and savings, different levels of risk comfort, and what happens if one partner lives longer than the other.

A joined-up approach can help avoid gaps, such as one partner relying on the other’s pension without clear planning and can support better long-term outcomes for both people.​

• Expat couples often have multiple pensions across different countries, each with its own currency, rules, and access ages.
• Retirement income may be taxed in more than one country, making it important to understand double tax agreements and the impact on net income.
• Healthcare planning varies by location, especially if one or both partners plan to return home or remain abroad long term.
• Currency risk can affect spending power when income and savings are held in a different currency from day-to-day expenses.
• A clear, joined-up retirement plan helps expat couples address location, tax, pensions, healthcare, and currency together.

Step 1: Align Retirement Timelines

Start with an open discussion about what retirement looks like for each of you and when you would like it to begin. Retirement does not have to mean the same thing for both partners.

Key points to explore include:

• Whether one partner plans to stop work completely while the other continues part time, consults, or runs a small business
• How different retirement dates affect household income needs
• State pension ages and employer pension rules in each country where benefits have been built up

If one partner can access pension income earlier than the other, you may need to:

• Bridge income gaps between retirement dates
• Plan how and when withdrawals are phased

Step 2: Manage Pensions Across Jurisdictions

Many expat couples hold pensions and retirement savings in several countries. These may include UK workplace pensions, personal pensions, and local schemes abroad.

Start by creating a full overview, including:

• Pension providers and plan types
• Current values and currencies
• Access ages and withdrawal rules
• Any guarantees or special features

Once everything is mapped out, you can consider:

• Whether to keep pensions where they are
• Whether transfers or consolidation are possible
• How each pension fits into your overall retirement income plan

For UK expats, there may be specific considerations around how UK pensions are treated when living overseas. Support from a regulated adviser with cross-border experience can help avoid costly mistakes.

Step 3: Understand Tax Implications in Different Jurisdictions

Tax can have a major impact on retirement outcomes for expat couples. Different countries tax income and assets in different ways, and double tax agreements can affect where tax is paid.

Areas to think about include:

• Where you are tax resident now and where you expect to be resident in retirement
• How pensions, investments, rental income, dividends, and capital gains are taxed
• Whether tax paid in one country can be credited in another

With forward planning, tax rules can help shape decisions such as:

• Which assets to draw income from first
• Where investments are held
• Whether ownership of assets should be adjusted between partners

Step 4: Plan Finances Jointly

Retirement planning is not just about numbers. It is also about how you manage money together.

Couples take different approaches, such as:

• Pooling most finances into joint accounts
• Keeping some accounts separate but planning spending and saving together

Joint planning can help you:

• Track progress toward shared goals
• Budget more clearly as a household
• Ensure both partners understand how income and investments work

It also helps address practical issues, including:

• Who manages bills and investments in retirement
• What happens if one partner becomes ill
• Financial arrangements if one partner dies first

A shared financial plan brings clarity and helps ensure both partners’ priorities are reflected.

Step 5: Plan for Healthcare and Insurance Abroad

Healthcare is often one of the largest and most uncertain retirement costs for expat couples.

Important considerations include:

• How healthcare works in countries where you may live in retirement
• Access to public systems versus private healthcare
• Residency rules and eligibility requirements

You may need to plan for:

• International health insurance
• Local private medical cover
• Long-term care costs

Healthcare costs vary widely between countries, so realistic assumptions should be built into your retirement budget.

Some couples also plan for the possibility that one partner returns home while the other remains abroad, which may require different healthcare solutions within a single plan.

• Start Early
  Begin planning together as soon as possible to allow time to adjust savings, close gaps, and make informed choices about retirement timing and location.
• Review Regularly
  Revisit your plan at least once a year or after major life events such as a move abroad, a new role, or changes in family circumstances.
• Track All Assets
  Maintain an up-to-date list of pensions, savings, and other assets in both names and across all countries.
• Diversify Wisely
  Avoid relying too heavily on one country, currency, or asset type, especially if income and future spending are in different places.
• Plan for Inflation and Currency
  Build flexibility into your income plans to cope with rising costs and changing exchange rates over time.
• Get Professional Support
  Consider regulated financial advice where your situation is complex, such as holding pensions in multiple countries or planning further moves in retirement.

Retirement planning for couples is about much more than picking a retirement age.

It involves aligning your goals, mapping out income from pensions and other sources, understanding tax and healthcare, and agreeing how you want to manage money together over time.

This is especially important for expat couples who may face extra questions around pensions in more than one country, tax rules, and where to live in later life.​

Hoxton Wealth works with couples in the UK and across the world to build clear, practical retirement plans that reflect their shared and individual goals.

If you and your partner are ready to take action, review your pensions, and bring your retirement plans together, speak to Hoxton Wealth. Our advisers can help you assess your options as expats and put a clear, joined-up plan in place for the years ahead.

When should we start retirement planning as a couple?

It is sensible to start as soon as you are thinking about long term goals together, even if retirement still feels a long way off.

Early conversations give you more time to save, adjust plans, and make decisions about careers, moves, and family that support your future lifestyle.​

How much money will we need to retire comfortably as a couple?

The amount you need depends on where you plan to live, the lifestyle you want, how long you may live, and what other income you expect, such as state pensions or rental income.

Many couples find it helpful to work backwards from a desired annual spending level and test different scenarios with a planner.

How do we coordinate or combine our pensions, retirement savings, and other income sources?

You do not always need to combine everything, but you do need one overall plan that covers both partners’ pensions, savings, and other assets.

This plan can show when each income source starts, which currency it is in, how it is taxed, and how it supports your joint budget.​

Should we retire at the same time?

Some couples retire at the same time, while others choose a staggered approach. The right choice for you depends on your finances, health, careers, and what you both want from retirement, so it helps to model both options together.​

How do we decide who manages finances and investments in retirement?

It is helpful for both partners to understand the plan, even if one person takes the lead on day-to-day tasks.

You can agree clear roles, keep shared records, and consider involving a regulated adviser so that either partner can continue to manage the plan if circumstances change.