A majority of Americans believe that retirement planning is easier for unmarried people, according to a new survey, but those perceptions are probably wrong.
The survey, by Charles Schwab & Co., found that 53 percent of married Americans and more than 69 percent of singles said they believe it is easier to make major financial decisions for retirement when there is no spouse in the picture. However, the survey found that singles are on average actually less prepared and less confident than married couples when it comes to being financially prepared for retirement.
According to the survey, 85 percent of married Americans are already saving for retirement, compared with 67 percent of singles across all age groups. Thirty-eight percent of married Americans expressed confidence in their retirement readiness compared to just 32 percent of those who are single.
Both married and single respondents to the survey saw potential drawbacks to retirement planning without a spouse. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of married people and 57 percent of singles said that not having a spouse’s additional income or investments as a safety net could be a challenge. Similarly,58 percent of married people and nearly half (47 percent) of singles said it might be challenging to not have a spouse to rely on for health insurance or long-term care. Fifty-eight percent of married Americans said it would be easier to decide when to retire without having a spouse to consider, while 62 percent of those that are married said that choosing where to retire would be easier if they were single.
More than one-quarter (27 percent) of married survey respondents said their financial confidante is someone other than their spouse, while more than half (55 percent) of singles said they turn first to close family members, such as parents and siblings.
