Retirement Can Expose the Marriage You Thought You Had

Retirement as a Relationship Transition: How couples can surface different expectations about time, independence and money and plan a retirement that works for both.

When work no longer structures the day, couples may discover different expectations about time, independence, money, and what retirement should look like. How can they talk about those differences and build a life that works for both of them?

Retirement isn't just a financial transition - it's a relationship transition. After decades of work, children and busy schedules, couples can suddenly discover they have very different ideas about how they want to spend the rest of their lives.

What if you and your partner have spent 30 years planning for retirement - but never actually planned the same retirement?


Chris brings a distinctive perspective because his work sits at the intersection of retirement, money and family life. He can take the conversation beyond "Have you saved enough?" and explore whether couples have actually planned for the same retirement.

About Chris Maduri

Chris Maduri, podcast guest

Retirement & Life Transitions Expert

Nearly 20 years Helping people prepare for retirement4 Pillars of sustainable retirement planning3 Buckets in his wealth-building approachSales Director Named by Financial Marketing Group in 2013

Chris Maduri has spent nearly two decades helping people prepare for more than retirement - he helps them prepare for the life that comes after work.

Because retirement isn't simply the day the pay cheque stops.

It can change your identity, your marriage, your relationship with your time, your health, your family and your sense of purpose. And Chris believes that's the part of retirement planning most people don't talk about.

Chris began his career just before the 2008 Financial Crisis, an experience that fundamentally shaped how he thinks about risk. Watching carefully constructed plans come under pressure taught him that assumptions can fail - and that a retirement plan needs to work in the real world, not just on paper.

But after nearly two decades in the industry, Chris has come to see that financial preparation is only one part of the equation.

The bigger question is: What are you actually retiring to?

Chris describes retirement as the "fourth quarter of life" - and, if you've done things right, a little overtime.His work explores what it takes to make that chapter meaningful: having financial confidence, maintaining your health, protecting the people you love, staying connected to a sense of purpose and knowing how you want to spend the years you've worked so hard to create.

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