Couples reveal disturbing lack of knowledge of partners' finances

Saturday 28 August 2010 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Nearly a third of people in long-term relationships say they have no idea of their partners' finances, according to a survey from insurer Prudential.

More than a fifth say that they have never had a conversation with their partner over financial plans for retirement despite the fact that up to 12 million Britons have no money put away for old age.

One in 10 say that they have no interest in either topic. "It's astonishing that one in 10 men and women say they're not interested in their partner's retirement savings arrangements," said Andy Brown, right, Prudential's investment director. "Essentially, this could mean millions of UK adults are banking on hope as their core retirement strategy and are approaching what is arguably the most important financial decision without a full understanding of their household financial situation.

"The reason this is so important is that the longer retirement planning goes unresolved, the harder it is for couples later in life to try to get a decent financial retirement plan in place."

The Prudential survey revealed stark regional differences. Half of those questioned in the North-east of England said they had no idea of their partner's financial position, and 23 per cent of people living in the South-east expressed a similar lack of knowledge.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in