Why You Need to Consider Your Spouse When Planning 401(k) Contributions
Most financial experts advise you to replace at least 70% of pre-retirement income if you want a comfortable retirement -- and this is a conservative recommendation because many seniors end up spending more.
When figuring out the amount of income you need as a household during retirement, you'll have to take both spouses' income into account if you both work. Unfortunately, troubling data from the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College shows this often isn't happening.
The problem, the CRR found, is that in many two-income households, only one spouse has access to a workplace retirement plan and the other doesn't. In these households, the spouse with the workplace plan should be saving more to pick up the slack for the spouse without one -- but this often isn't happening. The result is that the couple isn't ready for retirement when the time comes.
Source Fool.com
