Retirement Questions for Couples
You are about to spend a great deal more time together.
- Players
- 2 players
- Length
- 30–55 min
- Cost
- Free · no signup
- Long distance
- Works long distance
Ready?
You are about to spend a great deal more time together.
- Players
- 2 players
- Length
- 30–55 min
- Intensity
- Sweet
Free · No signup · Nothing you answer is saved
How do you play Retirement Questions for Couples?
Retirement questions for couples cover what each partner is retiring to, how the days will be shaped, how much time together versus apart each wants, what the money genuinely allows, and what happens if one retires first. The time-apart question surprises most couples, because working hours previously handled that negotiation for them.
How to play
- Do this a year or two before, not the week after.
- Both answer every question.
- Use real numbers on the money questions. Approximations are how people get surprised.
- Note where you differ, especially on time together versus apart.
- Come back to it once you are actually in it. Everything changes.
Why couples love this game
The question that surprises people is the one about how much time apart they want. Both partners usually have a number, they are usually different, and neither has ever said it — because for forty years the working day did the separating for them and nobody had to negotiate it.
Retirement is sold as a finish line and lived as a change of arrangement. Two people who have spent forty years apart for most of the daylight hours are suddenly in the same house all week, with no imposed structure and a fixed amount of money.
These questions cover what actually determines whether that goes well: how the days are shaped, how much space each of you needs, what the money genuinely allows, and what each of you is retiring *to* rather than from.
Couples who discuss it beforehand tend to enjoy it. Couples who assume they are imagining the same thing tend to find out in month three that they were not.
Example questions
- What are you retiring to, not from?
- What does a good ordinary weekday look like?
- How much time do we actually spend together, and how much apart?
- What is the first thing you want to do that you have never had time for?
- How do you feel about stopping — relief, dread, or both?
- What are you afraid you will miss about working?
The full game has 20 of these, shuffled every time you play.
Who this game is best for
- Couples one to two years from retiring
- Anyone where one partner retires first
- Newly retired couples finding it harder than expected
- Couples planning to downsize or move
Tips to make it better
- Do the money questions with actual figures in front of you.
- The time-apart question is the most useful one here. Do not skip it because it sounds unromantic.
- If one of you retires first, discuss that gap specifically. It is its own stage.
- Repeat it six months in. Almost every answer will have moved.
Frequently asked questions
What should couples discuss before retiring?
Money with real figures, how the days are structured, and — most importantly — how much time each of you wants apart. For decades the working day did that separating automatically, and nobody ever had to state a preference.
What if one of us retires before the other?
Treat it as its own stage rather than a preview. The expectations of the person still working and the person at home diverge quickly, and it is much easier discussed in advance.
When should we have this conversation?
A year or two out, then again six months in. Almost every answer moves once it is real.