Retirement scholars (and policy makers) have traditionally assumed spouses share their retirement savings, even when they are financially heterogamous and their individual saving capacities diverge. Recent research, however, has challenged this assumption, emphasising that wealth is unequally distributed within couples. In this study, we contribute to this debate by exploring how often financially heterogamous spouses describe their management of retirement savings as joint and redistributive. Data collected in Québec (Canada) in 2015 show that 28 per cent of couples with an income differential report to balance retirement savings across partners. Building on exchange and institutional theories of conjugal behaviour, we also stress that the prevalence of this practice varies with several factors, including union duration and matrimonial status. These findings suggest policy makers underestimate the size of the population at risk of old age financial vulnerability when assuming lower-income individuals are well prepared for retirement if partnered with a better-off spouse who saves.

中文翻译：

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经济上异婚夫妇的退休储蓄管理

退休学者（和政策制定者）​​传统上假设配偶分享他们的退休储蓄，即使他们在经济上是异婚夫妇并且他们的个人储蓄能力不同。然而，最近的研究对这一假设提出了挑战，强调财富在夫妻之间分配不均。在这项研究中，我们通过探讨经济上的异婚配偶将他们的退休储蓄管理描述为联合和再分配的频率来促进这场辩论。2015 年在魁北克（加拿大）收集的数据显示，28% 的有收入差异的夫妇报告要平衡伴侣之间的退休储蓄。基于婚姻行为的交换和制度理论，我们还强调这种做法的流行程度因几个因素而异，包括结合持续时间和婚姻状况。