Can My Spouse and I Have Separate Retirement Accounts? 

Getting married and combining finances is often a smart decision, but it may also bring with it a range of questions about investments and retirement. At Harvest Wealth Partners, we know that working with a retirement professional is one of the smartest things that you can do. For retirement planning help as a married couple, reach out to our team directly today. 

The Importance of Planning for Retirement

Planning for retirement is essential—the average person will need far more to support themselves during retirement years than they initially expect, and saving this amount of money takes a lot of time and strategy. Unfortunately, too many people haven’t started thinking about retirement yet, putting themselves at a disadvantage. Fortunately, however, it’s never too late to put an action plan in place to ensure that you’re provided for once you stop working. 

Can You Have a Joint Retirement Account?

Single people don’t have to worry about whether or not they should have a separate or a joint retirement account—they’re single. Married people, on the other hand, might be confused about their options. While it is smart to combine bank accounts in many cases once you get married, your retirement account will remain separate.

In fact, you actually can’t have a joint retirement account in most cases. Retirement accounts like IRAs stand for individual retirement accounts, so you actually aren’t legally allowed to have a joint IRA or 401(k). 

While there are some joint taxable investment account options, it’s always smart to max out your retirement (401(k), IRA, SEP, etc.) accounts first before making any contributions to any tax-advantaged accounts that you and your spouse hold together. 

Spousal IRAs

Finally, a quick note about spousal IRAs. 

While you cannot have a joint retirement account with your spouse, just because you don’t work doesn’t mean that you can’t have a retirement savings account—you can with a spousal IRA. Spousal IRAs allow for the same contributions and have the same rules as traditional IRAs. 

Get Retirement Help from Harvest Wealth Partners Today

If you haven’t yet sat down with a financial professional to talk about your retirement savings options, it’s never too late to get started. At Harvest Wealth Partners, our financial planners and retirement planning professionals are here to help you and your spouse understand your options for saving for retirement and provide investment advice that’s personalized to you. To learn more about our retirement planning services, please reach out to us today by phone or online to get in touch.