The lack of consensus many Canadian couples encounter when planning for retirement occurs as a result of too little conversation, according to a new study conducted for the Bank of Nova Scotia.

The study looked at Canadian couples with at least one partner aged 50 or over and still working and examined attitudes and planning for post retirement as well as financial and lifestyle priorities, such as travel, and spending time with family and friends.

Less than one quarter of respondents claim to have had a thorough discussion with their spouse/partner about all aspects of retirement while 55% have a “rough idea” of how each other feels. 23% haven’t discussed it at all, or haven’t discussed it as much as they should.

“We have seen many retirement plans hit a road bump almost immediately out of the gate because the shared vision that the couples thought they had wasn’t as shared as it could be,” said Barry LaValley, Canadian retirement life goal planning expert.

“LaValley has partnered exclusively with Scotia Private Client Group and ScotiaMcLeod to help connect lifestyle considerations with an advisor’s financial planning expertise to ensure a successful transition into retirement.

The study found that Canadian couples are most out of touch with each other in the areas of financial planning, financial concerns and their outlook toward retirement. Almost 60% disagree on the basic question of whether or not they are even looking forward to retirement.

“By the time Canadians reach their 50’s the ground work for a solid retirement plan should already be laid and these discussions should have already taken place,” said Bev Moir, senior investment executive, ScotiaMcLeod..

“Leaving important matters such as retirement planning on the back burner will lead to inevitable problems and a lot of surprises when a couple begins the transition to retirement. Our research shows this issue to be widespread,” Moir added.

The Study was conducted for Scotiabank using TNS Canadian Facts’ online panel. Respondents for the survey were couples that are married or in a common-law relationship, with at least one partner aged 50 or over and working full-time, and having household investable assets of at least $50,000. A total of 489 couples participated in the online survey between April 17 and April 29, 2007. Final data are weighted to be geographically representative of couples’ families.