Retirement for Two

A refreshingly non-financial book about the pitfalls of retirement, this volume points out that retirement is a major life change: a withdrawal from the workforce, an acknowledgment of old age, a last chance to do what one wants in life. Couples chained together by exigency--raising children, maintaining a household, pursuing careers--suddenly confront an unexpected freedom. According to Vandervelde, a psychologist and author of several books (including The Changing Life of the Corporate Wife), some predictable quandaries often ensue. Spouses who aren't used to leisure or to the sudden absence of minions to bully may find themselves at a loss for structure or for friends. Money disputes about whether to spend it all or save for rainy days, and about whom should get inheritances and bequests and when, may erupt. And other disagreements--about where to live, how often to have sex, how much time to spend together and how to handle medical problems--can upset the balance between partners. Vandervelde evenhandedly addresses the concerns of gay couples as well as couples on their second or third marriage with mixed families. She is realistic about the ability of couples to manage and survive such upheavals, duly recording not just successes and failures, but also the imperfect, but workable, compromises in between. Perhaps this book's primary strength, however, lies in the author's ability to anticipate common crises and encourage couples to address them intelligently and in unison. After all, one's retirement years are inevitably one's last. This sensible volume will help readers ensure that they are, in fact, golden years.