Key Takeaways
- Many couples miss out on hundreds of dollars annually by not coordinating their 401(k) matching contributions.
- Because 401(k) matches vary by employer, some couples could increase their retirement wealth by shifting contributions toward the spouse with the more generous match.
- A lack of financial literacy and misunderstanding about how assets are divided in a divorce may deter couples from coordinating.
For couples looking to maximize their retirement savings, coordinating their 401(k) contributions could save them hundreds of dollars annually.
Researchers found that about one in five couples didn’t take full advantage of their matches, costing them an average of $757 a year, according to a new analysis by the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College.1
“This inefficiency does not appear to stem from inertia or from confusion about plan rules. Instead, many couples have never considered that coordination could help them,” the researchers wrote.1
What This Means For You
More than 83% of American workers expect a workplace retirement plan to be a source of retirement income.2 That means any shift you can make to save more, such as coordinating your 401(k) contributions with a spouse, can help grow your retirement nest egg.
So what would coordinating retirement savings look like?
Suppose one spouse has a 401(k) match where their employer contributes dollar-for-dollar up to 3% of their salary. The other spouse’s employer matches up to 6% of their salary, but only 50 cents per dollar.
In this scenario, the couple could maximize their retirement savings by prioritizing the 3% match. According to CRR’s analysis, failing to coordinate 401(k) contributions like this leads to a median annual drop of $383 in overall savings. For those in the top 10% of savers, the cost is about $2,000 or more.
The researchers said some couples hesitate to coordinate their 401(k) savings because they misunderstand how retirement assets are treated in a divorce: money accumulated in retirement accounts during the marriage is treated as marital property, no matter which spouse contributed more. For some spouses, the researchers wrote, “contributing to a spouse’s account felt like ceding control over those funds.”3
Article Sources
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- Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. “Do Married Couples Coordinate Their Retirement Savings?” Page 1.
- Employee Benefit Research Institute. “2026 Retirement Confidence Survey,” Figure 12.
- Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. “Do Married Couples Coordinate Their Retirement Savings?” Page 4.
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