A couple in their 60s, with $4 million saved and a paid-off home, are facing retirement disagreements. The husband wants to retire, but his wife believes they cannot afford it, leading to arguments, including a vetoed $8,000 trip to Italy. He expresses concerns about healthcare, long-term care, inflation, market downturns, and longevity.
Retirement Dilemma: $4M Saved, Wife Objects to Italy Trip, Should He Keep Working?
Subtitle: 'I worry about healthcare, long-term care, inflation, a long bear market and living to 95'
Column: The Moneyist
Published: Oct. 20, 2026, 6:30 p.m. ET
"Neither of us spends much on ourselves. We don’t have a boat or a club membership, and a big night out is the Italian place three miles from home.” (Photo subjects are models.)
Source: MarketWatch
Author: Quentin
Dear Quentin,
We’ve been married 31 years and have two grown children, 29 and 31, and three grandchildren. I want to retire, and my wife says we can’t afford to. That’s odd, because we have $4 million saved, and our house, worth roughly $1.1 million, is paid off. I’m 60 and my wife is 58, so we’re quite close to retirement anyway. We have no debt, and our kids are financially independent.
Neither of us spends much on ourselves. We don’t have a boat or a club membership, and a big night out is the Italian place three miles from home. I make $230,000 a year and my wife makes $110,000, and we’ve spent 35 years saving and investing. By any reasonable measure we should be happy about where we are. Instead, we argue about money all the time.
I recently vetoed an $8,000 trip to Italy for my wife, which is one of the reasons for our latest argument. I worry about healthcare, long-term care, inflation, a long bear market and living to 95. Do I keep working?
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