Almost a third of couples have built up savings they keep secret from their partner, some hiding as much as £50,000, according to a survey.
Of these 33 per cent are planning to use the secret cash to fund their retirement.
Prudential, which carried out the survey among 1,000 people in February this year, said the behaviour means people could be missing out, particularly on pensions, which offer potential tax benefits on joint savings.
The study exposed a whole host of financial secrets with more than a fifth (21 per cent) saying their partner doesn't even know how much they earn, while 19 per cent hide debts.
Lack of trust seemed to be a driving force behind many secret finances, Prudential found.
A third (34 per cent) of those polled admitted they had no specific plans for their secret income but did not want their partner to be able to access all their money.
A further 22 per cent said they did not trust their partner to make the right decision about their finances so wanted to keep control.
More than two fifths (44 per cent) of those keeping income secrets said their basic salary was greater than their partner thought it was, while a quarter (25 per cent) claimed to have income from an investment their partner was not aware of.
The provider found men were more likely to squirrel away their savings but women were more prone to keep secret savings as security in case of a break up.
Kirsty Anderson, retirement income expert at Prudential, said: "Saving money is always a good idea but doing it so you are protected in the event of a relationship breaking down means missing out on potential tax benefits.
"At any stage of a relationship it is important to have open and honest conversations about finances, but it becomes especially relevant when approaching retirement as decisions made then will impact the rest of your life.
"Paying off debts in retirement can have a serious negative impact on how far your pension savings go, so have the conversation now and try to clear these debts while you are still working."
Plans for secret savings
Uses for secret income | Percentage |
To fund my retirement | 33% |
Nothing specific but I do not trust my spouse / partner to make the right decisions about our finances | 13% |
To buy things I want | 13% |
To go towards something specific e.g. new car / dream holiday | 11% |
Nothing specific but I don’t want my spouse / partner to be able to access all my money | 11% |
To give me financial security in case we ever split up | 10% |
To support another partner / family | 6% |
Source: Prudential 2018
But Clive Balchin, managing director of Rossendale-based James Trickett & Sons, questioned the research.
He said: "One of my skills is obtaining detailed fact finds and I can honestly say that in 25 years I have never encountered this."
carmen.reichman@ft.com
