More than a quarter (27%) of Britain’s couples over the age of 40 say that money is the biggest cause of arguments in their household. The new research from Prudential raises fresh concerns that British couples are sleepwalking into retirement without properly discussing their financial arrangements. The figures suggest that the state of their finances is more likely to cause couples to fall out than disagreements over housework, staying out late or their partner’s choice of friends.

The study, which looks at how co-habiting couples over the age of 40 are planning for their retirement, also found that nearly one in five (17%) say that they don’t feel comfortable talking about finances with their other halves.

The awkwardness that couples feel around having conversations about their finances also appears to shape their attitude to retirement planning. Twenty per cent of those surveyed have never had a conversation with their partner about the income they think they will need in retirement. And while the majority of couples have discussed their pension incomes in the last year, a third (34%) of them only talked about it for half an hour or less.

The Prudential study also reveals that 16% of couples have never had a conversation about improving their financial circumstances, and a quarter of those surveyed have not done so in the past year.