From Tracy Stewart, CPA, PFS, CFF, CFP, CDFA:
As they move toward retirement age, more and more Americans will be single in their retirement years. According to the Census Bureau, singlehood is growing. What these singles don’t realize is that the retirement cost of living for them is higher than for married couples the same age. One statistic indicates these costs at high as 40% to 50% higher for singles than couples. According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, more than four of 10 Americans are “at risk” for not being able to maintain their lifestyle in retirement.
Empty-nest couples in collaborative divorces should ask their neutral financial professional to show them whether their retirement savings is likely to be able to support them in a satisfactory retirement. They have a real opportunity to get answers during the collaborative proceedings. They can request that the neutral financial professional compile and examine their living expenses and then pull together a post divorce budget for each of them. After all, this financial professional is going to be elbow deep in the couple’s financial information anyway.
Read more at the Collaborative Law Institute of Texas.
ABC Collaborative Divorce Blog 
Posted on July 20, 2013
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