MarketWatch: Husband Shocked by Wife's $80,000 401(k) Against His $2.2 Million

A MarketWatch reader has described being shocked to discover that his wife held only $80,000 in her 401(k), according to the column's account, while his own retirement savings total $2.2 million. The reader also said his wife cried when he found out about the gap between their balances.

The reader explained the source of his assumption in the published description: when he brought up retiring last spring, she said she was ready whenever he was. He said he took that to mean they were in good shape financially.

The column presents the situation as a question of whether the reader was wrong to be shocked, framing the discovery around the difference between the two account balances as described by the reader. The supplied source does not include the wife's own account of the conversation or any further details about how the couple managed their finances.

What follows from the source is limited to the reader's stated surprise and his wife's reported reaction. The description does not say what advice the column gave, whether the couple changed their retirement plans, or what steps either of them intends to take next.

Readers following the story can watch for the column's fuller response to the reader's question, which the supplied RSS description does not include. Any further detail about the couple's plans, or about how the discrepancy is addressed, would have to come from that fuller column rather than from the description summarized here.