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With so many women joining the workforce in the last 30 years, households are now seeing double when it comes to retirement ...In previous generations, retirement was a solo undertaking. A man would reach his early sixties and decide to pull out of the rat race – if the decision wasn't made for him, that is. After receiving his gold watch and a hearty pat on the back, it was home to the wife, where hobbies like fishing, golf and placing miniature ships in glass bottles were pursued quietly until death.

But with so many women joining the workforce in the past few decades, retirement has become a joint affair.

"This is the first time in history that so many women are retiring along with men," said Dr. Phyllis Moen, professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota. "Traditionally, men often did not communicate with their wives about their retirement plans, but that's beginning to change."

One of the reasons why communication is necessary is that retirement is no longer the "finish line" it once was. Whereas in previous generations the retirement phase of one's life rarely lasted more than a decade, they now have the potential to take 30 years. That's practically another lifetime.

"People are living longer, so they really have to decide what to do," Moen said. "They don't think of the possibility that they'll be married to their spouses as retirees for longer than as working people."

Thus, health insurance has become the number one most important financial matter among today's retirees as well as those considering retirement. If one spouse has significantly better healthcare coverage, it's often worth their staying on the job in order to preserve that coverage.

"What I tell my clients about health insurance is, hold on to it, said Angela Thomson, president of Coastal Financial Planning in Lincoln, R.I. "If you lose your health insurance after you retire, then not only do you experience a loss of income, you have this new expense, which can run up to $600 per month if you're healthy. Usually, corporate [health insurance] plans are much better than anything you can pick up on the street."

Social security is another important factor in deciding who should retire first. According to Jon Beyrer, a financial advisor with Blankinship & Foster, Solana Beach, Calif., it's in the best interest of a married couple if at least one spouse earns his or her full social security benefits.

"Social security benefits are based on a formula," said Beyrer. "So if you decide to retire early, you're going to add in a lot of zeroes to that formula, one for every year until you turn 65. Not only is that going to affect your benefits, it's going to affect what your spouse gets, in both spousal benefits and survivor benefits."

Company savings plans should also be examined when deciding who continues working and who stays home. Exercising company stock options, reinvesting your 401(k) plan and evaluating pensions ought to be on budding retirees' "to do" lists.

"You definitely want to go out there and research your financial options," said Thomson. "These plans ought to take place well in advance, like three to six months before making any kind of retirement move. You don't want to be scrambling this late in the game."

Dr. Moen agrees, though her advice sounds more proactive.

"Husbands and wives have to actively plan what they want to do with the rest of their lives," she said. "Looking at it that way, retirement can become an opportunity for people to reinvent themselves."