Techniques are disclosed for managing the timing between two asynchronous clocks. The techniques are particularly well-suited for synchronizing the reference clock with the divided clock in a phase coherent DSM PLL application, but can be more broadly applied to any application that includes a need for synchronizing a data bus across a clock boundary. In one example embodiment, the techniques are implemented in a retime word circuit operatively coupled between a DSM and the divide-by-N integer divider of a PLL application. The retime word circuit receives the divide word from the DSM and generates a retimed divide word that can be applied to the divider. The retime word circuit maintains the reference clock frequency throughput, and forces the divide word seen by the divider to change only at end of a given divide cycle.