Grey divorce

Former American vice-presidential couple Tipper and Al Gore's decision to separate after over 40 years of marriage is an example of this trend.

[4] Living together as a married couple also provided both people in the marriage with some level of live-in mutual assistance.

This increases the demand from aging people for social services, such as public transportation, professional caregiving, and subsidized or affordable housing.

[4][6] The rising number of elderly people living alone has encouraged research into automated assistance tools and robots that can provide friendly companionship, especially in Japan.

[8] The phenomenon entered the public awareness with a 2004 AARP study[9] and was further elucidated in Deirdre Bair's 2007 book Calling It Quits, which contained interviews with grey divorcees.

[11] Financial challenges include identifying and fairly dividing retirement savings, navigating the process of getting qualified domestic relations orders for any defined benefit pension plans, and agreeing on any temporary alimony payments.

[5] Social Security benefits, assuming the marriage lasted at least 10 years, are relatively standardized for divorcing couples.

[15] Older couples are responsible for the overall increase in the divorce rate in the United Kingdom in the twenty-first century.