The first generations of baby-boomers reached their sixties on the eve of the 21st century. The number of retirements increased over the last decade and will remain high until 2035, which means more retirees in the future. The current generations of retirees are quite different from previous generations. The couples are less often married. The increase in divorce rate and marital separations also means that retirees will be more likely to have experienced a marital separation, several marriages or partnerships and formed a stepfamily. Their professional experiences also differ, with the arrival of a generation of women who worked significantly more and partner who were more likely to spend more time unemployed. Although research on the impact of careers on various dimensions of old age is plentiful, the impact of the changes in marital behavior has been much less studied. Older couples have received some attention in sociology, in particular by Vincent Caradec (1994,1996), and in demography (Murphy et al. 2007, Tomassini et al 2004, Delbès Gaymu 2003, 2004). Yet, they have received relatively little attention in the economic literature despite these changes. Close to retirement age, the vast majority of people are in couples, comprising 75% of women and 85% of men among those aged 55 to 65 (Toulemon 2007). Inequalities among partners in terms of revenue or sharing household tasks, already present during the working life, can be accentuated or dampened at these ages. The risks of widowhood and dependence (Bonnet et. al. 2011) can become so strong that couples anticipate them by moving, adapting their homes or reducing their consumption. These elder couples thus make choices for which the determinants can be different that for younger couples. This project therefore proposes to study couples over 50, soon-to-be or already retired, along several dimensions. Retirement is a key moment in the life cycle and does not necessarily occur simultaneously for both spouses. A first theme describes the evolution in around retirement and at older ages: new types of unions, separations and family decomposition safer age 50. The description of the marital environment is essential for making demographic projections and for estimating the needs for dependence-related policies. Indeed, the presence of a spouse can delay the need for public assistance, as the spouse is often the primary caregiver. Retirement is also a time when traditional roles regarding the allocation of household tasks can be renegotiated, when one spouse retires before the other, or when one becomes dependent. A second theme deals with this time allocation decision for elderly couples. The end of the working life also brings financial consequences in terms of income and assets, which is the subject of a third theme. Finally, we investigate the economic consequences of marital dissolution in old age resulting from separation or the death of a spouse. The consequences of aging are numerous and cannot be adequately addressed by a single discipline or a single domain of expertise. If the approach adopted in this project is primarily economic, it also benefits from indispensable insights from sociology and demography. We have formed an interdisciplinary team of 14 researchers from six institutions: EHESS, the CES (University of Paris 1), CREST, CRESPPA, University of Cergy-Pontoise and INED. By bringing together a group of researchers around a common theme of older couples, this project proposes to develop specific competences on these theme to publish original research in international journals in demography, sociology and economics. It will also enlighten public debate concerning this population whose importance will only grow in the future. This could guide public policy in the fight against poverty among the elderly or access to information about the rights and consequences of different marital states.