IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: Retirement and old age

Q. 1. At what age should people retire from work? Why do you think so?
Answer:  If it were me, I would choose to “retire” at an early age, with the required financial security of course, primarily because it would allow me to do and enjoy the things when I would still remain “healthy and active” both mentally and physically. Besides, the issue of the “retirement age” becomes a bit irrelevant as long as someone is enjoying his or her works/activities unless, of course, a company or organization has the policy of enforcing a strict “deadline” for retirement. Anyway, ideally, if a person enters his career at the age of 25 and spends his time wisely and efficiently, then he should be good to “retire” at 50, which would allow him a good 10 year to enjoy his life before starting to consider him as a “senior” citizen at an age of 60.

Q. 2. What problems can people face after their retirement?
Answer:  It all depends on how people choose to face “retirement”. However, people usually face two major problems after their retirement: one is related to “finance”, and the other one is “health”, both physical and mental. We all know that once people retire, they usually struggle to meet their financial needs since the source of a “steady” income dries up. Besides, they also suffer from health-related issues because they become physically “old” and “inactive”. Now, of course, we can debate whether one feels “old” because of becoming “physically inactive” or become “physically inactive” because of getting “old’, but one thing is for sure that their “mental health” deteriorate rapidly because they feel that they are not “useful” for their families and society anymore.

Q. 3. How important are retirees to your country’s economy? Why/ Why not?
Answer:  The retirees are considered to be an important component of my country’s economy primarily because they help keep our economy running by saving their money little by little which then, in turn, get used by our government for different kind of development works. Besides, many retirees in my country just don’t sit “idle”, and, instead, choose to use their wealth of past work experiences to generate some incomes for themselves and their families which certainly contribute to the growth of our economy. However, some will argue that the retirees are some kind of “drag down” for our economy because they collect money from the government, but they forget that it’s their money, and the government is just supposed to “manage” them.

Q. 4. When should you start saving for retirement?
Answer:  Well, the act of saving for retirement should start as soon as people start to earn, ideally speaking of course. But, unfortunately, we are not exactly living in an ideal world where our all financial needs are met just the way, we like. Therefore, saving, sometimes, can be the last thing in our minds which we really worry about. Besides, when we are young, we tend to be “carefree”, and we also want to enjoy our lives to the “fullest” by spending whatever money we have. As a result, we can’t, more often than not, really save any money despite our best efforts and intention when we are young and “restless”. Nevertheless, saving should always be a priority for us, and as such, we should get on it as soon as it is convenient for us.

Q. 5. Why do some companies encourage early retirement?
Answer:  Some companies “encourage” early retirement for a number of reasons. For example, they may want to make rooms for younger candidates with fresh and more dynamic ideas. Some companies also would encourage early retirement because they want to cut cost by getting rid of highly paid employees. Finally, some companies promote early retirement also because they have hit their “financial goals” and that they are not expecting any more growth for their companies. However, these kinds of early retirement are not necessarily so bad because they usually involve good “financial incentives”.

Q. 6. Do you think the state should take responsibility of retirees who worked in private companies rather than government organisation?
Answer: Yes, the state should have a responsibility in taking care of retirees of the private companies in some capacity primarily because they also contribute to the economy of a country. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the private retirees are also “paid” by the government just like the government retirees, but rather the government should extend its helping hands to private company retirees also in order to ensure a “minimally secured financial future” for them should the private companies fail to do so. After all, it is also the responsibility of the government to encourage, if not “force”, the private companies to take care of their ‘retirees’ in whichever capacity they can afford.

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