IELTS 10 Speaking Test 4 Part 3 Answers
IELTS speaking topic: Retirement
At what age do people in your country normally retire from work?
Traditionally it’s been age 60 for women and 65 for men, but the government is in the process of introducing changes in retirement legislation which will mean that people retire a few years later, I think it will be 62 and 67 respectively.
Do you think there should be a set age at which people must retire from work?
Personally, I believe it should be dependent on the person and the particular job they do. I don’t think that retirement should simply be compulsory because of your age.
People should have the choice to continue working if they are able to and their company is happy to accommodate their wishes. I mean, if they can still do the job and they are productive, they have a wealth of experience and knowledge which is a useful asset for any company, isn’t it?
However, if it’s the type of job which is very demanding and the person is really unable to perform their duties as well as a younger person might, then I guess there would be a good case for the person to retire and let a younger person take over the position.
After retirement, how do you think life for old people changes?
The biggest change is probably the lack of necessity to get up and go out to work each day – so immediately the person has to think about what they might do all day – work occupies a large part of the day and to suddenly find yourself with all that extra free time can be quite daunting.
I know my grandfather had some problems adjusting when he finally stopped working, but after a few months he had a new routine and had developed some new habits which gave some structure to his day.
Of course, another big change for most people is the level of social interaction is also much less because they don’t spend time with their old work colleagues all day – and that can make the person feel isolated unless they have a lot of friends who are retired. But again, there is also the opportunity when you are retired to socialize in different ways and with new people.
How does the government in your country treat retired people? What is your opinion about this?
Overall, I think they get a good deal. Everyone is entitled to a basic pension payment and there are a lot of benefits for those over retirement age.
Of course, you could always argue that more could be done for retired people to make life easier, and each person’s cases is different, but I believe that the government does a good job in general of taking care of retired people with the resources they have available.
What are some of the good things about being retired? Why do you think that?
The best thing has to be having all that free time to finally do what you want. I guess if you’re in good health and have managed to save enough for your retirement it’s a time to really enjoy doing things you might not have had the time to get around to during your working career.
I suppose traveling and maybe starting a new hobby or pastime are things that you could enjoy. I think I would enjoy not having to get up early every day and go to work. I quite like getting up early - but not every day – it would be nice to choose when … and that’s probably the biggest advantage of being retired, you really can decide yourself exactly what you do with your days – it’s all up to you – it’s your time.
Can young people replace older workers who retire from the workplace?
Generally speaking I believe they can, yes. Assuming they have the knowledge and sufficient experience to do the job there’s no reason why a young person couldn’t replace an older worker – and by the same measure - if an older person is capable and has all the relevant skills, knowledge and experience there’s no reason why a younger worker couldn’t be replaced by an older worker.
It’s quite normal for most companies to plan for when an older worker is about to retire and they may even spend some years grooming a younger worker to take over the position in questions after the older person finally retires. Retirement is no surprise normally, so it’s relatively easy for a business to plan for such events.
Some old people feel that they are not much use to society after they retire. Can you suggest any ways to help these old people feel that they are not useless?
Yes, that’s quite a common feeling, but they really don’t need to feel that way. After all they’ve spent their whole working life dedicated to working for the benefit of others, as well as themselves, and so they should be able to enjoy their retirement without actually worrying about if they are still being of use to society.
But some people just need to feel useful and involved in things – so for them it might be important to try and find new ways to contribute to society if that’s what’s important to them. For example, they could volunteer their services with an organization that they empathize with or a cause with which they identify. They could possibly even start their own small business if they’re the entrepreneurial type, or even just find a part-time job if that makes them feel useful.
The important thing is that just because they’ve retired doesn’t mean they have to feel useless – there are lots of things they could do – they just need to explore their options and consider what’s important to them.