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HomeIELTS SpeakingSpeaking Part 3Two-way discussion: Retirement

Two-way discussion: Retirement

  • What average age is normal for retirement in your opinion?
    Thanks for your question. Well, this is a grave issue to ponder on. Retirement refers to the time when people get formally separated from their active occupational activities. Usually, the retirement is offered after a specific time like after 35 or 40 years of continuous service to any organisation. The age limit of retirement is different across the world and there is no specific age limit is set for the retirement. Interestingly, the retirement age for men and women is a bit different in some places. Sometimes people may take early retirement and in many cases, they continue throughout the entire working tenure. But most of the countries follow the rule that they allow retirement after or by 60 years of age. It points that when people are about to reach their 60s or have crossed 60 then it is considered that s/ he is eligible for the retirement. When a man or woman retires from his or her job, the authority provides some special benefits to the employee for the contribution made so far. So, it becomes like a festive mood for the employees when they get retired after a long working tenure. Some of the states have made the retirement age to 60 while some other have made it 58. Besides, some states are trying to increase the age limit. Usually, in the USA, the age is 65 and in that age, an employee can have all the retirement benefits. In Australia, the age is currently 65 and it is anticipated that the age will be increased to 67 after a couple of years. In most of the Asian countries, the age is 60. However, the retirement age does not indicate that the people become useless after the time rather they are enriched with expertise and experiences which could be used for the betterment of the society.
  • What are the good things about being retired?
    Of course, there are some good things to be retired but it depends on individuals and their surrounding situations. You can have a large number of benefits once you are retired and could also perform the activities that you could not do when you were occupied with your job or other business. Generally, when people are engaged in an occupation, they lack hours to spend for their family and even hardly can manage time for them as well. So, the post-pretirement age is the best time to enjoy the leisure hours. When you are retired, you can also get engaged in your hobbies or you can have some special trips to places where you dreamt of travelling but could not make your dream come true for occupational engagements. Besides, you can also participate in different leisurely sports and activities like golfing, social works etc. But the most effective way to spend the times is to get involved in any active community which is formed by the retired people like you. There you would find people of your age and would have a nice time together. Moreover, when people become retired, they psychologically become smart and could think over different issues at a time to reach for a solution. Since they are free of all sorts of occupational engagement and hazards, they have plenty of time to spend into thinking the solutions for any problem. When people become retired, they also could take care of their health. They can walk to the parks in the morning and evening hours and could also be present at the social events. Besides, when they become retired, they do not need to think about their financial issues as they are well paid with some other special benefits. Thus they can spend the rest of their lives happily.
  • How does the government in your country treat the retired people?
    The government of France is liberal and simultaneously generous to the retired people to many extents. There is a social safety net for the retired people and all of the people who have retired after their 60s will be eligible for the schemes. The social insurance and social assistance system are of great help to the retired people. They derive benefits from the schemes after their retirement. Under the schemes, the retired people get medical benefits, pensions, old age payments etc. Besides, they are cared in everywhere and prioritised in receiving services in different offices and places. They are in fact respected everywhere. But one factor appears inappropriate to me that they are to pay a part of their earnings to the government as tax. I think the French government should take steps to change this tradition and all of the old age or retirement benefits should be offered without tax.
  • Can young specialist substitute the old ones who are in retirement in the workplace?
    Umm! It is impossible for the young specialists to substitute the retired people to some extent but they could replace them. It should be considered that when people retire, they have lots of experience and expertise over specific issues or tasks. But it needs time for the young specialist to reach that expert level. You might agree with me that they will do the jobs they are recruited for but they won’t be able to do those perfectly like an expert. It is natural. With the advancement of time, they will also grow senior and at the same time – expert. The people who have retired today as experts were novices in the beginning of their life. With the passing of time, they developed their skills and expertise on the specific issues. So, the young specialists today also need time to grow up. It may also happen that they have surpassed their ancestors who retired in their old age. Skills in workplaces actually grow after lots of exercises and the people who have retired have done much of the exercise. But the young specialists lack the skills only as they are less familiar with the events and issues in the workplace. So, I think they should be allowed sufficient time to develop their skills. But it also should be considered that they may substitute the retired people but they cannot be equal to them.
  • What do you think is it necessary to give retirement to people? Why/ Why not?
    Well. This is an important issue to discuss. Retirement is offered to people after a certain age and it is a widespread issue around the world. Usually, people are given retirement after a specific time or period. It is done so that they do not need to work in their old age. Usually, after 60 years, it is considered that people grow old and start losing their abilities to work. The idea is not imposed rather it is natural. With the passage of time, the people after 60 start losing their usual abilities. They lose concentration, starts to forget important matters and more others. Gradually they develop different old age complicacies and finally breathe their last. This is the very common life cycle and is seen almost everywhere if there are no major alterations in their life. So, when they become old, they actually need relief and the retirement brings the relief. It is a must for everyone. When one gets involved in a work, s/ he cannot work for long. As a result, we need holidays; day offs or breaks amid our working routine. The works schedules are made in this way. Another fact should be considered that when people become old, they need refreshment. They, in fact, do not want to work anymore as they have done lots of works throughout their entire life. Sometimes they get bored with their duties and responsibilities. So, it is the retirement which helps them get relieved from the boredom. Besides, they are well paid during the retirement from the workplace authority which removes their financial worries. They can lead a decent life with their old age benefits. They can have all types of recreational activities or can use the leisure hours after their needs. They can do whatever they want at this stage as they do not have any active office or working hours. This is the age for enjoyment. So, I think the retirement is a must for every man and woman.
  • What are the pros and cons of being retired?
    Ahh, it’s a great question for me. Retirement is the process of getting split from the active occupation. It is the way to break your relationship with your work, job or occupation. The retirement has some positive aspects and at the same time, this is filled with some negative impacts as well. Let’s discuss the positive aspects first. When you will get retired, the most important factor will be you are free from work. You do not need to maintain a routine-bound life. You can be late for your meetings or gatherings and you are not accountable to anyone for the late. During the office hours, you had to reach office in time and if you made late, your superior authority would make some irritating remarks over being late. Now you are free of such troubles. Besides, you are now financially solvent. So, there are no worries for your remaining days. You can pass the days with comfort and could travel in different parts of the world. Moreover, you can spend more time with your family. These are the positive impacts of the retirement.

    But the negative scenario is shocking too. Think you are a retired person and living alone. How would you feel then? It is unfortunate that such events are taking place in the current days. Due to the disintegration of the families, the number of nuclear families is on the rise and as a result, people are getting separated from the senior members of the families. For instance, you are living with your family while your parents are living together. If one of them dies suddenly, the living one has to pass a lonely life. In that age, finding a partner would sound weird and nobody does so. Besides, sometimes the old age or retirement benefits are not received in time which causes difficulties to the retired people. It happens for some bureaucratic complicacies. Moreover, different accidents occur in this age as they may develop old age complicacies. For example, if they break any of their limbs accidentally, it may take more time to recover as their recovery capacity is not as strong as the young people. They cannot easily get rid of the accidents and thus suffer more comparing the young people. So, I think such issues should be brought under consideration too and people who have retired should take proper care of them or at least the surrounding people should take the care.

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