What are you going to do when you retire？
Now, I know most of you guys are probably quite young
and you're probably not even thinking about retirement at this stage.
But retirement's a pretty important thing,
because once you stop working and as you get older,
you have to figure out what you're going to do with your life.
Very good question.
And both you and I need to start thinking now
because we are going to need our pension soon.
So when you retire,
you are finishing work.
When you stop working and you claim a pension.
So,
what are the problems of people living longer?
This is a question that happened in the recent writing task two part of the test.
So Jay,
would you'd like to read this recent question?
Absolutely.
So the question goes:
Nowadays, people are living longer after they retire.
What are the problems caused by this?
And what measures can be taken to address such problems?
Do you need some ideas on this question?
I think this is a difficult question.
Stay tuned,
we're going to come back and give you some ideas.
So this question is a two-part question. Correct, Chris?
It's correct,
and it's one of the probably four types of question you'll get in the test.
And you do need to answer both parts of the question.
So what's the first part of the question, Jay?
So what are the problems caused by more people living longer after they retire?
Exactly.
And the second part of the question:
What measures can be taken?
So to take a measure is the same as providing a solution.
What solutions could you think of to address this problem?
Now, my recommendation to you is:
When it's a two-part question,
you have to have a minimum of two body paragraphs,
because you probably need to be thinking about topics for each.
We are going to look at the problems first,
there are a few different problems that we could think about,
and then we'll talk about the solutions.
So nowadays,
Jay,
people are living till 85, 100, 90, 95
Exactly, and the retirement age hasn't changed very much.
No, I think it's sixty-five, roughly around...
Sixty-five.
It depends on your country.
In fact, tell us which country you're from, and what is your retirement age?
It'd be interesting to learn.
Now, because the retirement age has not changed,
and people are living longer,
that means people now live
more during their retirement.
What other problems caused by this?
Well,
because they are not bringing in income from their work, from their career,
it could possibly cause economic strain on a country,
because the country, the government is providing
financial assistance for people who are at retirement age.
So that's one major big problem.
That's a great idea,
and I just wanted to touch on that word.
Economic strain.
Strain is a great word,
which means pressure.
You could say economic pressure or economic strain.
They're both really good ways to explain that.
I was thinking of another problem,
as well as the economic strain would be the pressure on...
Excuse me, pressure on health care,
Absolutely.
Pressure on healthcare.
What would be the problems there?
Well,
of course,
as you get older,
you have a higher percentage or a higher chance of having health problems.
When you're younger you are healthy,
you feel good.
But as you get older,
there are more chances to get sick, to develop disease,
get injured.
So older people tend to cause more strain on the healthcare system,
and it depends on the country.
And this is a really interesting topic between myself and Jay,
because I'm from the UK and Jay is from America.
Why is there such a big difference and what's the difference?
Well,
in America,
the government really doesn't provide too much assistance
financially or in health care for people, whether their young or old.
So, if you're working through all your life,
you are expected to save money, and invest in,
and make sure that you have enough money to live on once you retire.
Whereas in the UK,
we have a free healthcare system where you can use the healthcare system.
Basically,
whenever you want,
now,
that can cause some problems.
Because people may overuse the healthcare system.
They might use it,
even though they don't need it.
So, living longer,
may have different impacts in different countries.
So in America,
what happens if people live longer and they don't have access to health care?
Well,
they will still get treated.
Obviously,
doctors cannot not treat someone or help someone.
It goes against the oath that they take.
But the people that are getting treated will then go into severe economic debt.
So that the amount of money that they have to pay for their healthcare
will go on to their financial records,
and they will be expected to try to pay that off.
OK,
so these are two big problems.
The economic strain on the system and the healthcare strain,
the strain on the healthcare system.
So what do you think could be some solutions?
Well,
the first solution is something that my country does is
because the government kind of steps back
and doesn't take an active role in helping its citizens,
there is no strain on the economy then,
because the people that are expected to... when you get older,
you are responsible for your own well being and your own health care.
OK,
so I was thinking that in a place like the UK,
where you can use the system as much as you want,
maybe we need to think about putting some pressure on the young people now
to pay more tax.
Yep.
To prepare them for the future.
Now, both Jay and I live in Australia.
And Australia is a country where we have a private pension system.
And both Jay and I pay into a private pension system,
and we know how much money we will have in the future.
And that may be could be a system that adopted
to make sure that young people pay into a system,
so they know how much they will get when they are older.
So that's one way.
Another way could be
for the government to raise the age of retirement.
Yes.
So that people need to work longer.
But I know there's a lot of resistance to this
by people in their late fifties, early sixties.
Why do you think they are against this?
Well,
they see that they are getting near the end of their lifetime,
full of work and knowing that they are close,
so that they can see the light at the end of the tunnel
is probably quite enjoyable for them,
and provide them with a sense of relief as well.
And then to be told, no, I'm sorry,
you are going to have to work ten more years.
That's why people might become resistant to that idea.
Okay.
So in the IELTS test,
this was a recent question.
And this might be a new topic for you to think about.
So just be prepared to write one topic in a paragraph.
Make sure you explain your ideas and please use examples from your own
personal experience and knowledge.
Maybe tell the examiner about the situation in your country,
whether you think that's a good system,
or whether you think there could be some changes to that system.
And one more thing,
always remember to take a look at the question,
and spend just a short amount of time identifying
what type of question it is.
So in this case we have a two-part question,
and making sure that you answer both of those parts is extremely important.
Really invaluable advice.
Thank you, Jay.
Thanks to you guys for watching it.
Make sure you hear,
you come and join us on our IELTS daily app.
The app is a super, super fantastic way
of improving your IELTS speaking Your writing.
Come and join us there and you can get feedback from a real teacher.
Jay, you are wonderful today.
Thank you for joining us,
and thank you.
Leave your comments in the section below.
Bye for now.
Take care, everyone.