Raising the retirement age: IELTS Writing Task 2 sample answer

In countries as different as Britain, France and China, governments have recently decided that people must work for longer before they can receive a state pension. This policy is controversial, as the large protests in France in 2023 showed. In my view, raising the retirement age is necessary, but it must be done in a way that is fair to all workers.

The main reason for this change is demographic. Thanks to better healthcare and living standards, life expectancy has risen considerably, so people now spend many more years in retirement than when pension systems were designed. At the same time, birth rates have fallen, which means there are fewer young workers paying taxes to support each pensioner. In an ageing population such as Japan's or Italy's, keeping the old retirement age would require either much higher taxes or much lower pensions, both of which would be politically difficult.

There are good arguments for seeing this as a positive development. Many people in their sixties are healthy and capable, and their experience is valuable to employers. Keeping them in the workforce for longer helps to address labour shortages and keeps pension systems affordable for future generations. Some research also suggests that staying active at work can benefit mental health.

However, the policy is unfair to some groups. A university lecturer may be happy to work until 67, but a construction worker or farm labourer whose job involves heavy manual work may be exhausted long before then. Poorer people also tend to have shorter lives, so they may receive their pension for fewer years. A more flexible system, which allows those in physically demanding jobs to retire earlier, would be fairer.

In conclusion, governments are raising the retirement age mainly because people are living longer and populations are ageing. I believe this is a positive and largely unavoidable step, provided that it reflects the varied circumstances of different workers.