B2 – Upper Intermediate
How would your life be like if you can go without alarm clocks, when you are not under time constraints, and when you can enjoy the company of your loved ones, and live a carefree and leisurely life?
It sounds a lot like retirement, doesn’t it? But everything around us took a sharp turn for the worse, and now enjoying our later years seems like a pipe dream.
Watch the video, to find out more about why retirement seems unattainable these days and get some tips on how to prepare for it.
Vocabulary Questions:
- What is the meaning of “evolving landscape“? “The process of saving money has become more complex. Despite these obstacles, there are still ways to successfully navigate this evolving landscape.” Use it in your own sentence.
- What does “safety net” mean? “When you stop working, it’s kind of like a safety net for your older years.” Use this expression in your own sentence.
- What does “tucked away” mean?” “Graduating with a substantial student loan debt means that a significant portion of your earnings is dedicated to debt repayment rather than being tucked away for the future.” Construct a sentence with this term.
Discussion Questions:
- What are the 9 reasons mentioned in the video of why retirement is impossible today? Drawing from your experience or observation, do you concur with these reasons?
- How has retirement changed in your nation? and what are the factors that affect it?
- Do you think it’s necessary to make retirement plans? Why?
- Considering the various challenges people have when trying to save for retirement, are there any strategies you can think of to guarantee a better retirement?
- Do you find retiring to be bothersome at this time, given how drastically society is changing over time? How do you respond to it?
4 replies on “Retirement Feels Impossible Today”
1.- The nine reasons mentioned in the video are: people live longer than some years ago, the average is around 72 years old; there has been a change in the way people receive the pension when they get retired, the company gives the money while working and they have to organize their savings; there has been a rise in the cost of life and people spend more money and therefore they will save less for their retirement; the healthcare cost is more expensive; people have to give the studies loans back when they get a job, and a big portion of their incomes goes to repay these loans; although the cost of life is going up constantly, the wages are very low; there has been a change in the type of contracts and people get gig or freelance jobs instead of full-time ones; there is a lack of financial knowledge and people do not know how to save their money.
I think that some of these reasons are not applicable to my country since we have another retirement system. Others, such as low wages and changes in the type of job contracts are common in my country as well.
2.- In my country, the retirement age has changed. Some years ago, a 35-year-working person could get retired when he/she gets on 65 years old. Right now, Government has increased the minimum retirement age to 67 years old. The main reasons are that people live longer and the wages of new generations are lower than the pension received by retired people. Therefore, there is a large debt in the Social Security which is not easy to solve.
3.- I think that things are getting worse and, if everything goes on the same way, the money my generation will receive when we get retired will be not enough to live on. Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to save money or invest in something to secure their future.
4.- I think that there are not many strategies to think of when people hardly have enough money to finish every month and saving is almost impossible.
5.- I think that retirement is necessary since there has to be a generational change, although the eldest have the knowledge, the youth will bring new ideas. And, after a lifetime of working the elderly deserve to rest too.
Nice to see you staying consistent with practicing your writing. Way to go!
Here is one sentence you can improve:
Keep up the great job!
Vocabulary Questions:
1. the continuous change of something. the evolution of the internet is a evolving landscape
2. protection mechanism. He is always with his wife, she is his safety net.
3. put in other site. He has the need to tucked away the cookies so she doesn’t eat them before the party.
Discussion Questions:
1. Life expectancy is going up, Shift in retirement plans, Rise in the cost of living, rise of healthcare cost, college debt, Low wages, unemployment, evolving workforce and Lack of financial literacy. With most of them yes, although in Spain, having a different pension system, it is easier to retire, but many of the problems mentioned also occur here in Spain.
2. Currently, the retirement age has been raised as life expectancy is higher, and people are starting to have private pension plans to compensate for the government plan.
3. Yes, since no one can work if they are too old, it is important to have economic planning for the future.
4. In Spain, pensions are currently managed by the government, so the money is withdrawn directly before collecting it, so in our case it is difficult to think of other options, since it is mandatory.
5. No, I believe that the world is changing and we simply have to adapt.
You did a great job writing your responses and practicing your writing.
The expression that follows is a fragment. So, take a look at how you can construct it into a sentence. In addition, remember to observe parallelism.
Keep going with your practice.