IELTS Essay: Emeklilik yaşında artış

Some people argue that the retirement age should be raised significantly, given that average life expectancy has increased greatly.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Ele alınan fikirler: mevcut emeklilik yaşı zaten yüksek, geleceğe güvenle bakma, iş kazası riskinin artması, sağlık problemleri, güncel trendlere ayak uydurma

It is argued by some people that, due to the great rise in average lifespan, people should be allowed to retire at much later ages. Financially speaking, this might sound like a decent idea, but adoption of such a policy will result in huge troubles.

As taxpayers, many people share a hefty part of their income with their own government, hoping that they will be taken care of when necessary, whether at times of distress or old age. In Nordic countries, for example, as much as half your salary can be cut to ensure a sustainable financial system. Many find this acceptable since they are aware that their living standards will be maintained well into their old age. And if the same kind of people realize that they might have to keep working almost until they die, they might no longer want to be this willing to pay high taxes, potentially destroying the system itself. When we work hard, we do so thinking that brighter days will follow ahead. Being denied such a dream will only make the matters worse.

We should also not underestimate the problems that surface at old age. Excluding some rare cases, most of use suffer from health problems, declined power levels beginning from our 60s. Even if we can live up to well into our 90s, especially thanks to advances in medicine, we will still be prone to similar problems. Living longer does not necessarily mean that our quality of life will also be higher. Almost anything feels harder after our 60s—maintaining focus, doing intense physical activity even for a few minutes, feeling energetic enough, getting used to new technology and so on. Most retire around their 60s, and trying to extend this limit will increase the frequency of work-related injuries, doing more harm than good.

In conclusion, even if life expectancy seems to be rising, it would not be fair to proportionally increase the retirement age, as we cannot function all that well after our 60s.