Many countries encourage their citizens to retire later than in the past.
A full IELTS Writing Task 2 answer to this question, with a paragraph plan, ideas you can use, and the vocabulary that fits this topic.
The question
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Many countries encourage their citizens to retire later than in the past.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of this development?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
How to read this question
The organising insight is that a later retirement age is a single rule applied to people whose bodies and life expectancies differ enormously. The same policy is a mild inconvenience to a professional and a serious injustice to someone who did manual work from sixteen — and since poorer workers also die younger, they lose a larger share of the retirement they paid for. That distributional point turns a routine list into a real argument.
Paragraph plan
Introduction — Paraphrase, then signpost: genuine gains in public finances and in individual purpose; costs concentrated on manual workers and on those with shorter lives.
Body 1 — Advantages — fiscal sustainability, retained expertise, and the fact that many people want to keep working.
Body 2 — Disadvantages — physical capacity varies by occupation, life expectancy varies by income, and older workers face hiring discrimination that makes 'work longer' hollow.
Conclusion — Uniformity is the problem; the case for later retirement is strong and the case for applying it identically is not.
Model essay
Band 8.5–9.0 model essay
320 words
In numerous nations, citizens are being encouraged to defer retirement well beyond the age their parents' generation typically stopped working. Although this development can produce some merits, it can also lead to some issues.
On the one hand, this trend carries two notable benefits. First, it can help relieve the financial strain on pension systems, which face growing pressure due to increased life expectancy and shrinking workforces. To clarify, when employees remain economically active for a longer period, they continue contributing to pension funds through taxation while drawing benefits for fewer years, thereby easing the burden on state budgets that already struggle to support ageing populations. Second, retaining experienced staff allows organisations to preserve valuable institutional knowledge that would otherwise be lost. Veteran employees, having accumulated decades of specialised expertise, can mentor younger colleagues, resolve complex problems more efficiently, and maintain continuity in long-term projects, which newly hired staff often lack the experience to manage independently.
On the other hand, this trend also entails two significant drawbacks. First, delayed retirement can obstruct career advancement for younger workers. Since senior positions remain occupied for longer, junior employees frequently encounter limited opportunities for promotion, which can dampen morale, reduce motivation, and drive ambitious individuals to seek employment elsewhere, particularly in competitive sectors where advancement typically depends on a vacancy opening at the top. Second, prolonged working life can jeopardise the health of older employees, particularly those engaged in physically demanding occupations. To illustrate, sustained physical exertion in industries such as construction or manufacturing can accelerate musculoskeletal deterioration and chronic fatigue, thereby increasing both absenteeism and healthcare expenditure for employers, who must also arrange costly workplace adjustments to accommodate older staff.
To conclude, encouraging citizens to retire later can ease pressure on pension systems and preserve institutional expertise built up over decades, while simultaneously restricting career mobility for younger employees and posing tangible health risks for older workers employed in physically strenuous professions.
Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to read the rest of this essay and unlock every model on the site.
This is an advantages and disadvantages question. The essay above shows you what a strong answer looks like when it is finished. What it cannot show you is how to get there from a blank page in forty minutes.
That is what our Writing Study Library is for: the structure we teach for this exact question type, the paragraph pattern that goes with it, and the sentence openers for each stage — so the essay is planned before you start writing rather than assembled as you go.
Introduction: Paraphrase the trend of countries encouraging later retirement and signal that the essay will present both benefits and drawbacks without taking a personal side.
Body 1: Give two advantages: working longer eases pension-system strain because people contribute more and draw benefits for fewer years, and retaining veteran staff preserves institutional knowledge and lets them mentor younger colleagues.
Body 2: Give two disadvantages: senior roles staying occupied longer blocks promotion for younger workers, and continued physical labour raises health risks and absenteeism among older employees in demanding jobs.
Conclusion: Summarise neutrally that later retirement eases pension pressure and keeps expertise in-house, while also restricting younger workers' careers and endangering older workers' health, without stating which side matters more.
Word or phrase
Meaning
Used in a sentence
defer
to postpone something to a later time
citizens are being encouraged to defer retirement well beyond the age their parents' generation typically stopped working
relieve the strain
to ease a difficult burden or pressure
it can help relieve the financial strain on pension systems
ageing populations
populations with a growing proportion of older people
state budgets that already struggle to support ageing populations
institutional knowledge
accumulated expertise and know-how held within an organisation
retaining experienced staff allows organisations to preserve valuable institutional knowledge
obstruct
to block or hinder progress
delayed retirement can obstruct career advancement for younger workers
dampen morale
to reduce people's motivation or spirits
which can dampen morale, reduce motivation, and drive ambitious individuals to seek employment elsewhere
jeopardise
to put something at risk of harm
prolonged working life can jeopardise the health of older employees
musculoskeletal deterioration
the gradual weakening of muscles, bones and joints
sustained physical exertion...can accelerate musculoskeletal deterioration and chronic fatigue
Created by a Band 8.5–9.0 IELTS Writing achiever — Premium. Sign up free to see the ideas and vocabulary for this topic and unlock every model on the site.
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Common questions
Should I mention an argument only to dismiss it?
Yes, when it is one the examiner expects and you have a reason to reject it. Setting aside the "older workers block young people" claim shows you can distinguish strong arguments from popular ones, which is exactly the judgement Band 8 describes.
How do I make a fairness argument rigorous?
Attach it to a measurable difference. "Poorer workers have shorter healthy life expectancy, so they contribute longer and collect for less" is a fairness argument with a mechanism, which is far harder to dismiss than an appeal to unfairness in general.
Can I write about a policy I think is necessary but unfair?
Yes, and it often produces the most convincing essays. Accepting that something is unavoidable while criticising how it is applied gives you a clear position without forcing you into an unrealistic one.
