General Task 2 · 316 words
Longer working lives: reasons and a flexible judgement
Explain demographic and financial causes, then weigh experience against health and occupational differences.
Study the method: Reasons and evaluation: positive/negative and outweigh questions →
Develop the topic: Work essays: distinguish location, weekly hours and career length →
Band 7 goal: Causes and evaluation
Develop and connect relevant ideas or select and compare the most useful details. This is a study route, not an examiner score assigned to the answer. How IELTS Writing is assessed.
The question
In some countries, people are expected to work until a later age than in the past. What are the reasons for this change, and do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
The sample answer
Later retirement is becoming more common as people live longer, pension systems support retirees for more years and some workers want or need continued income. Longer working lives can retain valuable experience and strengthen public finances, but a single higher retirement age is unfair to people in demanding occupations. I therefore see the change as beneficial only when later work remains flexible rather than compulsory for everyone.
One reason is demographic. If the proportion of retired people rises while the workforce grows slowly, tax and pension contributions must support more years of retirement. Governments and employers may respond by encouraging people to remain economically active. Individual circumstances matter too. Some employees have mortgages, rent or family costs that make continued earnings necessary, while others value the routine and social contact of work. Longer healthy lives can also make an abrupt exit at a fixed age seem unnecessary, particularly in roles where knowledge is more important than physical strength.
Experienced staff can mentor colleagues, preserve organisational knowledge and continue contributing taxes. A gradual reduction in hours may also give an individual time to adjust before full retirement. However, the advantages are uneven. Construction, care work and other physically demanding jobs can become harder with age, and poor health may limit even office work. If people are forced to remain in unsuitable roles, absence and hardship may increase while younger workers receive fewer opportunities to progress. Policies should therefore allow earlier support for demanding careers, retraining, adapted duties and part-time transitions instead of relying on one rigid threshold.
In conclusion, longer lives and financial pressure explain why retirement ages are rising. Continued work can benefit individuals and society when it is chosen and appropriately designed, but the case weakens when a uniform rule ignores health and the nature of the job. Flexible later careers are more positive than simply extending every career by the same number of years.
Vocabulary in context
Each phrase appears in the answer above. Learn how it works, not just a replacement word.
- remain economically active
- Continue participating in paid work or other income-producing activity.
The phrase describes participation, not a judgement that unpaid roles lack social value.
- physically demanding jobs
- Occupations requiring sustained strength, movement or bodily effort.
Use the phrase to explain why one retirement rule may affect occupations differently.
- part-time transitions
- Gradual changes from full-time work to fewer working hours.
Specify the transition's direction and purpose instead of treating part-time work as automatically suitable.
Now make it your own
Write an alternative evaluation focused on younger workers. Weigh promotion opportunities against the benefit of mentoring without making either outcome automatic.
For a smaller practice step, use the explanation, knowledge check and self-review exercise in Answer the question you were given.
The practice link opens the original question, not a copy of this answer.
Open the writing workspaceMore examples of this question type
Explain why the change happens and evaluate it separately. Answer both parts explicitly.