pensions.pdf

Worksheet

The future of retirement

A global questionnaire organised by the HSBC bank reveals changing attitudes towards retirement.

1 What are your retirement plans? Use some of the words in the box below. Discuss your answer with a partner.

leisure travel work study family opportunities

relaxing hobby ambition dream

2 The graph shows the percentage of people who made plans for retirement in the last year in Brazil, Canada, Japan,

UK, US . Complete the key by guessing the country names. Scan paragraph two of the article to check your answers.

90%

KEY

1) …………………

2) …………………

3) …………………

4) …………………

5) …………………

70%

Graph

% of people who have

made preparations for

retirement in the last year

40%

1 2 3 4 5

Survey reveals attitude change

The HSBC bank has published a comprehensive study on

global attitudes to retirement. For many, the idea of a

traditional retirement is a thing of the past. 80% of those

answering want to abolish the mandatory retirement age.

They think workers should go on working as long as they are

able. The study, called ‘The Future of Retirement’, examines

attitudes in ten countries, including Brazil, Canada, Japan,

the UK and US.

40%, and for Japan, roughly 30%. Brazilians view later life as

a period for relaxing and spending time with their families;

they expect a lot of support from their children. The Japanese

see retirement as a time of continued work fulfillment.

People live longer nowadays, and this has placed more

pressure on financing old age. One US company in financial

difficulty, United Airlines, has decided to terminate its

employeesʹ pension plans and will save about $645m a year.

In Finland, a new concept called ‘work ability’ aims to keep

people in work longer and to give them training and support

to help them to do so. Given the choice between increasing

taxes, reducing pensions, or raising the retirement age, 45%

of those surveyed chose the last option. With three in every

four people saying that working would be part of an ideal

later life, it seems that attitudes towards traditional

retirement have certainly changed.

Who are the forward planners? How many people in the

countries surveyed spent time last year preparing for

retirement? In Canada, the figure is around 90%; in the US,

over 80%. Many Canadians view their later years as a time of

reinvention and ambition. Americans see a chance for new

opportunities. In the middle is the UK, where the figure is

70%. At the other end of the scale, the figure for Brazil is over

3 Read the whole article. What attitudes to retirement exist in the various countries in the survey?

4 Find one word in each line that does not collocate with the word in bold .

(a) to make

(b) to contribute towards

(d) to be entitled to (e) to receive

a pension

(a) company

(b) State

(d) training

(e) adequate

pension

(a) traditional

(b) forward

(d) peaceful

(e) enjoyable

retirement

(a) to approach (b) to look forward to

(d) to prepare for

(e) to enjoy

retirement

5 Complete the following survey. Discuss your answers in small groups and report your ideas to the class.

Retirement Survey

(1) Which do you prefer: (a) increasing taxes (b) reducing pensions (c) working longer?

YES / NO / NOT SURE

(3) Are you happy with your company pension scheme?

YES / NO / TO SOME EXTENT

This page has been downloaded from www.businessenglishonline.net.

It is photocopiable, but all copies must be complete pages.

(2) Should the mandatory retirement age be abolished?

(a) / (b) / (c)

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