【正确答案】Topic: Does China need to postpone the retirement age, to deal with the aging of the population?
Tips, Words and Expressions
General expressions
full retirement age / the legal retirement age / mandatory retirement age / increasing (raising, postponing, putting off) the retirement age / the rise in retirement age / improvements in the health of older people / increases in average life expectancy / retirement benefits / the enormous welfare burden associated with a rapidly ageing society / ballooning spending on pensions / pension fund deficit / China's social security fund / a gradual process / people with high-end professional expertise / set up a flexible retirement age / second careers
Government needs to balance pension fund needs and unemployment. / Retirement age reform is a sensitive topic requiring prudent study. / Reemployment is the solution for the young retiree (dislocated workers). / Individual choices should be respected on the issue of retirement.
The pros
Forcing a number of top women professionals to retire and stay at home above 55 years old is a huge loss of talent, especially in medical and education sectors. / The country was in dire need of high-end talents. / Regulations should be revised with such clauses as women elites having the right to choose to retire at the age of 55 with a ceiling of 60 years old. / Women at age 50 are in the prime of their working life and it's too young for them to retire. / Special professions such as teachers, judges and doctors should enjoy more flexible retirement policies for women. / The average retirement age in China is 51.2, ten years lower than the world's average. This causes social security problems. / Raise the retirement age to reduce welfare burden associated with a rapidly ageing society. / Many developed countries face similar problems in funding their pension schemes and several have proposed increasing the retirement age so as to ease the burden. / Raising the legal retirement age would delay pension pay-outs thus enabling the pension fund to recover over time. / Early retirement can alleviate short-term unemployment pressure, but over time, it will negatively impact upon social security and economic development in an aging society. / Lengthening the working lives of professional talents would benefit both individuals and the country. / As a result, many people quit their jobs while both physically capable and very experienced, representing a tragic waste of talent to the nation's workforce. / Allowing people to delay retirement would not only satisfy the need for talent, but would also fulfill the wishes of those wanting to extend their professional lives. / Extending the professional life of high-end talent may also help prepare for the looming ageing population issue. / A social group may become prematurely physically and mentally senile if people retire too early. / Continuing professional activity promotes a longer and more active life.
The cons
Retirement age should not be compulsory. / Many employees of state-owned enterprises have been allowed to retire in their 40s or 50s to make openings for new graduates and others. / Raising the retirement age could exacerbate the unemployment situation. / Raising the retirement age could worsen the unemployment situation because if people retire at an older age, it will take longer before they can relinquish their jobs to younger members of the work force. / It is unfeasible to increase the mandatory retirement age in China at present, because the increase of new jobs mainly relies on vacancies provided by retirees. / Reducing unemployment is a more urgent problem than the social security fund deficit. / The deficit was caused by an earlier retirement age. / Many people may want to enjoy their lives in retirement earlier.