Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. put off
    • ex. I keep putting off my chores because I don’t want to do them.
  2. commute
    • ex. Kyle decided to move closer to his office in order to have a shorter commute.
  3. force
    • ex. The gate was locked, so Jen was forced to wait until her friend arrived with the key.
  4. savings
    • ex. Many money experts say it’s important to have at least $1,000 in savings.
  5. an investment
    • ex. My friend says that I should have some investments, but I don’t know much about the stock market.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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More and more older employees in the UK are now choosing to put off retirement. According to the government, around 1.34 million people aged 65 and above were still working last summer. The number was about 70,000 higher than in previous months.

Experts explained that the Covid-19 crisis has affected many people’s retirement plans. Some older employees said that they’re happy to keep working because they can now do their jobs from home and avoid their previous long commutes. However, others have been forced to put off retirement because their savings and investments were negatively affected.

According to one financial planner, about 16% of UK workers over 55 have recently changed their plans for retirement. Some said that they’ll put off retirement by a few years, but others explained that they now don’t plan to ever fully retire. Instead, they’ll change from full-time to part-time, start their own company, or even learn new skills to begin a second career.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Retirement Plans

  • From what age should people start to plan their retirement (ex. in their 20s, in their 40s)? Why? Discuss.
  • How should people save money for retirement (ex. put money in the bank, invest in stocks)? Why? Discuss.
  • In your country, are there many people who don't plan to fully retire? Why or why not? Discuss.

Second Careers

  • Do you think it's a good idea to start a second career? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what's the best age to start a second career (ex. in your early 30s, at 65)? Why? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you’re going to start a second career. What career are you going to choose? Why? Discuss.