PP IELTS – AIM 6+ CYCLE 19 | LESSON 04

TODAY TOPIC: Older people have the opportunity to work until any age if they wish to.
Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Vocabulary builder
Impact of late and prolonged working life on subjective health- The Swedish experience
ageing population delay their retirement working life
age of retirement labour force working beyond

Like many post-industrial societies, Sweden has over time experienced a long-term
tendency towards a shortening of (1)labour force due to inter alia longer education and earlier
exit from the (2)working life Combined with an (3)ageing population, this tendency has created
serious challenges for the long-term financial sustainability of the Swedish social protection
system. One policy measure to address this issue was to encourage workers to voluntarily
(4)delay their retirement and to continue (5)working beyond the standard (6)age of retirement

retirement age lifetime earnings postponing retirement

pension system pension benefits the age of
A comprehensive public pension reform was implemented in 1999 and the Swedish
pension system is nowadays based on (7) retirement age and a flexible (8)pension system There
are three components in the Swedish public (9) pension system: income pension, based on a
person’s full lifetime earnings and financed on a pay-as-you-go basis; premium pension, which is
a smaller and funded part of the income-based pension; and guarantee pension which provides a
basic income for all persons, irrespective of their previous lifetime earnings. The statutory
pension system is complemented by collectively bargained occupational pension schemes, which
cover about 90% of the workforce. The pension system provides the freedom to combine work
with retirement, and both employees and self-employed persons are entitled to (10)……
postponing retirement…………... Statutory income pension is payable from (11) the age of 61
for both men and women. However, the size of the pension will increase the longer the
retirement is postponed, and the financial incentives for (12)…lifetime earnings.. are strong.
Nevertheless, the standard age of retirement in Sweden is 65 years for both men and women.

prolongation extend working life older workers

longer working lives late retirement prolonged working life

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If (13)prolonged working life may improve the financial stability of the pension system,
there could also be increased costs, for example, for healthcare should the (14) prolongation of
working life lead to a deterioration of health. On the other hand, paid work activities and social
relations associated with employment might also lead to long-term positive effects for health and
well-being also for people over the standard age of retirement. The relatively high employment
rate of Swedish (15)older workers in combination with the possibility to voluntarily
(16)prolonged working life beyond the former statutory age of retirement at 65 makes Sweden
an interesting case study with respect to the health consequences of (17)…extend working
life….. and (18)late retirement.

Idea builder
Discuss with your partner whether the following aspects are the merits or demerits of
extending work life:
● Physical well-being - negative impacts // deteriorated health // unable to handle
heavy workload => suffer from constant fatigue // affect their physical health // be
more vulnerable to diseases
● Mental well-being - negative impact // job pressure // unable to cope with stress to
restore balance // be prone to depression//unable to perform well
● Social life - positive impacts // maintain interactions and good relationships with
junior employees // have a sense of belonging to a group // not feel lonely
● Financial health - positive impact // financial independence // increase their
pension // make their own earnings // pay for their living expenses // not depend on
their children’s support // have a sense of self-worth
● Healthcare system & State budget - negative impacts // deteriorated health // a greater
demand for healthcare services // put strains on the national healthcare system // a
pressurized healthcare system // a financial burden on the national budget
● Companies - negative imp act on company’s productivity //unable to handle heavy
WORKLOAD //do not have any creative ideas or plans COMPARED TO young
people//limited awareness of worldwide trends >< positive impacts on company // older
people possess // able to train and give advice to younger workers // contribute to their
companies

Developing an argument
There are three parts of one typical argument
Claim: There are many advantages of …

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Reason 01: The first advantage is …

Evidence 01: (this is to prove that the reason 01 is valid)
● results/consequences
● explanation
● example
● compare/contrast
Reason 02: Another advantage is…
Evidence 02: (this is to prove that the reason 02 is valid)
● results/consequences
● explanation
● example
● compare/contrast

Examples of an argument with 1st reason – 1st evidence

On the one hand, working beyond the traditional retirement age may put the aged at risk and
create imbalance in the workforce. = On the one hand, working beyond the traditional
retirement age would lead to a range of downsides. [disadvantage 01] One apparent issue is the
increased incidence of occupational accidents and health problems commonly seen in the case
of over-65-year-old blue-collar workers. This may lead to severe injuries and even cost=claim
lives, putting greater strain on the national healthcare system and on an individual’s family.

1. What are the types of evidence given above?

A. results/consequences
B. explanation
C. example
D. compare/contrast
2. Take one benefit and one drawback from the table in section II and give evidence to support
each of them.

3. What type of structure is used to introduce the example?

What type of structure is used to introduce the results/consequences?

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Cause-effect structure
One apparent issue is the increased incidence of occupational accidents and health
problems, especially for old blue-collar workers. THIS may lead to severe injuries and even
cost lives, putting greater strain on the national healthcare system and on an individual’s
family.

The reasoning above can be simplified into an idea flow:

the increased incidence of occupational accidents and health problems 🡪 severe injuries and
even cost lives 🡪 greater strain on the national healthcare system and on an individual’s family

Rewrite the idea flow above using different structures suggested below. You can change
any phrases as you write.
● One problem – One consequence of this is – ,which means
● The first obvious problem ….. As a result, s/v.
● One compelling issue is ….. Because of that …, s/v.
Use the structures you have just learned to write two sentences based on the following idea
flow. You can change any phrases as you write.

FLOW CẦN VIẾT: aging workforce => cannot keep up with heavy workload // suffer
from constant fatigue => lower productivity // affect their companies // poorer physical
health
=> VIẾT THÀNH 2 CÂU CHO CÔ

Useful grammar – Relative clause to give explanation

Read the two sentences below and check how the relative clause is used.
a) An individual who has an extended work life || can maintain their financial independence
and also their social status.
b) An individual with an extended work life || can maintain their financial independence and
also their social status.
c) Seniors who are financially healthy are able to enjoy their lives to the fullest.
d) Being financially healthy, seniors are able to enjoy their lives to the fullest.

Important note:
- who have/has = with

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- who are 🡪 being (at the beginning of the sentence – present participle clause)

Use the structures you have just learnt to write sentences based on the following prompts.
senior citizens – make contribution to their own workplaces and to society – enjoy a sense of
fulfilment and purpose
TODAY TOPIC: Older people have the opportunity to work until any age if they wish to.
Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?
1. INTRODUCTION
+ S01: INTRODUCE THE TOPIC - medical achievements // increased life
expectancy // prolong their working life
+ S02: THESIS STATEMENT
Writing the thesis statement
The thesis statement is the first place where you answer the question in brief.
“Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?”
This is a good opportunity to use one subordinating structure (concession) to answer the question
above. WRITER’S BELIEF” BENEFITS > DOWNSIDES
● Although there are … associated with this trend, I believe that the … are more
significant=weightier.
● Despite certain … associated with this trend, I argue that they are
outweighed/overshadowed/eclipsed by the …

Writing the conclusion by summarizing

Even though the most straightforward way to write the introduction is to write a thesis-
restatement, it would be better to summarize the advantages/disadvantages having been
mentioned in the two body paragraphs. The structure below allows you to do so.

In conclusion, although working past the traditional retirement age means [greater health risks]
and [noun - disad 02], this trend potentially leads to more considerable positive impacts in
terms of [financial independence] and [noun - benefit 02]

However, you have to find noun phrases that fit the gaps and this totally depends on your
lexicon.

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Essay organization
Introduction
1. General statement
2. Thesis statement
Body 01 – The side that is less significant - DOWNSIDES
1. Topic sentence
2. 1st point 🡪 evidence
3. 2nd point 🡪 evidence
Body 02 – The side that is more significant - BENEFITS
1. Topic sentence: HOWEVER, I AM CONVINCED THAT [XX AND YY] COULD
gain more benefits from such a trend. // HOWEVER, I AM CONVINCED
THAT …… COULD GREATLY BENEFIT SENIOR WORKERS.
2. 1st point 🡪 evidence
3. 2nd point 🡪 evidence
CÁCH 01: BENEFITS FOR SENIOR WORKERS THEMSELVES
CÁCH 02: BENEFITS FOR SENIOR WORKERS AND SOCIETY
+ On an individual scale, ….
+ On a larger scale, …..
Conclusion
1. Re-answer which side is more significant.
2. Summarize the advantages/disadvantages
IPP IELTS – USEFUL INSTRUCTIONS
● negative impacts = undesired ramifications = undeniable risks = adverse
implications for
● work beyond the traditional retirement age = work past the age of 65 =
prolonged employment = delayed retirement
WRITING TASK: VIẾT CHO CÔ PAR 02 - 20:30 - CORRECTION!!!
[name] ….

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[Hao]_However, I am more convinced that older workers can gain a wide range of benefits
from their prolonged working life, which far outweighs its own downsides. Firstly,On one
hand, longer working life allows them to earn more in the late years of life and therefore achieve
financial sustainability, which is CRUCIALnecessary for their life after retirement. In fact,
despite the fact that many elderly are financially independent after their retirement, old people
still need more money to have better health-care services or to be able to enjoy their old ages.
Secondly, late retirement provides older workers with a longer time to engage in social activities,
resulting in more relationships such as colleagues or partners at the same age. As a result, after
their retirement, old workers will have more friends to talk to; therefore, these people will be
able to overcome the loneliness and sadness of being old.OK

[Ngọc Tâm] However, I am more convinced that senior workers and their companies would gain
more benefits from such a trend. On the individual scale, prolonging working life can help
elderly people maintain their financial independence. Individuals with delayed retirement can
increase their pension and pay for living expensesWITH by their own earnings. Therefore, they
will lead an independenttheir life and have a sense of self-worth, withoutmeaning that they won’t
have to live day by day merely depending on their children after their retirement. On a larger
scale, people who work past the age of 65 can bring positive impacts on their company’s
productivity. Although they do not have good physical health compared to the young, they
have possessed a wealth of experience and technical skills to cope with workloads through
their working life. As a result, they will contribute to their enterprises by training and giving
good advice to junior workers to help them perform well in their workplace. welldone nhưng
reduce thành 2 câu

[Bùi Hải Yến] However, I am convinced that working beyond the traditional retirement
age could greatly benefit senior workers. In their social lives, senior workers are able to
maintain interactions and good relationships with their junior co-workers, which makes
the elderly have a sense of belonging to a group instead of feeling lonely. Additionally,
because older people have undergone a series of hardships and difficulties, they possess a
wealth of experience and wisdom, giving senior workers the ability to train and empower
junior workers by giving them advice in order to contribute to their companies.
welldone!! (if its still short after i fixed it then im sry :( ) TOO SHORT // For example,
[country]

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[ Vy ] However, I am convinced that senior workers and their companies could gain more
benefits from such a trend. On an individual scale, working beyond the traditional retirement age
allows the seniors to maintain interactions and good relationships with junior employees. This
could lead to a sense of belonging to a group as well as detering them from having a sense of
loneliness. Besides that, older people with a wealth of experience and technical skills could
greatly contribute to their company by training and giving advice to younger workers. As they
have undergone a series of trauma, hardships, and difficulties in life, which help them develop
coping mechanisms and practical solutions to deal with job-related issues; therefore, they can
help young people figure out their strengths and weaknesses to keep oriented and foster their
technical skill. ok nha 7.0

[An] However, I am convinced that senior workers could gain more benefits from such a trend.
With regard to aspect of finance, prolonging working life helps senior workers to have financial
independence. By making their own earnings, the elderly are able to make ends meet, meaning
that they are independent of their children's support. As a result, they could have a sense of self-
worth and self-esteem. In terms of social life, delaying their retirement and continuing to devote
themselves to their work have a positive impact on the elderly's social relations. For example, the
older could maintain good relationship with their colleagues, giving them a sense of belonging to
a group p. Simultaneously, these interactions help them to avoid a sense of loneliness, which is
prevalent health issues in the older person's life.WELLDONE! BAND 7.0+

(Truc An) On the other hand, I’ am convinced that senior workers and their company could gain
more benefits from such a trend. On an individual scale, people who have an extended work life
can maintain a financial independence and increase their pension to payfor paying for their living
expences on their own. As a result, they not only do not put more financial pressure on their
children but also have a sense of self-worth and enjoy their lives to the fullest. On a larger scale,
people who work beyond the traditional retirement age can have a positive impact on their
company’s productivity. Older people who possess a wealth of experience and specialized skills
related to jobs are able to train and give advice to younger workers, which in return would give
them ; moreover they have a sense of purpose in life. WELLDONE! BAND 7.5+

Phương Anh: AS OPPOSED TOBesideS those negative impacts, I am highly convinced that a
prolonged working life could greatly benefit senior workers. Viewing from financial health
perspectives, they could make their earnings and pay for their living expenses even without
depending on their children's support. Moreover, seniors have more chances to maintain
relationships with co-workers at company when delaying their retirement, which means
they are able to enjoy their lives to the fullest avoiding loneliness of old people’ s life. [KO
LIÊN QUAN VỚI NHAU MÀ NÓ NÊN BREAK THÀNH 2 IDEAS].

Thủy Diệp : Nevertheless, I am convinced that prolonged employment could greatly benefit
senior workers. The first advantage is senior citizens possess a wealth of experience and
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technical skills throughout their working life. As a result, they are able to train and give advice to
young workers, therefore, contributINGe to their COMPANIES, which might in return could
bring them a great sense of confidence and self-worth. own work places. Another advantage is
THAT an individual who has an extended work life || can improve theIR financial stability of
their pension system rather than relyING on their children's support. Good financial health
allows them to enjoy their lives to the fullest AND gives them freedom to pursue their own
interest, contributing to their mental wellbeing. and have a sense of self-worth.6.5

(Hoang Anh) However, despite the aforementioned demerits, I am more in favor of the fact that
the prolongation of working life would greatly benefit senior workers regarding their financial
independence and mental wellbeing. On an individual scale, the elderly with late retirement can
make their own earnings and maintain income sustainability, helping them to pay for their living
expenses and needs. As a result, they are less likely to depend on children’s support and possess
a sense of self-worth. On a larger scale, delaying retirement possibly provides a positive impact
on their mentality once they can maintain interactions and good relationships with junior
workers, which can give them display a sense of belonging to a group and simultaneously help
them avoid the feeling of loneliness. WELLDONE!! 7.0

[Bảo Nghi] Despite the possible disadvantages mentioned above, I am more convinced that
working beyond the standard age of retirement could greatly benefit senior workers as well as
their companies. On an individual level, workers with an extended work life can make their own
earnings and maintain their financial independence. Besides, the more years the elders work,, the
more pensions they can increase their lifetime earnings after exiting from their working life,
which means they have sufficient abilities to pay for their living expenses instead of depending
on children’s support. On a larger scale, this trend may bring about positive impacts on their
companies. It is undeniable that the older workers have accumulated a wealth of experience
passed more than half of their working life and certainly the experiences and tTECHNICAL
skills as well as undergoing echnique skills they accumulate are massive. Moreover, mistakes
and failures on their career path. Such knowledge could enable them to act as precursor to the
way elders train and give advice to younger workers,. As a result, they can contributinge to the
development of their companies. diễn đạt chưa ra

(Minh Anh) However, I am more convinced that senior workers and their companies would gain
more benefits from such a trend. On an individual scale, having gone through a series of trauma,
difficulties and failures, old people possess a wealth of experience and technical skills, adapt
rapidly TOwith the company environment. This may help young people have valuable advice to
take a new look and, cope with similar situations when learning from seasoned workers.
Moreover, it is a common belief that managerial positions should be assigned to
experienced employees with the greatest contribution to their own company's growth. Old
people with an extended work life can maintain a financial independence to pay for their
living expenses and not depend on their children’s support any more. => viết lại!!

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Moreover, people with an extended work life can maintain their financial independence, increase
their pension to pay for living expenses and not depend on their children’s support. As a result,
they could have a sense of self-worth and self-esteem. OK

(Anh Thư)
However, I am more convinced that such a trend could offer great benefits to workers
themselvesf and society. On an individual scale, THE prolongation of working life keeps
workers associated with their seniors and opens up a possibility of indulging their passion. These
elderly therefore can maintain interactions and good relationships with their peers, giving them a
sense of belonging to a group and helping them avoid lonelinessnot being alone. On a larger
scale, the elderly who work for years possess a lot of professional knowledge and essential skills,
so they can impart these valuable understandings INto younger generations. As a result, during
their prolonged working time, they can continue to make a huge contribution to their company
and socio-economic development.6.5

[Như Minh] However, I am more convinced that experienced workersfinancial health and
companies could gain more benefits from such a trend. Firstly, senior workers who prolong their
working life could make their own earnings. Since they are able to have financial independence,
older people can afford a wide range of expenses and leisure activities save money for their later
life such as travelling to enjoy their life to the fullest. Another advantage of delayed
retirement is a boost in companies’ could benefit the company’s productivity since . Ssenior
workers pwithossess a wealth of experience and technical skills, they can help the young people
avoid reduce the possibilities of failures and foster skills. As a result, they CAN GREATLY
contribute to their companies by giving helpful advice or solutions. Tim Cook, for example,
who extends working life at the age of 60, HAS HELPEDhelping Apple corporation to achieve
outstanding revenue annually and become one of the best brands in the world. còn sai diễn đạt &
Gr nhiều qua!!!

[Phương Uyên] Despite the downsides mentioned above, I am more convinced that the benefits
that the old gain are much more weightier. The first reason worth mentioning is THAT
prolonged employment helps the elder to earn their own livelihood from their job to gain
financial independence from their children. For this reason, senior citizens in many aging
countries such as Japan or Italy are now able to pay for their own living expenses without their
children’s support and therefore they can have a GREAT sense of self-worth. Regarding social
life, by working past the age of 65, senior workers will be able to nurture a good relationship
with their junior employees. Therefore, they will no longer feel lonely in their old agesamong
colleagues and form a sense of belonging to a group. OK GIỎI 6.5

(Tue Van) However, I am convinced that the prolongation of working life could greatly benefit
senior workers. First, in terms of finance, older people have the opportunity to make their own
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earnings as well as be less dependent on their children. Besides the decrease of burdens on the
young in terms of money, senior citizens are willing to support their children financially in
today's fiercely competitive job market. The second benefit is that working beyond the traditional
retirement age can help them maintain interactions and good relationships with junior employees
which make them not suffer from loneliness. Moreover, with profound knowledge and job-
related skills the aged individuals have earned during their time working in the company, they
are able to convey experience to new employees.

( Nhật Tâm ) On the other hand, I am persuaded that prolonged employment could bring an
array of social and mental health benefits which MIGHT BE MISSED IN THEIR
RETIREMENTare not available at home. To begin with, the elderly are frequently affected by
diseases such as autism and stroke since they have no one to catch up with and nothing to do,
whilewhich means they must participate in prolonged employment can enable them toin order to
avoid such a sense of loneliness and self-insufficiency. . Working past theat retirement age may
also enable senior workers to share their experiences with new colleagues, resulting in
mutual growth and even a sense of belonging. [CONNECT LẠI] Secondly, working in a
contemporary setting today enables the elderly to stay updatedcurrent with new working trends,
which enables them to work more successfully and thrive along with their companies. As a
result, the experienced workers could earn more money to either serve their needs or reduce
financial dependence on their family. the budget burden on their families.

[Khánh]However, I am more convinced that prolongation of working life could greatly benefit
senior workers. One apparent issue is financial independence, which means people working
beyond traditional retirement age could pay for their living expenses without any children’s
support to have a sense of self-worth. On a larger scale, despite some problems RELATED
TOinvolved in physical well-being and mental well-being, senior workers who have undergone a
series of trauma and hardships could be able to cope with workloads throughoutthrough their
working life. As a result of this, they can provide the junior ones with valuable advice to figure
out their strengths and weaknesses, and such support might in turn bring them a sense of self-
worth. .

[Thanh Nguyen] However, I am convinced that the senior workers as well as the society AS A
WHOLE can gain benefits from such a trend. The first advantage is the relationships’
maintenance between senior and junior workers. Employees who have spent their lifetime
engaging with colleagues and working environment tend to have a sense of belonging to a group,
and keeping up with their co-workers helps them not to feel lonely. This also helps strengthen
the relationships between newbies and experienced employees so that they can support each
other along the way. Another advantage is THAT prolonged working life helps lessen the
financial strains on society. The budget used for the retirement system can be cut off as older

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workers who are dedicated to their career still have the ability to work and earn money. The
amount of the cut-off budget can be used for other humanitarian purposes like supporting
abandoned children or disabled people who have no ability to earn for their living.
WELLDONE!!! .

(Hồng Anh) On the other hand, I believe that senior employees and their companies can benefit
more from this trend. On a personal scale, people who work longer hours can maintain financial
independence and increase pensions to pay for their living expenses. Therefore, not only will
they not bring more financial pressure to their children, but they will also have a sense of self-
worth and enjoy life to the fullest. On a larger scale, people working beyond the traditional
retirement age will have a positive impact on the company’s productivity. Older people with rich
work experience and professional skills can train and provide advice to young workers, which in
turn will give them a sense of purpose in life. welldone!!

[Hà] However, I am convinced that senior workers could gain more benefits from such a trend.
Working beyond the standard of age retirement would help older workers maintain interactions
and good relationships with junior employees. As a result, senior workers could have a sense of
belonging to a group and AVOIDthey would not feelING lonely. Another advantage is financial
independence, which could help older workers increase their pensions. Longer working life
offers them the ability to make their own money so that they could pay for their living expenses.
Because of that, senior employees would not depend on their children’s support since they would
have a sense of self-worth and self-esteem. ok 6.5+

(Huy) In spite of the downsides mentioned above, I am more convinced that older people
working beyond their retirement age together with the firms they commit to could gain more
than advantages from this trend. The first obvious benefit, looking from an individual
perspective, is the independent financial health. Prolonging their working life means that older
people could increase their pension and pay for their own living expenses, giving them a sense of
self-worth and confidence. [CÂU SAU BỊ REPETITIVE & REDUNDANT]. As a result, they
will have a sense of self-worth because they are still able to make their own earnings and not put
any financial pressures on their children. On a larger scale, senior workers with an extended
work life can make a significant contributions toimpact on their companies. Elder people who
possess a wide range of working experience could contribute to their firms by training younger
workers and giving them practical advice for job-related issues, which in return would give them
a sense of purpose in life. WELLDONE

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(Tue Van) However, I am convinced that the prolongation of working life could greatly benefit
senior workers. First, in terms of finance, older people have the opportunity to make their own
earnings as well as being less dependent on their children. Besides avoiding becoming the
decrease of burdens on the young in terms of money, senior citizens CAN ALSOare willing to
support their children financially in today's fiercely competitive job market. The second benefit
is that working beyond the traditional retirement age can help them maintain interactions and
good relationships with junior employees by sharing knowledge and training junior workers in
their jobs. Such contributions in turn could give senior workers a sense of self-worth and which
can protect them from the feeling ofmake them not suffer from loneliness. Moreover, with
profound knowledge and job-related skills the aged individuals have earned during their time
working in the company, they are able to convey experience to new employees.

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