You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Governments should not provide care or financial support for elderly people because it is the responsibility of each person to prepare for retirement and support him or herself. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant example from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample answer
People have different views on whether a government should support the elderly and retired people financially or not. I believe that it is mostly an individual’s responsibility to save money for their retirement but I totally disagree that elderly people shouldn’t receive any support from the state. The combination of personal support and the government’s support could be the best possible solution for the retired elderly people.
I think the government should support the elderly people financially as this is the part of a social democracy which states the equality of opportunities and distribution of resources fairly. For example, many developed countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United State are following this strategy by allowing some money to be cashed for elderly people upon their retirement. Moreover, it is their right to have some financial support as they had paid their taxes throughout their lives. So they have to take some of their money back when they need it. The government should allocate money to take care of its citizens no matter what are their ages.
On the other side, those elderly people do not have any alternative way of earning, as their chances for employment is quite low in contrast to the young people, they should be taken care by the savings they have, by their own children and by the government.
The people should always have savings and relatives who would be taking care of them when they become old. The parents take care of their kids and sacrifice a lot. The children should always be ready to take care of their elder parents. A prudent person would have some savings for his old years and thus it is also an individual’s responsibility to save for their future need. Furthermore, the government can’t deny its role to take care of the elder people. The combination of these three can be very effective to take care of people when they become old.
In conclusion, governments should take the responsibility of providing senior citizens with all their financial needs as part of ensuring their well-being and at the same time it is an individual’s responsibility to save money for their hardest time and their sons and daughters have some responsibilities as well.
[ Written by – Nehal Touski ]