Average retirement age by country (table)
IELTS Academic Task 1 example: a table showing the average retirement age in four countries in 2000 and 2020, with a band 8 model answer.
Band 6.5
Prompt: The table below shows the average age at which people retired in four countries in 2000 and 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The table shows the average age at which people retired in four countries in the years 2000 and 2020.
Overall, the average retirement age rose in all four countries between 2000 and 2020. Country D had the highest retirement age in both years, while Country A had the lowest.
In 2000, people in Country A retired at 58 on average, the youngest of the four. By 2020, this had increased to 63, the largest rise of any country. Country B saw its retirement age go up from 62 to 65 over the same period.
The changes in the other two countries were smaller. In Country C, the average age rose only slightly, from 60 to 61. Country D had the oldest retirement age throughout, moving from 65 in 2000 to 67 in 2020.
Band 8.0
Prompt: The table below shows the average age at which people retired in four countries in 2000 and 2020. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The table shows the average age at which people retired in four countries, labelled A to D, in the years 2000 and 2020.
Overall, the average retirement age rose in all four countries over the twenty-year period. Country D had the oldest retirement age in both years, whereas Country A recorded the sharpest increase.
In 2000, Country D's workers retired at the latest age of 65, followed by Country B at 62 and Country C at 60. Country A had the youngest retirement age at that time, at just 58. By 2020, Country D still led the group, with its figure rising by two years to 67.
The most significant change was seen in Country A, where the retirement age climbed by five years, from 58 to 63, narrowing the gap with the other nations. Country B increased by three years to 65, while Country C showed the smallest movement of all, edging up by only one year from 60 to 61. As a result, Country A moved ahead of Country C, although Country D remained the highest throughout.