Many governments set an arbitrary retirement age (such as sixty-five), but
some people are physically worn out or mentally exhausted well before they reach
this age. While some people believe the set age is reasonable, others think it should be
more flexible with exemptions for certain workers. In my opinion, a fixed retirement
age is actually best for everybody because it is the easiest and fairest arrangement, but
I think a tribunal could be established to decide whether individual workers deserve to
receive a pension at an earlier age.
Before the new economy, when most people had a single occupation for life, it
would have made a lot of sense to allow some manual labourers or people working in
psychologically stressful roles to retire earlier. Today, however, so many people
change jobs and shift between industries every few years that it is difficult to make
these distinctions.
An ideal middle ground would be to have a set retirement age for everybody,
but to create a tribunal that could hear individual cases. A sixty year old who had been
a miner for forty years could get an early pension, for example, whereas someone of
the same age who had only spent eight years mining in his twenties would not.
Two types of workers would benefit from early retirement. First are those who
work in tough, physically demanding conditions such as construction workers, coal
miners and welders. The others are workers in high stress positions where sound
judgement is crucial for public safety. Emergency medical practitioners and air traffic
control operators are two such examples.
With people’s working lives differing on an individual basis, it is difficult to
classify them into large groups and distribute pensions accordingly. Nevertheless,
many individuals still deserve an early pension and in some cases our well-being may
depend on giving it to them.
Many
governments
set an arbitrary retirement
age
(such as sixty-five),
but
some
people
are
physically
worn out or mentally exhausted well
before
they reach
this
age
. While
some
people
believe the set
age
is reasonable, others
think
it should be
more flexible with exemptions for certain
workers
. In my opinion, a
fixed
retirement
age is actually best for everybody
because
it is the easiest and fairest arrangement,
but
I
think
a tribunal could
be established
to decide whether
individual
workers
deserve to
receive a
pension
at an earlier age.
Before
the new economy, when most
people
had a single occupation for life, it
would have made
a lot of
sense to
allow
some
manual
labourers
or
people
working in
psychologically
stressful roles to retire earlier.
Today
,
however
,
so
many
people
change
jobs and shift between industries every few years that it is difficult to
make
these distinctions.
An ideal middle ground would be to have a set retirement
age
for everybody,
but
to create a tribunal that could hear
individual
cases. A sixty
year
old
who had been
a miner for forty years could
get
an early
pension
,
for example
, whereas someone of
the same
age
who had
only
spent eight years mining in his twenties would not.
Two types of
workers
would benefit from early retirement.
First
are those who
work in tough,
physically
demanding conditions such as construction
workers
, coal
miners and welders. The others are
workers
in high
stress
positions where sound
judgement is crucial for public safety. Emergency medical practitioners and air traffic
control operators are two such examples.
With
people’s
working
lives
differing on an
individual
basis, it is difficult to
classify them into large groups and distribute
pensions
accordingly
.
Nevertheless
,
many
individuals
still
deserve an early
pension
and in
some
cases our well-being may
depend on giving it to them.