NB: This is not a word for word transcript Группа Learning English: http://vkontakte.ru/club17650165 Продолжение транскрипта: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/6minute/100916_6min_ageing_population.pdf
Alice: Hello! I’m Alice and this is 6 Minute English. I’m joined today by Abdu. Hi Abdu. Abdu: Hi Alice. Alice: Today we’re talking about ageing populations, pensions and retirement. I’m going to start by asking you Abdu – what age do you expect to retire? Abdu: I’m planning to retire around 65 to 70. Alice: And do you have a pension? Abdu: Unfortunately not. Alice: I’ve also got a third question – according to the United Nations in 1950, 8% of the world’s population was over 60 years old. Currently 11% of the world’s population is over 60. Any guesses what percentage will be over 60 in 2050? Abdu: I’m not sure – it looks like it’s going up? I would guess 15%. Alice: Have a think about it and I’ll let you know at the end of the programme. There are lots of terms for people who have reached retirement age. Official terms in British English are ‘OAP – which stands for old aged pensioner’ and in American English ‘Senior Citizen’ or ‘Senior’. Abdu: You hear the term OAP less frequently these days in the UK. It doesn’t sound as respectful perhaps as ‘Senior Citizen’. Alice: In many countries, economists and politicians are talking about the impact of an ageing population. In many countries around the world people are living longer and will spend more time in retirement. Experts are worried about how we will pay for the health and services for an increasing number of people in retirement. Abdu: Some people save money in pension plans or retirement funds as they’re called in the United States. What’s interesting is how many people don’t have pensions despite the warnings given by governments about saving for retirement. According to a BBC survey, only 2 out of every 10 people around the world have a pension. Alice: We asked people if they were scared about getting old and not having enough money to live on. Here’s what they said: Extract 1: Goodness there’s a question – I currently have a pension in my job so I’m not too worried that way and I’m also hoping to save for my retirement and for later years by owning property and renting that out and selling it on when I need more income. I’m not fussed about getting old –we all have to get older sometime, you know, so I’m not scared about it. Life is life and that’s the way life should be. I’m not scared about getting older or being unemployed, at all. Not very scared – I’m more scared about getting older than being unemployed. Terrified. Absolutely terrified – I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. I’m really worried and I really need to sort that out. Alice: Some people have other plans for how they will survive financially when they retire. One man said he was hoping to save for retirement by owning property and renting it out or selling it when he needs more income. Abdu: And one man said he was terrified – very very frightened about what’s going to happen in the future because he hasn’t thought about planning for retirement Alice: In some countries the age of retirement is being increased so that people will work longer before they collect their pensions. This is very controversial in some societies. Abdu: In France people went on strike to complain about proposals to increase the retirement age from 60 to 62 Alice: And in the UK, some people in their 20s and 30s are annoyed that they may have to work longer than people in previous generations – especially those born in the 1940s and 50s who are sometimes called the baby boomer generation. Abdu: The baby boomers – people born between the years of 1945 and 1964 after the Second World War, when there was a large increase in the number of children born.