Some people insist that elderly individuals should stop working after they reach the age of retirement. Others argue that there should not be any restrictions about the age limit. While I admit that age might have influence on productivity at work, I assert that everybody can make their own decisions about whether continue to work or not.
There are several concerns about employees in their ripe ages. One of them is the idea that older people cannot do working tasks with usual speed and accuracy. This might result in negative consequences, especially in socially significant professions, such as doctors and pilots. A recent study that was performed in the USA shows that people older than 65 years have worse reaction time in comparison with younger ones. Another trouble is a high unemployment rate among youth. It is believed that one of the main reasons for it is the abundance of elderly employees. For instance, more than 30% of students in the UK who recently graduated from university struggle to find their first job. The more people in their retirement ages continue working, the fewer opportunities younger generation will have.
On the other hand, experienced staff members are very valuable for companies. They often have priceless experience that can be shared with new employees. This transition might increase productivity and help newcomers to make fewer mistakes. For example, the majority of big corporations, such as Google, have special mentor positions in order to improve the quality of working processes. Moreover, pension payments could be too small for people to make ends meet. Therefore, they have to work after retirement. One clear example of it is Russia where the minimal pension is lower than living wage. Hence, high skilled elderly people can be invaluable resource for companies, and some often do not have another opportunity except for continuing the work.
In conclusion, while I acknowledge some controversy about working after retirement, I believe that the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages.