Band 6+: You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic: In many countries, people are now living longer than ever before. Some people say an ageing population creates problems for governments. Other people think there are benefits if society has more elderly people. To what extent do the advantages of having an ageing population outweigh the disadvantages? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

It is crystal clear that people in many countries live longer than ever before. Some people think that elderly citizens create hurdles for the government, while some people believe that there are various advantages if there are more old people residing in the country. I mostly agree with the statement that society gets benefits from old people, however, there are some disadvantages for the same.

Senior citizens are those people whose age is at least 60 years. Moreover, 90% of the senior citizens are retired and stay at home. Henceforth, to spend their time efficiently, most of them are indulged in planting more trees and plants to increase the oxygen content and to relieve the stress from their body. Moreover, most people share real life experiences and advice with the younger generation so that they can achieve well and also can overcome any obstacle. Furthermore, old people also benefit the society by investing a huge amount of time in temples, they donate a huge pile of money and ensure the preservation of temples, churches, and mosques so that they can be used by the future generations. For example, old people in India have faith in historical traditions, and culture and have donated lakhs of rupees for the preservation of the temples. Therefore, they think that the society will grow ethically and also believe that the upcoming generation will continue to do the same.

On the other hand, some senior citizens who are not affluent or do not have a home to reside, try their best to deteriorate the environment and economy. Evidently, those people try to commit crimes to earn a living. Additionally, because of the housing crisis, it is a great challenge to provide homes for elderly people, henceforth, most of them occupy the footpath and other public places. Some of them become mentally traumatized and they try to break the resources and cause harm to people. For example, in India, because of the huge population of elderly citizens, most of them do not have a home to live and they have occupied parks and railway stations, creating residential and hygiene problems for the public.

To recapitulate, senior citizens are concerned about our cultures and traditions. Moreover, they are taking care of the environment by planting more trees and also providing advice to youngsters. However, some of them create chaos, and quarrels in society which is disadvantageous. To tackle this issue, the government should create old age homes for old people or they can take care of children in orphanages.