French Government Considers Asking Wealthier Retirees to Help Cut Costs
Listen to the story
The French government wants to save money. It is thinking about a new plan. The plan may ask rich retirees to pay more. Retirees are people who stopped working because they are old.
Some pensions go up every year. This is called indexation. It means pensions grow with prices. When prices go up, pensions go up too.
Philippe Brun is a politician. He works for the PS party. He says the real problem is money for old people. More people are getting old in France. This costs a lot of money.
Thierry Breton is another politician. He does not like the new plan. He says the government should not touch retirees' money. He wants a different way to save money.
The government must decide soon. It needs to find money for the country. But many people do not want less money for retirees.
Vocabulary15 words
- retirees
- people who stopped working because they are old
- indexation
- when money goes up because prices go up
- politician
- a person who works in government
- pension
- money the government gives old people every month
- government
- the group of people who run a country
- save money
- to spend less money
- ageing population
- when more people in a country are old
- plan
- an idea about what to do
- wealthy
- having a lot of money
- contribute
- to give money or help
- oppose
- to say no to something
- financing
- giving money for something
- cost
- the money you need to pay
- problem
- something difficult to fix
- decide
- to choose what to do
Quiz
Answer key
1. Asking wealthy retirees to pay more 2. Pensions go up with prices 3. False
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The French government wants to _____ money. It is thinking about a new _____. The plan may ask rich _____ to pay more.
Some pensions go up every year. This is called _____. It means pensions grow with _____.
Philippe Brun is a _____. He says the real problem is money for old people.
Thierry Breton does not like the new plan. He says the government should not _____ retirees' money.
The government must _____ soon. It needs to find money for the country.