Martina: Hi Joe. We always meet in the kitchen!
Joe: Yes, we do! Can I make you a cup of tea?
Martina: That’d be lovely. So, I hear you’ll be leaving us soon.
Joe: That’s right. I’m finally retiring at the end of this month.
Martina: Wow, it’s the end of an era. How long have you worked here?
Joe: Thirty years, if you can imagine that.
Martina: No, I can’t! But you can’t be sixty-seven already?
Joe: No, I’m not, but I’m eligible for early retirement.
Martina: Will you still get your full pension?
Joe: No, I’ll get three quarters, but it’s enough to get by, when I add my savings.
Martina: What about social security benefits?
Joe: Oh, for those I do have to wait till I’m sixty-seven.
Martina: Oh, what a shame. And what will you do with all that free time?
Joe: All those things I never had much time for: travel, hobbies, quality time with my grandchildren...
Martina: Sounds great. Enjoy your last month with us. You’ll be missed!
NOW LET’S REVIEW THE VOCABULARY!
That’d be lovely is a very British way of saying ‘yes’.
The phrase it’s the end of an era shows how much Joe is valued in the organisation, by referring to his time of employment as an ‘era’.
Eligible refers to the right to obtain something.
Early retirement is the practice of leaving employment before the statutory age.
Pension is a regular payment made to retired people.
To get by is a humble way of saying you have just enough.
The money you have set aside for the future, for example, in a bank account, is called ‘savings’.
Social security benefits are payments made to individuals under the social security system, such as the state pension.
What a shame is an expression used to indicate regret.
Quality time refers to time when you can give your undivided attention. to someone or something.
You’ll be missed is another way of saying ‘I’ll miss you’.