Would vs Will: "Would/Will" this be the day/month/year/... questions? [migrated]
Solution 1:
C - Will this be the year he retires? seems the most natural to me, meaning "Does he plan to retire this year?"
D - (will/retired) doesn't make sense.
A and B are not particularly natural. We sometimes use would to ask a question very tentatively (perhaps the man's intention to retire is a delicate subject). B might possibly be used when discussing a year in the past.