About half of Israel’s older citizens have no pension or only a very small one, and that is helping drive a steady rise in people who keep working a decade or more after the official retirement age. Some do it for income, others for purpose, identity and social contact. The article argues that, as Israel’s population grows and ages, the country will need new long-term solutions.
Adi Miron, who will turn 80 in November, still works every day as a sales clerk at a Friede blankets and linens store. He says he needs the money after years of withdrawing severance pay instead of building retirement savings. He works five to six hours a day, meets people, plays petanque three times a week, and tells others: “If you can, keep working, and if you can, do not withdraw your severance pay.”
The trend is backed by official data. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics labor force survey, 39.8 thousand people aged 75 and older were in the workforce in 2024, more than double the roughly 19 thousand recorded in 2012 to 2014. Their share in the age group rose from about 5% in 2012 to 7% in 2024. Experts cited in the article say the reasons are mostly economic, especially for people with no pension, low pensions, self-employed workers, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, and women, whose pension savings are much lower than men’s.
Several workers described the practical and emotional reasons for staying employed. Amira Meirfeld, 76, works three days a week as a dental clinic secretary and says older workers bring reliability, experience and flexibility. Reuven, 83, repairs appliances and says he receives only 2,600 shekels a month in old-age benefits, which is not enough to live on. Yehoshua Moualem, 85, still works as an engineer and appraiser because it keeps his mind active and lets him support his daughters. Neira Hativa, an emerita education professor in her 80s, says many older people continue working because they want goals and structure, not only money.
The story also highlights employers and public programs that recruit older workers. The retail chain Keshet Taamim says it employs more than 70 workers over 70, including some over 80, because of labor shortages and their work ethic. The Ministry for Social Equality runs “Veterans at Work,” which helps older job seekers with digital skills, interviews and resumes and maintains a dedicated job site. The article ends with calls to avoid blanket retirement rules and to raise the old-age benefit so people can choose work rather than be forced into it, while the state prepares for a future in which many more Israelis may live to 100.
