Ahead of auditor’s report, advocates warn Israel’s old-age pension traps seniors in poverty

Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba

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Ahead of the State Comptroller’s report tomorrow, the 121 Social Change Movement says Israel’s old-age pension system leaves many seniors in poverty. The group cites OECD data showing Israeli retirees get only 27.6% of income from public benefits, far below the OECD average, and is pressing parties to commit to change before the election.

The story in 5 lines · by baba

Israel's old-age pension income share is 27.6%, far below the OECD average.
The State Comptroller will soon report on Israel's aging-population readiness.
121 launched an AI campaign urging parties to fix seniors' poverty.
Old-age pensions rose only 461 shekels in a decade, to 2,757 shekels.
Many seniors must keep working or rely on family because they lack pensions.

Ahead of the State Comptroller’s report due tomorrow on Israel’s lack of preparedness for an aging population, experts are warning that the country’s old-age pension is far below OECD levels and are urging parties to commit to fixing the problem before the coming election.

The 121 Social Change Movement says new data show Israeli seniors rely much less on government benefits than older adults in other developed countries. The group has launched an online campaign that uses AI to depict politicians and party leaders as elderly versions of themselves, alongside the message: “Your pension is guaranteed. For hundreds of thousands of seniors in Israel, poverty is guaranteed.”

According to the organization, based on OECD data, only 27.6% of the income of older Israelis comes from public pensions, one of the lowest rates in the developed world and far below the OECD average of 57.1%. The comparison is stark across Europe, including Belgium at 82.4%, France at 78.1%, Portugal at 76.6%, Ireland at 76.1%, the Czech Republic at 75.9%, and Germany at 68.3%.

Israel also trails the UK at 42.8%, the United States at 41.3%, and Canada at 34.4%. The group says this leaves many older Israelis working into old age or depending on family support to make ends meet, especially since many in the current elderly generation never built up meaningful pensions, or have none at all. Mandatory pension contributions in Israel began only in 2008.

The campaign also highlights the erosion of the old-age pension itself, which the group says has risen by only about 20% over the past decade, or 461 shekels, from 2,296 shekels to 2,757 shekels. Yekutiel Meshi, head of policy advancement and government relations at the 121 Social Change Movement, said the data show that in most OECD countries old-age pensions are a central source of income that enables dignity in retirement, while in Israel many seniors with low or no pensions must keep working or rely on relatives.

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