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The million-man minority

Op-ed: This Senior Citizens' Day, let's forgo the platitudes and give the elderly—Israel's fastest-growing group—the support they need.

It's the fastest-growing community in Israel: while the general Israeli population has expanded to 4.5 times its size from 1955, the country's senior citizens' population has grown 10 times over, nearing the 1 million mark. Israel's senior citizens, defined as those 65 and over, are an incredibly large group, with a quarter of them older than 80. Yet despite this, their power and influence are only growing smaller.

 

 

The Knesset will dedicate its Tuesday session to Israel's senior citizens population. Its various committees will discuss issues relevant to those of advanced age. The event in and of itself is a welcome one, but taken in context, it is simply not enough.


Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

 

The main issues concerning senior citizens today are the low old age pension (Social Security) they receive, the lack of a broad nursing pension, issues relating to Holocaust survivors, attainment of rights and accessibility of various services.

 

Currently, the Israeli old age pension stands at 1,531 NIS (just under $400) a month, with those 80 and above receiving 1,617 NIS ($420). Seniors with a 25-year employment record who also have opted to postpone their retirement to age 70 would receive 2,200 NIS ($572).

 

For the 62% of senior citizens in Israel without an additional pension plan, these pensions are what they must live off. In such cases, they are officially entitled to additional state income, but in order to receive it they must go through a complicated bureaucratic process that only a few of them manage to endure.

 

Two months ago, there was an attempt to raise the old age pension, which sadly failed after the Coalition voted against it. This wasn't "just" a vote against our parents and grandparents, but against all of us. There is no reason that the old age pension not be raised to the minimum wage and given to all senior citizens, circumventing any unnecessary bureaucracy that places the burden of proof on the elderly. Instead, the battle for equality could be waged by increasing taxation the more wealthy senior citizens among them.

 

It is true that the state benefits from citizens not being able to collect money or services they are entitled to, but at what price? It is also baffling why did the Health Insurance Law from 1994 fails to include a nursing pension; Health Minister Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) is now trying to correct this, but only time will tell if he will be successful.

 

Facing a health situation that demands a nursing pension can send entire families into a financial tailspin. Private insurances do not always give the necessary added coverage, Social Security certainly doesn't, and many hospitals and care health care institutions are have been privatized and are therefore very expensive. Israel has also been unable to find a solution for its Holocaust survivor citizens, who are required to prove they meet the state's demands to receive any additional support.

 

And so, this Senior Citizen's Day, let's all take a moment to picture them before us and think about what they actually need, instead of sufficing with symbolic gestures at the Knesset.

 


פרסום ראשון: 07.26.16, 18:30
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