conferences and events
Retirement Age—Stagnation vs. Intelligent Policy
At this workshop, we launch the Social Security, Poverty, and Polarization Research Program with a topic of immense public importance: the retirement age for women and men, in view of futile attempts to raise women’s retirement age in recent years. This subject is an unflattering example of the political system’s failure to solve a program that lends itself to a rational solution that all professionals acknowledge and accept.
The retirement age for women today is 62, far below that of men (67). Once there was a decision to raise it to 64, but it stalled in the Knesset for sundry reasons. This example of failure of the decision-making process may exacerbate poverty among elders, impair personal wellbeing, and diminish the financial resilience of the social-security system and the “old” pension funds. It is important to realize at this point that raising women’s retirement age will force policymakers to find solutions for those who work in burnout-prone occupations. Given the special prevalence of such problems among women, it is important to tackle the question of harmful employment within the frame of the proposed solutions.
The deficits of the old pension funds are threatening to lower the pensions of the retirees who belong to the funds, with no real justification other than the failure of the political system. At the workshop, we will look beyond the question of women’s retirement age in order to answer another question: What is the right retirement age, for men and women, in a world of steadily lengthening life expectancy?
Speakers
Conference program
Director of the session: prof. David Leiser, the center of Pension, Insurance, and Economic Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Mr. Andrew Reilly, Senior Economist, Social Policy Division,
OECD The Situation of Statutory Retirement Ages in OECD Countries
Prof. Aviad Tur-Sinai, the Max Stern academic college of Emek Yezreel and the center of Pension, Insurance, and Economic Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – optimal retirement age policy.
Prof. Daniel Gottlieb, the Hebrew university of Jerusalem and the center of Pension, Insurance, and Economic Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Director of the session: prof. Avia Spivak, chairman of the center of Pension, Insurance, and Economic Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Prof. Ariella Levenstein, University of Haifa. recipient of the Israel prize for social work research and gerontology studies for 2020.
Dr. Moshe Bareket, supervisor of the Capital Market, Insurance, and Savings Authority, Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Yehuda Ben Assayag, CEO at Menora Mivtachim Insurance LTD
Prof. Eytan Sheshinski, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Israel Democracy Institute.
Ms. Helly Zaken, the Israel democracy institute.
Prof. Israel (Issi) Doron, University of Haifa.
Prof. Karnit Flug, vice president of research, the Israel Democracy Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.