Regulatory Barriers to Employment of Older Workers: Analysis and Proposed Solutions

This policy paper examines the barriers to employment of older workers approaching or past retirement age in Israel, and proposes solutions to address these barriers. For this purpose, we analyzed the current situation of employees and retirees in Israel by reviewing relevant reports and interviewing experts and professionals, in order to discern the retirement track as compared with the track of continued work at older ages. Our analysis addresses tax payments and pension allowance, as well as other rights and obligations at these ages which might constitute a barrier to continued employment. In the framework of this paper, we also present selected policy measures taken in other countries regarding the issues examined here. The conclusion emerging from this paper is that there are several applicable measures which may impact wide swaths of workers and motivate them to continue working, as well as measures which can be applied to encourage the return of older people into the labor market. In light of this analysis, we propose several policy recommendations aiming to pave the way toward resolving employment barriers and increasing employment rates at older ages.