Jerusalem for retirees
Health cover and doctors, the senior citizen benefits worth claiming, getting around, and the communities and shiurim that make the week.
Start here
In this order — each one assumes the one before it.
- 01 Kupat Cholim: Choosing and Registering with a Health Fund in Jerusalem
- 02 Seeing a Doctor in Jerusalem: Clinics, Urgent Care and the ER
- 03 Bituach Leumi for New Residents: What It Is, Who Pays and What You Get
- 04 Arnona, Va'ad Bayit and Utilities: Paying the Bills in Jerusalem
- 05 Getting Around Jerusalem: Light Rail, Buses and the Rav-Kav
- 06 Finding Your Community in Jerusalem: Shuls, Anglo Groups and Where People Actually Meet
- 07 Jerusalem Neighbourhoods for English-Speakers: Where to Live and Why
Sort these out
Things with a deadline, a rule, or an entitlement worth claiming.
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Load the Zahav-Kav profile for free travel at 67+
Residents aged 67 and over travel free on buses, the light rail and the trains — but only once the senior profile is loaded on the Rav-Kav card or app. It is not applied automatically. Women aged 62 to 67 get a reduced fare instead.
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Get the senior citizen card (teudat ezrach vatik)
Issued to women from 62 and men from 67. It brings discounts on transport, museums, theatre and national parks, reduced medicine costs and exemption from the television fee. The card is separate from the Rav-Kav profile — having one does not give you the other.
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Check how the old-age pension treats your earnings
Below 70 the pension is income-tested, so part-time work can reduce it. From 70 it is paid in full whatever you earn, which changes whether continuing to work pays.
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Apply for the senior arnona discount, then keep it
Discounts run in tiers by income and pension status, capped at 100 m². They are applied for, not granted automatically, and a municipality can cancel the discount if the year's bill is left unpaid.
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Use the dental care in the basket from 72
Preventive, restorative and prosthetic dental treatment is part of the national health basket from age 72, delivered through your kupah at no or reduced cost.
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Know what the municipality runs for seniors
Jerusalem has a Senior Citizens Department covering culture, courses, employment and housing, and residents aged 80 and over do not have to queue for municipal services.
Where to look
Where to go
All the plans
Teddy Park Parks & nature · Mamilla / Yemin Moshe A small park below Jaffa Gate whose centrepiece is a computer-controlled fountain of 256 water jets and 1,800 light fittings that runs free sound-and-light shows several times a day. Children play in the jets between shows. Daytime shows run at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00 (water only); the 20:00 show adds lights and music. 
Israel Museum (Ruth Youth Wing) Museums & galleries · Givat Ram (Museum Row) The Israel Museum's wing for art education: changing exhibitions pitched at children, working art studios, a library of illustrated children's books and a recycling room. It sits inside the main campus and is covered by the museum ticket. It is inside the main campus, so you use the same entrance and ticket desk as the big museum. 
Tower of David Night Spectacular Historic sites & tours · Old City - Jaffa Gate A 40-minute sound-and-light show projected onto the walls of the Tower of David citadel, telling Jerusalem's story in images and music with no spoken language. Two versions run - the classic Night Spectacular and 'King David' - ticketed separately from the museum. No entry for latecomers - arrive at the box office at least 15 minutes early.