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 3 min
- 02 Seeing a Doctor in Jerusalem: Clinics, Urgent Care and the ER 4 min
- 03 Hospitals in Jerusalem, and Pharmacies Open at Night and on Shabbat 3 min
- 04 Bituach Leumi for New Residents: What It Is, Who Pays and What You Get 3 min
- 05 Arnona, Va'ad Bayit and Utilities: Paying the Bills in Jerusalem 4 min
- 06 Getting Around Jerusalem: Light Rail, Buses and the Rav-Kav 4 min
- 07 The Jerusalem Light Rail: Lines, Key Stops, Hours, Fares and How to Pay 4 min
- 08 Finding Your Community in Jerusalem: Shuls, Anglo Groups and Where People Actually Meet 3 min
- 09 Jerusalem Neighbourhoods for English-Speakers: Where to Live and Why 6 min
- 10 Living in Rehavia and Talbiyeh, Jerusalem: A Neighbourhood Guide 2 min
- 11 Jerusalem Weather by Month: What to Expect and What to Pack 3 min
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
Gazelle Valley Park Parks & nature · Givat Mordechai / Katamonim A 260-dunam urban nature reserve in the middle of Jerusalem with a free-roaming herd of mountain gazelles, a lake, bird hides and a flat paved circuit. Entry is free and no booking is needed. No dogs are allowed anywhere in the park. Abraham Tours Jerusalem Free Tour (Old City) Historic sites & tours · Old City - meets outside Jaffa Gate A daily two-hour tips-based walking tour of the Old City's four quarters in English, meeting in the plaza outside Jaffa Gate, with viewpoints over the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Guides are licensed by Israel's Ministry of Tourism. Reserve online - free tours fill up, especially in spring and autumn. 
Museum on the Seam Museums & galleries · Musrara / the old seam line A socio-political contemporary art museum in a bullet-scarred building that stood on the 1948–1967 dividing line between the two halves of Jerusalem, mounting exhibitions on conflict, identity and coexistence. The roof looks out across the old seam. Open only three or four days a week and closed Sundays and Tuesdays - check the day before you set out.