is similar to the retirement age among european countries that have already raised it, and is at the upper threshold. the large gap between men and women in israel is prominent, and raises a question regarding the ability of women to save enough for retirement. the more the decision on an additional increase in the retirement age for women is delayed, the more it will be necessary later on to do so more rapidly, which will be more problematic. and what is happening to long - term savings? there has been a significant increase in the volume of assets under management by longterm savings plans in the past 14 years, from about 57 percent of gdp to about 90 percent of gdp. one of the significant processes behind this increase is the enactment of the mandatory pension law in 2008, which requires workers and employers to set aside a significant percentage of their income for pension. in addition, during this period, there was a gradual transition in the public sector from defined benefit pensions to defined contribution pensions, with all employees who began working in the public sector from 2004 onwards contributing to defined contribution pensions. the volume of assets increased, although it is bis central bankers ’ speeches volatile : for instance, the decline during the financial crisis, such that someone who retired at that time saw lower accumulated savings that he had expected. looking at the distribution of main assets in the investment portfolios of the long - term savings plans, we can see a gradual and continuing decline in the share of designated bonds, together with an increase in the weight of stocks, corporate bonds and investments abroad in the portfolio, so that the share of the components that are more sensitive to developments in the financial markets is expanding over time. in terms of the composition of investment portfolios by type of plan, we see that the in plans in which more veteran members save ( old pension plans and plans that ensure a yield ), the weight of designated bonds is relatively high, and the weight of the assets that are sensitive to the financial markets is relatively low. in contrast, in the investment portfolios of the plans in which new members are saving ( new pension funds, and profit - sharing funds ), there is a much higher weight given to investments abroad, stocks, and corporate bonds, which leads to higher exposure to developments in the financial markets. these investments finance economic activity and development, but are also exposed to higher volatility. the impact of the trends on the replacement ratio in view of the trends i have presented to this point, the interesting question is what will

stanley fischer : education and israel ’ s future address by professor stanley fischer, governor of the bank of israel, at the degree presentation ceremony of the open university of israel, raanana, 21 may 2008. * * * it gives me special pleasure to participate in this degree presentation ceremony of the open university, because nothing is more crucial to israel ’ s future than education. in the long run, education is as important as the country ’ s security and geopolitical situation. the reasons are well known. israel has hardly any natural resources, apart from human capital, i. e., its citizens ’ talents and initiative, and these must be nurtured constantly. thus, and only thus, will be able to maintain and increase israel ’ s qualitative advantage. the state of israel, and before its establishment the yishuv ( the pre - state jewish population in palestine ), long placed great emphasis on education. this can be seen in various figures relating to the position in israel in 2005 compared with that in other countries : a. forty - six percent of those aged 25 - 64 years in israel had post - high - school education, compared with an average of 26 percent in the oecd countries. b. the ratio of government expenditure per student on pre - school, elementary and secondary education to gdp per capita in israel was similar to that in the oecd, and in tertiary education the ratio was higher in israel than in the oecd. c. as early as at the establishment of the state, israel had two universities of internationally recognized standing – the hebrew university of jerusalem, and the technion, the israel institute of technology, in haifa. this was an impressive achievement for a population of less than a million. and today we have a broad network of higher - education institutions, including the open university, which provides an opportunity to tens of thousands of israelis to realize their potential. however, as is well known, the situation in the education system in israel no longer occupies the exalted position it held in the past. for example, the low position in the scale of achievements attained by students of schools in israel, e. g., in science, compared with other countries – based on the pisa ( programme for international student assessment ) tests coordinated by the oecd – stands out like a sore thumb. thus, despite the fact that the government spends a relatively large amount on education, students ’ achievements are relatively poor. in other words,