When Every Attempt to Contribute Becomes Self-Incrimination

An opinion column by Prof. Guy Hochman on the paradox in which a person who has lost full work capacity refrains from working even when the policy allows it, for fear that doing so will harm their benefits. The article proposes defining clear boundaries for permitted activity, to allow policyholders to contribute without incriminating themselves.

Prof. Guy Hochman, an expert in behavioral economics, describes the case of Shmulik, a software engineer who lost full work capacity due to a chronic illness and receives a monthly benefit of 75% of his salary. The policy allows him to work up to 25% of a full-time position, but he refrains from doing so for fear that the insurance company will interpret his activity as evidence that his condition is not so severe. Hochman calls this a 'trap' in which any attempt to contribute becomes self-incrimination. He argues that the ambiguity in the law and in policies creates rational avoidance, and that the entire system – the worker, the employer, the state, and even the insurance company – loses from it. The solution, he says, is to define clear boundaries for permitted activities, so that there is no need to choose between health and contribution.

When Every Attempt to Contribute Becomes Self-Incrimination