Old-age pension in Israel

The reversionary pension provides an allowance for the widower, the widow and children of a deceased Israeli resident who has was insured for old age and surviving spouse over a period of time required by law and who has fulfilled insurance contributions in accordance with the law.

Who is entitled to it?
The old-age pension in Israel is paid by law to an Israeli resident born in Israel, or who moved to Israel for the first time before the age of 62. A person who moved to Israel for the first time after the age of 62 will, under certain conditions, receive a special old-age allowance (see below). An Israeli resident living in a Charter country may receive an old-age allowance, even if he or she is no longer a resident of Israel. An Israeli resident who began receiving an old-age allowance in Israel and then moved abroad may continue to receive the allowance, even if he or she is no longer a resident of Israel.

An Israeli resident woman will be entitled to receive the allowance, if, in addition to the elements above, it meets one of the following conditions below:

- Unmarried woman - single, divorced or widowed (except a widow receiving a surviving spouse's allowance or a dependent's allowance who does not work outside the home).
- A married woman who works outside the home (salaried or self-employed).
- A married woman whose spouse is not covered by the old-age and surviving spouse insurance (because of his age or because he is not an Israeli resident) - even if she is not employed or self-employed.
- Abandoned" (a woman who has been married for two years, whose spouse has disappeared from sight, or who has been outside Israel for two years without his consent and is not paying alimony) - even if she is not employed or self-employed.
- A housewife (a married woman who does not work outside the home and whose spouse is insured) and a widow who does not work outside the home and receives a surviving spouse's allowance or a dependent's allowance and who was born after December 31, 1930, may be entitled to receive an old-age pension in Israel.

Rights conditions

1. You have reached "the age required to receive an old-age pension in Israel".
There are two deadlines for determining the age required to receive an old-age pension:

a. Retirement age (age at which entitlement depends on income) the age at which you will be entitled to receive an old-age pension, provided that your income from work does not exceed 5,394 shekels per month for a single person, or 7,193 shekels per month for a couple, and that your income from other sources does not exceed 16,182 shekels for a single person or 21,579 shekels for a couple (as of January 2016).

Retirement income is not considered income.

Retirement age for men - The age limit is 67.
Retirement age for women - According to the Knesset decision, the retirement age for women born between January 1950 and December 1954 is set at 62. Starting in 2017, the retirement age for women will gradually increase according to their date of birth, from 62 to 64, unless a different decision is taken.

b. The age of entitlement to an old-age pension in Israel - the age at which you will be entitled to an old-age pension, regardless of your income.

Old-age pension age for men - is 70 years old.

The age of entitlement to an old-age pension for women (provided that no other decision is not taken)
Date of birth Age of entitlement to old-age pension in Israel From date To date
- June - 39 65
July - 39 August - 39 65 years and 4 months
September - 39 April - 40 65 years and 8 months
May - 40 December - 40 66
January - 41 August - 41 66 years and 4 months
September - 41 April - 42 66 years and 8 months
May - 42 December - 44 67
January - 45 August - 45 67 years and 4 months
September - 45 April - 46 67 years and 8 months
May - 46 December - 46 68
January - 47 August - 47 68 years and 4 months
September - 47 April - 48 68 years and 8 months
May - 48 December - 48 69
January - 49 August - 49 69 years and 4 months
September - 49 April - 50 69 years and 8 months
May - 50 And so on 70

2. Additional "trial period" (insurance period)
60 months of insurance over the last 10 years prior to the age at which the old-age pension is payable in Israel; or 144 months of insurance or 60 months of insurance, provided that the number of months of contributions is not less than the number of months without contributions.

3. Payment of insurance contributions (for self-employed policyholders and a woman who is not a housewife)
''The person liable for insurance costs will be refused the allowance until the arrears have been repaid, or a reduced allowance will be paid according to the sum of arrears and the payment delay period.

The amounts of the basic old-age allowance at January 2016 (in shekels):
The supplements mentioned below will be added to the basic pension, according to the conditions of entitlement.
For a single person - $1,531
For a couple - 2 301
For a single person aged 80 or over - $1,617
For a couple aged 80 or over receiving an allowance - 2 387
For a couple with one child - $2,785
For a couple with two children - $3,269
For a single person with one child - $2,015
For a single person with two children or plus - 2,499 Insurance benefits will be deducted from the allowance. 196 shekels for a single person and 283 shekels for a couple (as of January 2016).

Supplement to basic allowance

Seniority supplement - 2% of the allowance for each year of insurance beyond the first 10 years of insurance. Maximum seniority supplement - 50% of the allowance. For a housewife, no seniority supplement will be paid.

Allowance deferral supplement - 5% of the allowance for each year in which the recipient is entitled to the allowance on the basis of income from work, up to the age of entitlement to old-age pension (for men - 70 and for women, see the table on the previous page).

Additional dependents - paid for the spouse of the recipient of the allowance, provided he/she is not receiving an allowance under the National Insurance Act, and for each of the recipient's first two children. For a housewife, no dependent supplement will be paid.

- A spouse - the spouse of the recipient of the Israeli resident allowance, married for at least one year, or recognized as a cohabitee and living with her, aged 70, or who is aged 50 and meets the income test.
- A spouse - the woman receiving the allowance who meets the following conditions: she is a resident of Israel; she is married for at least one year or is recognized as a cohabitee and living with him or with a common child; she is 45 years old or with her child; she has reached the age of 67 or meets the income test.
- A child - boy or girl (including stepchildren, adopted children, or grandchildren who are entirely in the care of the allowance recipient, except married teenagers) who meets one of the following criteria:
- Not yet 18 years old.
- He or she is not yet 20 years of age, is completing his or her studies at an institution of higher education or is studying to complete his or her bachelor's degree, or has a learning disability and is in a setting recognized by the Bitouah Leoumi.
- He's not yet 20, and he's in a pre-military cadre of the army (pre-military course/class - recognized cadres in this case).
- He is not yet 24, and is doing his military service in the army (the entitlement period is 36 months).
- He's not yet 24, and he's doing his civilian service voluntarily (in settings recognized by the National Insurance Fund).
- He's not yet 24, he's studying as a "sursitaire" and his military service has been postponed until after his studies.
- He's not yet 21, he's volunteering for a public interest cause for up to 12 months, and his military service in the army has been postponed as a result of his volunteer service.

''In order to verify your entitlement to an old-age pension in Israel and the age at which you will be entitled to a pension, consult the calculator The "Old Age" section of the website.

Application for old-age pension in Israel

When you reach the "pensionable age", the BL/480 old-age pension application form, which will be sent by post to anyone approaching this age, will be deposited at the nearest branch of the National Insurance Fund. You can obtain the application form at any Caisse d'Assurance Nationale branch, or download it from the Caisse d'Assurance Nationale website, and send it by post or fax.

If you become entitled to an old-age pension between the 1st and 15th of the month, the allowance will be paid from the 1st of the month in which you become entitled. If you become entitled to an old-age pension from the 16th to the end of the month, the allowance will be paid from the 1st of the month following the month in which you become entitled to it. However, if you are also entitled to an income supplement, the old-age pension will be paid from the 1st of the month in which you become entitled to it (even if you become entitled to the allowance after the 15th of the month).
If a claim is submitted after 12 months from the date on which entitlement to the allowance began, the National Insurance Fund is entitled to pay the allowance for the 12 months retroactively only. A person who files a claim after reaching old-age pension entitlement age (for men 70 and for women - refer to the table on the previous page), may receive retroactive payment for a longer period. In all cases, between retirement age and entitlement age, entitlement is retroactive for one year.

''The beneficiary of an old-age pension must notify of his going abroad for more than 6 months, in order to that his entitlement to the allowance be examined.

Income supplement allowance

Low-income old-age pensioners who satisfy the income test and other conditions of entitlement are entitled to a supplementary allowance.
income. The supplement supplements the allowance up to the amount of the guaranteed minimum subsistence income.

Old-age pension amounts in addition to income supplement in the month of January 2016 (in shekels) :
For a single person - $2,981
For a single person over 70 who has not yet reached the age of 80 - 3,042
For a single person over 80 - 3,151
For a couple - $4,706
For a couple who have reached 70 years of age and are beneficiaries of the allowance - 4,808
For a couple aged 80 and receiving allowance - $4,980
For a couple with one child - $5,640
For a couple with two or more children - $6,574
For a single person with one child - $5,028

For a single person with two children or plus - 5,962
The following allowances will be deducted from the allowance health insurance for 103 shekels.
Recipients of an old-age pension with an income-supplement allowance who are going abroad must check their entitlement to an income-supplement allowance supplement during their stay abroad.

Application for a supplement to additional income

Form BL/430 must be submitted at the same time as the old-age pension application, or after a period, on the date on which the amount is reduced to the amount entitling the recipient to the income supplement. The income supplement will be paid from the month in which the application is submitted and for as long as the recipient of the benefit is entitled to it (if an incorrect supplement has been paid, the National Insurance Fund is entitled to deduct it from the benefits it pays).

Special allowance (old age)

The special old-age allowance will be paid to a person moving to Israel for the first time after reaching the age of 62. A married woman living with her spouse is not entitled to receive a special (old-age) allowance, unless she has reached "the age of entitlement to an old-age pension".

Conditions of entitlement to a special allowance (old age)

The age required to qualify for the old-age pension as mentioned on the previous page; non-entitlement to the allowance under the National Insurance Act; compliance with the income test. The beneficiary of the special allowance must notify us of any departure abroad.

Amount of special allowance (old age)

The special allowance rates (for a single person and a person with a spouse and children) are identical to the old-age pension rates under the National Insurance Act, however a seniority supplement and an allowance deferment supplement will not be paid.

Application for special allowance and supplement income supplement allowance

You must submit form BL/4501 to the branch of the Caisse d'Assurance Nationale closest to your place of residence. The special (old-age) allowance is paid from the 1st of the month in which the application is submitted (no allowance will be paid for the period prior to submission of the application).

Heating bonus

Once a year, a heating bonus will be paid to old-age pensioners who meet the following conditions:
1. He/she receives an income supplement to the old-age pension in one of the months of October, November or December of the same year, or he/she receives an old-age pension equal to the disability allowance.
2. He resides in a region considered "cold" by law, for at least two months.
The bonus is a family one. The amount of the bonus is 553 shekels in January 2016, it is paid automatically, together with the allowance for October.

Compensation in the event of death

Lump-sum payment to the spouse and - if there is no spouse - to the child (as defined above) of the deceased old-age pensioner.
The allowance for January 2016 is as follows of 8,757 shekels(even if an income supplement has been paid to the beneficiary). If the spouse of the recipient of an old-age pension with an income supplement has died. The death benefit will be paid automatically, without the need to file a claim. If both spouses died within a short space of time, the benefit will be paid, under certain conditions, to the person who was supporting the deceased.