Israel pension questions

English

• Is the Bituach Leumi old age pension paid abroad?

  Anyone abroad for more than three months must notify the Old Age Department in writing and produce a life certificate once a year. In a country with no convention, payment stops after three months unless five years of prior Israeli residence plus either 25 years of residence or 144 insured months are met.

  • Source: btl.gov.il, read 4 October 2026

• How do I find lost pension money in Israel?

  Har HaKesef, operated by the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority, is free and covers provident funds, pension funds, savings life policies, training funds and death benefit policies. Then the gate: it asks for an Israeli identity card number and the identity card issuance date.

  • Source: gov.il, btl.gov.il, read 4 October 2026

• How long must I be insured for an Israeli old age pension?

  The gate is the qualifying period: 60 insurance months inside the 10 years before entitlement age, or 144 months, or at least 60 months with insured months outnumbering uninsured. Four years of Israeli work is 48 months, short of all three, our arithmetic.

  • Source: btl.gov.il, gov.il, mevaker.gov.il, read 4 October 2026

• Did my Israeli employer pay into a pension fund for me?

  The occupational layer is separate: mandatory for employees since 1 January 2008, a combined 17.5 per cent of insured wage from 1 January 2014, held by a pension fund or insurer, not the state. The State Comptroller counted about 1.6 million inactive member accounts holding some NIS 59.7 billion in the five largest new funds in 2021.

  • Source: btl.gov.il, gov.il, mevaker.gov.il, read 4 October 2026