An Israeli resident who is at least 18 years old, but has not yet reached retirement age, and is disabled due to a physical, intellectual or mental impairment resulting from an illness, accident or birth defect, is entitled to disability benefits according to the following criteria:
You either do not work or your income as a salaried employee or self-employed person is under 60% of the average wage, i.e. NIS 7,522 (as of 2024).
You were determined, by a physician from Bituach Leumi, to have a medical disability of at least 60%, (or at least 40%, if you have several medical impairments and a medical disability of at least 25% was determined for a single one of them).
To view a list of qualifying disabilities, see the following PDF from Bituach Leumi. Mental health information begins on part four of the document, clause 106.
It has been established that, due to your disability, you cannot work or your capacity to earn a living has been diminished by at least 50%, and a degree of earning incapacity of 60%, 65%, 74% or 100% has been determined for you.
A claim for a general disability pension may be submitted from age 18, and up to 12 months past retirement age. To fill in online click here.
You can now also fill out your claim form and send all necessary documents by means of a service representative, over the telephone at *3928.
The representative will fill out and submit the claim for you over the phone and help you with the submission of documents.
The claim form can be found here
Diagnostic summaries or any other medical document pertaining to your medical/mental health condition, detailing all chronic diseases, treatments and medications.
An employed person – must submit the following documents:
a) Last 15 payslips or a certificate from your employer indicating the period of employment and salary (the certificate for your employer is available on the claim form).
b) A list of sick leaves paid by the employer for the period you did not work over the last 15 months, or any payment confirmation from the insurance company regarding the illness.
A self-employed person – must submit to the NII’s Department of Insurance and Collection a declaration on the changes in your work and income due to the disability, and provide the last tax assessments in your possession.
A list of income for the last 15 months, such as retirement pension (in Israel or from abroad), stipend received by Yeshiva students, child support, inheritance income etc.
If the person submitting the claim and whose signature appears thereon is not the claimant himself, please fill-in article 4 of the claim form as well and attach to it a power of attorney, guardianship order or court decision.
The claim and above mentioned documents may be submitted by one of the following ways:
Service representative over the telephone at *3928 – helps with filling out the claim and submitting documents.
Fill out the claim form electronically and submit it online with additional documents attached to it.
Submit the claim and the documents by mail, fax or at your local Bituach Leumi branch.
After submitting the claim, you will be summoned, if necessary, to an examination by the medical board, and in case you have severe disabilities, your claim will follow the “fast track” handling process.
You are entitled to receive, free of charge, advice and preparation for the Medical Boards by the “Helping Hands” centers. To schedule an appointment, dial *2496.
“Helping Hand” centers’ services involve:
Help in submitting a claim and in preparing a medical file
Explanation on claim handling process
Personal assistance in handling a Medical Board and appearance before the board
If you or your family do not have any income at all, you should check your eligibility for income support until you start receiving a disability pension.
Whether you filled out the claim form in its entirety, or there is information missing.
Whether you attached all the required documents
Whether you meet the conditions of entitlement to the disability pension
Important: attachment of all the required documents to the claims form will shorten the process of the handling of the claim.
Your declaration regarding your medical/mental health condition
The medical/mental health documents that you attached to your claim form (you may be required to bring additional documents). In cases of mental disability, Bituach Leumi contacts the relevant parties in order to obtain the documentation.
Whether to summon you to a medical board, and if so, which doctor and medical advisors to summon to that board
Whether you are dependent on the help of others to carry out daily activities; if so, you will be summoned to a special medical board that checks your entitlement to an attendant
After Bituach Leumi has received all the required documents, you will receive a notification to appear before a medical board (it is possible that you will not have to appear in person).
Please note: the medical board is composed of one doctor who specializes in a certain area. Therefore, if you have additional impairments, you may be summoned to a number of boards.
Examines the medical documents in your file before your arrival
Hears from you about the impairments from which you suffer, and if needed, performs a physical examination
Determines the degree of your medical/mental health disability
Examines to what extent your medical/mental health impairments influence your capability of going out to work and earning a living (for a housewife: to what extent they influence your capability of performing household duties).
Please note: the members of the medical board may pause the evaluation of your claim and request additional medical examinations or documents if needed. The board doctor is not authorized to decide on the medical treatment that you require, but rather to determine your degree of medical disability only.
Examines your income information again, in relation to the degree of disability that was determined for you
Determines to what extent your medical/mental health disability influences your capability of going out to work and earning a living, based on the recommendation of the doctor and of the rehabilitation clerk.
After all the examinations, the decision on your claim will be sent to you by mail, together with the report of the medical board.
After receiving a ruling on your claim, if you think the decision is not fair, you may appeal it.
The amount of the pension for an institution inpatient is: NIS 1,226 (as of 2024) for all disability degrees.
The above guide was created based on information compiled for Get Help Israel by Dr. Hadar Marom Harel.