Disability Pension
Eligibility for Benefits
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:
Age and Residency
- You are an Israeli resident, you are between the ages of 18 and retirement age.
- A minor, between the ages of 16 and 18 may be entitled to the pension if he or she was a “working minor” immediately before sustaining his/her disability.
Income from work
- 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 7,122 (as of Jan 01, 2023).
- A married woman without an occupation shall be viewed as a housewife, if she did not work for 12 consecutive months or 24 non-consecutive months within the 48 months that preceded the day of submission of her claim for a disability pension or termination of her work – if termination of work occurred after submission of the claim.
Medical Disability (including qualifying mental health disabilities)
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.
Degree of Disability
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.
How to submit a claim?
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.
Documents to be submitted
Claim form for Disability Pension
The claim form can be found here
Medical documents
Diagnostic summaries or any other medical document pertaining to your medical/mental health condition, detailing all chronic diseases, treatments and medications.
An employed person
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
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.
Income from other sources than work
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.
Power of Attorney
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.
Ways to submit documents
The claim and above mentioned documents may be submitted by one of the following ways:
Service representative
Service representative over the telephone at *3928 – helps with filling out the claim and submitting documents.
Fill out the claim form electronically
Fill out the claim form electronically and submit it online with additional documents attached to it.
Submit the claim
Submit the claim and the documents by mail, fax or at your local Bituach Leumi branch.
After submitting the claim
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.
Important
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.
Overall Claim Process
The claims officer at the local Bituach Leumi branch examines the claim, checking:
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.
A Bituach Leumi doctor examines the claim, checking:
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.
Appearing before a medical board which:
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.
Case Decision
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.
Addendum
Payment of a disability pension to a person hospitalized in a public institution
A disabled person who stays in an inpatient institution receives everything they need from the institution in which they are hospitalized.
Therefore, a person entitled to a disability pension who is hospitalized in an institution that is a public body (such as Mental Health Centers and institutions acknowledged by the Ministry of Social Affairs), and more than half of their personal expenses are covered by the institution in which they are hospitalized, their pension will be divided between the entitled and the public institution.
The amount of pension payment varies according to the pension entitlement of the disabled, increment for a spouse and children, and the type of hospitalization. The public institution is responsible for submitting a request for pension payment to the National Insurance Institute.
The amount of the pension for an institution inpatient is: NIS 1,161 (as of Jan 01, 2023) for all disability degrees.
For additional information on Bituach Leumi (ביטוח לאומי) National Insurance Institute Kitzvat Nechut (קצבת נכות) disability pensions, click here.
The above guide was created based on information compiled for Get Help Israel.