Nearly one in five senior citizens need to take supplementary income, according to a new report from the National Insurance Insititute (NII).
The total number of senior citizens and survivors' pension recipients is approximately 1,128,478, of which more than 205,000 families receive income supplementation. 88,966 receive a survivor's pension and a further 39,782 receive it due to the death of their spouse.
The total number of recipients of supplementary income for senior citizen and survivors' pensions is about 205,217 families, according to the NII, of which 145,671 are senior citizens, 25,497 are survivors, 33,935 are recipients of a 'special senior citizen pension' for new immigrants and returning residents and 114 are recipients of a 'special survivor' pension.
About 23% of the recipients are couples and about 77% singles. Also, about 70% of the recipients are women, of which 52% are unmarried and another 18% are married women.
The National Insurance Institute published data on the situation of senior citizens in Israel, following the renewed discourse regarding the increase of old-age pensions in the Knesset.
Yarona Shalom, director-general of the NII, said: "The National Insurance Institute believes that the old-age pensions should be raised and that the best way to do so should be found since the pension has not been raised substantially for many years and as a society we cannot afford 'an old man crying for his old age.' The National Insurance will offer several options for changing the legislation to the relevant parties."
"The National Insurance Institute believes that the old-age pensions should be raised and that the best way to do so should be found since the pension has not been raised substantially for many years."
Yarona Shalom
More than just pensions
The NII handles 128,000 new nursing allowance claims every year and there are about 302,000 beneficiaries in various nursing grades. The total amount of nursing allowances is estimated at NIS 14.6 billion. It should be noted that approximately 28% of senior citizens in Israel today receive nursing care, of which 43% are in grades 4-6 (the higher grades indicate a more complex medical condition).
Additionally, the NII provides additional benefits and grants, among them: heating grants - the amount of which has increased in the existing arrangements law, insurance premiums are given at a reduced rate, and payments in the event of death.
The NII also provides assistance to senior citizens who have just retired as part of the project "Voucher for the Future". As part of it, women aged 60-61 and men aged 65-66 are invited to participate in preparatory workshops for retirement age.
The workshops consist of 4 sessions where you can learn about the eligibility conditions for national insurance and pensions that may affect their incomes, and their occupation, thus giving them a situational road map for life after retirement.
The NII also started the "Financial Independence" project for women aged 50-60, who are not supported by pensions in order to be able to return to the workforce.