Pensioners to Receive Raise in Income Supplement

A raise in the income supplement for pensioners will be included in the state budget, the Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday.

The measure will make the stipend equivalent to 70% of the minimum wage. Income supplement for a person above the retirement age will be 3,710-3,783 monthly, depending on the person’s age.

“This step will mean that all senior citizens and Holocaust survivors will be above the poverty line. This is substantial assistance to elderly people with low incomes, and to the many Holocaust survivors who receive income supplement,” the ministry said in a statement quoted by Globes.

The change is to take effect on January 1, 2022, providing the coalition passes its budget by November. Cost was estimated at NIS 1.5 billion annually.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman said that he proposes to raise the retirement age for women from 62 to 65. That measure is to be implemented gradually; going from 62 to 63 by 2024, and from 63 to 65 by 2032. After 2038 the retirement agent will be linked to life expectancy, as established by the Central Bureau for Statistics.

The retirement age for men in Israel will remain at 67.