The National Insurance Institute at your service Dear Citizens, The mission of the National Insurance Institute of Israel is to provide us a social safety net at every stage of our lives. As the Minister of Social Affairs and Social Services, responsible for the National Insurance, I promote laws and reforms intended to safeguard your well-being and which will make it easier for you to exercise your entitlements. I am pleased to inform you, that there have been positive developments in the service provided to Israel’s citizens since I assumed this post. We have separated the appeals committees in the north from the National Insurance Institute, thereby giving independence to the debates over disability percentages. We have established Yad Mechavenet branches, which provide free advice and guidance to the medical committees in Be'er Sheva and Haifa, and in 2016 we will be extending this nationwide deployment also to the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas. To prevent debts and penalties from accumulating, we have undertaken a move to write off old debts and to prevent the formation of new ones by assigning employers the duty to report online in a manner where reliable, real-time information is transmitted, regarding employee wages or early pensions. We have improved the Internet website through recognition of the importance of making information accessible and of minimizing the citizens’ exposure to bureaucratic processes. From now on many documents may be submitted without having to arrive at the branch offices or stand in line. In addition we have a telephone service, which is available to answer any question. Out of our profound commitment to the well-being of our senior citizens, we have increased the income support assistance for senior citizens and widows. We have formed a fast track at the medical committees, at the Soroka and Sheba medical centers, such that in acute medical cases, where the patient is unable to get to the meetings at which their percentage of disability is determined in the patient’s absence. We have also brought forward the date for receiving the long-term care benefit for senior citizens, to enable it to be transferred within one week from the decision on eligibility. These days we are working on easing the dependency tests for the long term care benefit, and we are also working on broadening the reach of eligibility for the benefit. The quality of the service we provide to the public is at the top of our priorities list. My goal is to turn the National Insurance Institute into an organization that will be sensitive to people’s plights, accessible to the public and measurable in its accomplishments. We will continue to cut bureaucratic processes, and the public’s waiting times for feedback, where my overriding ambition is to see to it that whoever is entitled to anything will be given what is rightfully theirs, and that this will be done as quickly as possible. Sincerely, MK Haim Katz, Minister of Social Affairs and Social Services Dear Citizens, The National Insurance Institute is the leading and most professional organization in Social Security in Israel, and its main function is facilitating benefits to those eligible by law. The National Insurance Institute stretches out an economic and social safety net to extensive population classes, such as families with children, seniors, widows and orphans, and for all insured persons during personal crises such as termination, disability and work injuries. Overall – some 75 billion NIS in benefits are paid out to the public annually. In addition, the National Insurance Institute also operates, through its Rehabilitation Department and its five funds, Vocational rehabilitation programs and social services to special-needs populations. We are making significant efforts to promote social legislation, to care for the welfare of those insured and for a proper existence of the weaker classes, while maintaining a continual dialogue with the public, and trying to fulfill the value of mutual responsibility, in the spirit of the words of the Prophet Isaiah, “Every one shall help his neighbor and shall say to his brother: Be of good courage” (Isaiah 41:6). Our main objectives are to initiate action to fulfill citizens’ rights at the National Insurance Institute, and to provide quality service and sensitivity to those who approach us. We are tirelessly working to improve the service given at the various branches, and are opening new service centers in the periphery. At the same time, in an attempt to bring the service closer to the public, we are developing services which reduce the need to visit the branches in order to receive service. We have established a national call center to service the public, and operate computerized stations for self-service. We have also greatly expanded the services provided on the National Insurance Institute website, to include online submission of claims and documents, making payments and receiving individual service, and we have developed an application for mobile phones, all of which enable you to receive service from your home. In this booklet you will find general explanations regarding the conditions for eligibility to receive benefits from the National Insurance Institute, the obligation to pay National Insurance contributions and Health Insurance contributions, and information on services provided at the branches and through other service channels. I hope this information assists you in fulfilling your rights at the National Insurance Institute, and in receiving speedy and efficient service. Sincerely, Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yossef Director General Your Rights at the National Insurance Institute of Israel 1 Table of Contents • Maternity Insurance – Birth Grant, Maternity Benefit, Risk Pregnancy Benefit 4 • Child Insurance 6 • Compensation for persons who serve in the reserves 7 • Grants to discharged soldiers performing priority Work 8 • Unemployment insurance 9 • Employees’ Rights Following Bankruptcy and Corporate Dissolution 10 • Rights of Volunteers 10 • Compensation for Victims of hostilities 11 • Work Injured Insurance 12 • Disability Insurance – General disability, Special Services, Disabled Child 14 • Mobility Allowance 16 • Accident Victim Insurance 18 • Benefits for a child orphaned by Domestic Violence 18 • Vocational Rehabilitation 19 • Income Support Benefits 20 • Maintenance Payments (Alimony) 22 • Compensation for Prisoners of Zion and families of Martyrs 23 • Compensation for Righteous Gentiles 23 • Survivor's Insurance 24 • Old-age Insurance 26 • Long-term Care Insurance 28 • Counseling Service for the Elderly 29 • Appealing a decision of the National Insurance Institute 30 • The National Insurance Institute Funds 31 • Payment of National Insurance Contributions and Health Insurance Contributions 32 • National Insurance Institute Service Channels 36 • International Social Security Treaties in the field of The social security 38 • National Insurance Institute branches 40 This booklet provides general information and should not be deemed to be the full and authorized text of the law. Everything stated in the male gender refers to women as well. 2 National Insurance Institute The National Insurance Institute is a national organization for social insurance operating by mandate. Its main function is to guarantee means of living for Israeli residents who are unable to earn a living. The National Insurance Institute collects insurance contributions from all residents, based on their income and their status, and pays out benefits and pensions to those eligible by law. The National Insurance Institute is also responsible for the collection of Health Insurance contributions, in accordance with the National Health Insurance Law, and transfers the health insurance contributions to the HMOs. The National Insurance Institute pays out benefits and pensions to the unemployed, women on maternity leave, the disabled, those with restricted mobility, those injured at work or in accidents, victims of hostilities, military reservists called to serve, families with children, seniors, widows and orphans, low income families, employees of employers who have filed for bankruptcy, volunteers and more. The benefits are intended to provide economic protection to each resident and family in times of temporary or persistent loss of income. By collecting insurance contributions with one hand, and paying out benefits with the other, income from financially secure groups is transferred to weaker and more vulnerable groups. In this manner, the National Insurance Institute contributes to a more equitable distribution of national revenues and to decreasing poverty in Israel. In additional to financial benefits, the National Insurance Institute provides rehabilitation and Vocational training services to widows and the disabled, as well as Long-term care and advising services for seniors. By means of the five funds that it operates, the National Insurance Institute helps finance projects developing community and institutional services for people with special needs. These projects assist in the integration of these populations into the community and the labor market. The funds’ finances assist projects for the welfare of the disabled and handicapped, disabled seniors, disengaged youths, children in danger, and more. In order to improve the service for the insured, the National Insurance Institute has developed computerized information systems that provide access to up-to-date information, such as an Internet website through which extensive up-to-date information