General Disability Claim: Eligibility, the Committee and the Pension
A general disability pension is paid to anyone whose illness, accident or congenital condition has reduced their ability to earn, regardless of where the injury occurred. Entitlement is built in three separate stages: an income test, a medical disability of at least 60%, and a degree of incapacity. The pension is paid retroactively for no more than 12 months from the date of filing, so delay costs money.
“The committee sets percentages. The pension is set by the degree of incapacity, and that is the stage most people do not prepare for.”
Adv. Yissachar Leibowitz · Head of the Social Security Department
Who is eligible: four threshold conditions
A general disability pension does not depend on how the impairment arose. A chronic illness, an accident at home, a congenital condition or a mental health condition are all examined along the same route. What is examined is the effect on earning capacity.
Four cumulative conditions apply, as published by the National Insurance Institute:
- Residency and age: an Israeli resident, or a temporary resident holding an A/5 visa, aged 18 and not yet at retirement age.
- Income: not working, or earning less than ILS 8,261 a month from work (as of 1 January 2026) for 90 consecutive days within the 15 months preceding the claim.
- Medical disability: a physician on behalf of the Institute has determined at least 60%, or at least 40% where there are several impairments and one of them is at least 25%.
- Degree of incapacity: it has been determined that the claimant cannot work or that earning capacity has fallen by at least 50%, and a degree of 60%, 65%, 74% or 100% has been set.
A homemaker who has not worked for 12 consecutive months, or 24 non-consecutive months, in the 48 months preceding the claim is examined along a route of her own, according to her ability to function in the household.
Filing the claim and building the medical file
The claim is filed at a branch of the National Insurance Institute on a dedicated form, together with the medical documents. This stage looks technical, but it determines what the committee will see.
Three kinds of document carry the file. The first is a documented diagnosis by a specialist in the field of the impairment, with a start date. The second is treatment: medication, hospitalisations, clinic follow-up, surgery. The third, and the most neglected, is function: what the claimant can no longer do, and what that means for the job they held.
A file that contains only a diagnosis leads to a committee that confirms the illness exists and grants a low percentage. A file that also contains functional documentation leads to a committee that can set a percentage reflecting the actual condition.
One rule to keep in mind: the pension is paid retroactively for no more than 12 months from the date the claim is filed. Someone whose entitlement already goes back more than a year loses a month of pension for every month of delay.
The medical committee: what happens in the room
After filing, the claimant is summoned to a medical committee. The committee consists of one physician specialising in the field of the impairment and a session secretary. Someone who has complained of several impairments may be examined by several physicians, each in their own field.
The physician decides, according to the type of impairment, whether a physical examination is needed or the documentation is sufficient. The claimant’s complaints are recorded in the committee report, and the claimant is asked to sign that these are their complaints. That protocol is the document that will accompany the file at every later stage, so it is essential to make sure every complaint has been recorded.
The claimant has the right to bring an accompanying person, and the right to be represented by a lawyer. The committee is not a conversation with a treating physician; it is a proceeding that determines rights, and conduct in it is examined like any proceeding.
At the end, the committee sets the medical disability percentage according to the list of impairments in the regulations. If further material is required, the committee sets the percentage on receiving it, without a further appearance.
The degree of incapacity: the stage that sets the pension
The medical disability percentage opens the door. The amount of the pension is set by the degree of incapacity to earn, determined separately by the claims officer after consulting an authorised physician and a rehabilitation officer.
Here the examination is not purely medical. Questions are asked about education, work history, age, and whether the claimant can work in a job other than the one they held. A person with 70% medical disability can receive a degree of incapacity of 60% or of 100%, and the difference in pension between the two is almost ILS 2,000 a month.
That is why occupational documentation carries no less weight than medical documentation: employer certificates, dismissal or reduced-hours letters, an occupational physician’s opinion, and a factual description of the tasks that are no longer possible.
Pension amounts and when payment begins
The pension follows the degree of incapacity. The current amounts, per National Insurance Institute publications as of 1 January 2026:
- Full degree (100% or 75% and above): ILS 4,711 a month.
- Degree 74%: ILS 3,211.
- Degree 65%: ILS 2,894.
- Degree 60%: ILS 2,718.
A supplement is added for the first two children (ILS 1,214 per child at the full degree) and for a spouse whose income does not exceed ILS 7,848 gross. The amounts are updated each year.
Payment begins from the 91st day after the degree of incapacity is determined. Someone assessed at 100% for a period of at least six months receives it from the 31st day. The transfer is made on the 28th of each month.
Working while receiving the pension
A disability pension does not require leaving the labour market. The rule set by the legislature: total income from work and pension is always higher than the pension alone. As income from work rises, the pension is reduced gradually, but it does not disappear at once.
Two rules protect anyone trying to return to work. The first: the degree of incapacity that was set remains as it is even after starting work. The second, the safety net: someone who stops working, or whose income falls below ILS 8,261, goes back to receiving the pension they received before without being examined again by a medical committee.
A pension recipient is usually also entitled to associated benefits from other bodies, such as municipal tax and electricity discounts, which are examined separately under each body’s rules.
Objecting to the decision: 60 days
Two decisions can be contested inside the Institute. On the medical disability percentage, anyone assessed below 80% may object before a medical appeals committee within 60 days of receiving the notice. On the degree of incapacity, anyone assessed at a degree not exceeding 74% may object before an appeals committee, also within 60 days.
The appeals committee decision may be appealed to the regional labour court within 60 days, on a point of law only. Other claims officer decisions, for example on income, age or periods of employment, are challenged by a claim in the labour court within 12 months.
The routes, the deadlines and what separates an objection that succeeds from one that fails are set out in our guide to objections and appeals against National Insurance decisions.
Re-examination and deterioration
A negative decision, or a partial pension, is not the end of the story even without an objection. The Institute allows re-examination in several situations.
Someone whose claim was rejected because of a low disability percentage or degree of incapacity may file a repeat claim once six months have passed since the last determination. Someone rejected because of high income whose income has fallen files a repeat claim without waiting. And someone whose medical condition has worsened requests re-examination for deterioration, with a medical certificate confirming it.
A repeat claim is classified differently from a first claim: the claimant must show what has changed since the previous examination. That is why the right approach is to build the first claim well, rather than rely on repairing it later.
In summary
In summary, a general disability pension is paid to an Israeli resident aged 18 to retirement age whose income from work is below ILS 8,261, who has been assessed with a medical disability of at least 60% (or 40% with one impairment of 25%), and whose degree of incapacity is 60% to 100%. The pension ranges from ILS 2,718 to ILS 4,711 a month, is paid from the 91st day, and is retroactive for no more than 12 months. An objection is filed within 60 days.
The complexity is that the process has two stages examined by different bodies under different tests: the medical committee examines an impairment, and the claims officer examines earning capacity. A file built for the first stage alone reaches the second without the evidence it needs, and that is where a lawyer who knows both tests changes the outcome.
If you are considering a general disability claim, or have filed one and received a decision, contact us with the medical documents and we will tell you frankly whether there is a case to file and what is missing from the file.
What comes up most about general disability
What is the difference between the medical disability percentage and the degree of incapacity?
The medical disability percentage reflects the impairment according to the list in the regulations, and is set by a medical committee. The degree of incapacity reflects the effect on the ability to earn, and is set by the claims officer in consultation with an authorised physician and a rehabilitation officer. The pension follows the degree of incapacity.
I am working. Can I file a claim?
Yes, if income from work is below ILS 8,261 a month (as of 1 January 2026) for 90 consecutive days within the 15 months preceding the claim. A pension recipient may also work; the pension is reduced gradually, and total income is always higher than the pension alone.
When does the pension start?
From the 91st day after the degree of incapacity is determined. Someone assessed at 100% for at least six months receives it from the 31st day. Retroactive payment is limited to 12 months from the date the claim is filed.
How long do I have to object?
60 days from receiving the notice, both on the medical disability percentage (for those assessed below 80%) and on the degree of incapacity (for a degree not exceeding 74%). Other claims officer decisions are challenged in the labour court within 12 months.
I was rejected. Can I file again?
Yes. After six months from the last determination, and without waiting if the rejection was due to income that has since fallen, or if the medical condition has worsened and a medical certificate confirms it. A repeat claim must show what has changed.
Do I need a lawyer for the committee?
There is no obligation, but there is a right: the Institute recognises the right to be represented by a lawyer at the committee. Fees in general disability claims are capped by law: a file-opening fee of up to ILS 961 and a percentage of the pension paid only once it begins.
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