npx skills add ...
npx skills add skills-il/tax-and-finance --skill israeli-pension-advisor
Navigate the Israeli pension and savings system including pension funds (keren pensia), manager's insurance (bituach menahalim), training funds (keren hishtalmut), severance handling at Form 161, Tikun 190 post-60 deposits, and retirement planning. Use when user asks about Israeli pension, \"pensia\", \"keren hishtalmut\", retirement savings, \"bituach menahalim\", pension contributions, tax benefits from savings, severance withdrawal vs continuity, or pension at divorce / relocation. Uninformed pension decisions cost hundreds of thousands of NIS over a lifetime. Covers mandatory pension, voluntary savings, withdrawal rules, and life events (divorce, relocation, death). Do NOT provide specific investment recommendations or fund performance comparisons.
npx skills add skills-il/tax-and-finance --skill israeli-pension-advisor
This is a free information tool operated by an AI model. It explains the Israeli pension and long-term savings system and presents rules and data that have been published to the public. All of its outputs are produced automatically by an AI model, with no involvement, review, or approval by a licensed pension adviser. The output is not pension advice, not pension marketing, and not a personal recommendation about the merits of your savings, but a general explanation only: it does not examine your personal circumstances, the full set of pension products you hold, or your particular needs. An AI model may err, omit data, or present a wrong conclusion.
The output must not be relied on to transfer funds, change an investment track, withdraw severance money, or make any other pension decision. This tool is not a substitute for advice that takes account of the particular circumstances and needs of each person. Before any such decision, consult a licensed pension adviser and verify every figure with the managing institution. All use of its output is the user's sole responsibility.
This skill provides general pension INFORMATION. It does not replace consultation with a licensed pension professional. Recommend professional advice for specific decisions, especially: severance over ~100,000 NIS at job change; any decision from age 55 onward; sale of a business, retirement bonus, or inheritance larger than the remaining kitzbah-mezakah pool; cross-border relocation; divorce; and when considering a Tikun 190 deposit (Step 7).
Under the Pension Advice Law 2005 a yoetz pensioni (pension adviser) has no affiliation to the product, but may receive a distribution fee from the institutional body if the client agrees in advance and in writing (s.19(a)(2)); a sokhen pensioni (pension agent) is affiliated. Tell users to ask any adviser how they are paid.
| Type | Hebrew | Purpose | Tax Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keren Pensia | keren pensia | Retirement + disability + survivors | Tax credit + deduction |
| Bituach Menahalim | bituach menahalim | Retirement (insurance-based, declining for new policies since 2013) | Tax credit + deduction |
| Keren Hishtalmut | keren hishtalmut | Medium-term savings (6 years) | Tax-free gains for employees |
| Kupat Gemel le-Tagmulim | kupat gemel le-tagmulim | General savings (historical, mostly closed to new deposits since 2008) | Various |
| Kupat Gemel le-Hashka'a | kupat gemel le-hashka'a | Liquid long-term savings (since 2016 reform); deposits capped at 83,641 NIS/year (2026) | Lump sum at any age: 25% on the real gain; from 60, taken as a monthly pension: exempt |
| Kupat Gemel le-Kitzbah (Tikun 190 vehicle) | kupat gemel le-kitzbah | Post-60 tax-shelter (see Step 7) | Full exemption as kitzbah from 60, 15% on the nominal gain as lump sum |
| Kranot Neemanot | kranot neemanot | Mutual funds (not pension) | Capital gains tax |
Since 2008, all employees must have pension insurance. Statutory average wage (sakhar memutza) as published for 2026 by the Tax Authority and used by National Insurance: 13,769 NIS/month. This is the base figure for nearly every pension ceiling. (The CBS "national average wage" published in the press is a different, higher number; do not substitute it.)
Employee contributions:
| Ceiling | 2026 | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory-pension insurable salary (tzav harchava) | 13,769 (the average wage itself) | The salary the compulsory 18.5% must be paid on |
| Comprehensive-fund tax-favoured deposit | 5,645/month, being 20.5% of twice the average wage | The favoured monthly deposit; beyond it, route to a keren mashlima or kupat gemel le-tagmulim |
| Comprehensive-fund maximum determining salary | about 41,307 (three times the average wage) | The cap the fund applies to entitlements |
"Contributions above 2x the average wage route elsewhere" collapses the first two and states the mandatory ceiling at double its real value. The mandatory ceiling is the average wage, NOT twice it.
Pension contribution timing for new employees (Mandatory Pension Expansion Order):
Self-employed mandatory pension (Economic Efficiency Law 5777-2016, Chapter B, in force 01.01.2017):
The most popular Israeli savings vehicle:
For employees:
For self-employed (two separate ceilings):
Note: In September 2024 the Treasury proposed eliminating keren hishtalmut tax-free status for gains beyond year 6. As of May 2026, no such change has been enacted; the benefit remains in place. Monitor for renewed legislative proposals before assuming long-term stability.
For employees:
For self-employed:
references/tax-benefits.mdPension payout (at retirement):
The per-cohort table is in references/retirement-age-by-cohort.md.
references/approaching-retirement.md; read it for any user within about 5 years of retirement. Public-sector budget pensions (pensia taktziveet) follow different rules: ask before applying this skill's figures.The single most consequential decision at job change. Mistakes here cost tens of thousands of NIS in future tax.
Heichum kitzbah: the critical interaction users miss.
Section 14 is not all-or-nothing. Four sub-cases (full 8.33% from day 1, partial salary, delayed start, collective agreement) are detailed in references/tax-benefits.md; three of them can leave residual severance owed at FINAL salary. Identify the sub-case before telling a user nothing more is owed.
Forms involved (Form 161 was redesigned January 2024 as a single unified form):
Options at termination (no ranking; which fits is a question for a licensed adviser): rezef zechuyot (leave severance in the fund; works cleanly only if the new employer's arrangement is compatible), cash withdrawal (subject to heichum kitzbah), prisat pituyim (spread the taxable part over up to 6 tax years), and reverting a rezef election later via Form 161ג. Mechanics are in references/tax-benefits.md.
Tikun 190 of the Income Tax Ordinance (2012) lets a saver deposit money, with no employer match and no credit or deduction claimed, into a kupat gemel le-kitzbah and later draw it as a "recognised pension" (kitzbah mukeret). It is used mostly from age 60, because the exemption applies to a recognised pension received from 60.
Why it matters: it is THE standard tax-shelter tool at retirement age for severance, retirement bonuses, sale of a business, inheritance and surplus savings: zero tax if drawn as a monthly pension, 15% on the NOMINAL gain as a lump sum, against 25% on the REAL (CPI-adjusted) gain in a regular investment account. In a high-inflation stretch a nominal-basis 15% can exceed a real-basis 25%, so run the comparison rather than assuming the shelter always wins.
Mechanics:
Common confusion: "Tikun 190" is used colloquially to refer to BOTH this 60+ deposit benefit AND the parallel reform of severance / kitzbah taxation under the same amendment. The two have nothing operational in common. When a client says "Tikun 190" ask which they mean.
Triggers to recommend a yoetz pensioni consultation: any planned Tikun 190 deposit over ~250,000 NIS, any consideration of withdrawing the deposit before 5 years, and any deposit by a depositor with non-Israeli citizenship or US tax exposure (US-Israel cross-border practitioners disagree whether kupot gemel are PFICs under US tax law versus foreign pensions under the treaty; the disagreement is what makes professional advice mandatory here).
references/pension-fund-types.md.Five events change the pension answer materially: divorce (pension splitting under the 2014 Law), relocation abroad (Section 14(a) and the absence of any Israel-US totalization agreement), spousal attribution under Section 47, fixation of rights at retirement (kibua zechuyot, Form 161ד), and bridge pensions from age 60. Full rules, citations and the per-event traps are in references/life-events.md; read it before explaining any of them.
User says: "I just started a new job, what pension should I choose?" Result: Explain mandatory pension, the default-fund mechanism (ID-digit assignment for employers with 50+ workers) and the fee and cover differences between the product types, point out that management fees are worth comparing, mention a keren hishtalmut if the employer offers one (10% combined contribution is meaningful). For employees with a prior pension fund, contributions are retroactive to Day 1; without one, they begin only after 6 months.
User says: "I'm a freelancer, how should I save for retirement?" Result: Explain the new-business exemption (fewer than 6 months since first VAT registration at year end), then apply 4.45% / 12.55% brackets on net taxable income up to the average wage (max ~14,044 NIS/year). Present the ceilings neutrally, without ranking the vehicles: pension 38,412 NIS/year (less if loss-of-work-capacity premiums were deducted, see Step 4), of which the first 5.5% (or 5%) earns a 35% credit and the rest a deduction; keren hishtalmut 13,203 NIS deductible and 20,566 NIS profit-exempt. Which to fill first depends on the user's marginal rate and liquidity needs, a question for a licensed pension adviser.
User says: "I'm switching jobs and have 80,000 NIS of severance accrued under full Section 14. Should I take it or leave it?" Result: Walk through Form 161 (the 2024 unified form: the employer files Part A, the employee fills Part B within a short window stated on the form). Silence counts as rezef-kitzbah only under the Step 6 conditions. Explain what each Part B option does: cash is tax-free up to 13,750 NIS per year of service, but inside the 32-year window each exempt shekel costs 1.35 shekels of the future exemption pool (outside it, nothing); rezef depends on the new employer's arrangement; spreading lowers the rate on the taxable part. List the deciding factors (liquidity, marginal rate, expected pension income, the new employer's scheme) and say that choosing among them for this user is a question for a licensed pension adviser.
User says: "I'm 64, I just sold my business and have 1.5M NIS sitting in the bank. My private pension is 8,000 NIS/month. What should I do with the cash?" Result: Do not tell the user what to do with the money. Explain how a Tikun 190 deposit works as one route people in this position look at. Ask where the 8,000 NIS pension comes from: a pension from a kupat gemel le-kitzbah counts toward the 5,306 NIS minimum needed for a later lump sum, a Bituach Leumi pension does not. The monthly route needs only age 60+. Note that the first 38,412 NIS deposited in the year is ordinary qualifying-pension money. Explain deposit into a kupat gemel le-kitzbah: drawn as kitzbah, the monthly payment is fully exempt from income tax for life; drawn as lump sum, the NOMINAL gain is taxed at 15% (against 25% on the real, CPI-adjusted gain in a regular investment account), so check the inflation assumption before presenting it as a saving. Estate-planning effect: funds pass to beneficiaries under fund rules, not probate. Whether, and how much, to deposit is a pension-advice decision for a licensed pension adviser, especially if any beneficiary has US tax exposure.
User says: "We're divorcing. My ex has a much bigger pension than mine. How is it split?"
Result: Explain the Pension Savings Division between Separated Spouses Law (2014): the decree sets the split and the marital period, and once registered with each fund the fund pays the split directly. Stress registering promptly, before the other spouse starts drawing. Detail: references/life-events.md.
scripts/calculate_pension.py -- Computes mandatory pension contributions (employee, employer, severance), keren hishtalmut benefits with the 15,712 NIS salary cap enforced, and retirement savings projections (with realistic mekadem hamara per gender) for both employees and self-employed. Female retirement age is resolved from the per-cohort birth-year table, never a flat number, so pass --birth-year alongside --female; without it the script assumes the 1970-and-later age of 65 and says so. Run: python scripts/calculate_pension.py --helpreferences/pension-fund-types.md -- Detailed comparison of Israeli pension vehicles: Keren Pensia, Bituach Menahalim, Kupat Gemel le-Tagmulim, Kupat Gemel le-Hashka'a, and Kupat Gemel le-Kitzbah (Tikun 190 vehicle), with fee structures, insurance components, default fund system, and major fund providers. Consult when explaining the pension vehicles in Step 8.references/tax-benefits.md -- Israeli pension tax benefits including the 35% tax credit on employee contributions, employer contribution exclusions, keren hishtalmut tax-free gains, self-employed deduction rules, Section 14 details, Tikun 190 deposit mechanics, and pension payout tax exemption rates. Consult when calculating tax savings from pension and savings contributions.references/retirement-age-by-cohort.md -- Women's retirement age by year of birth, including the 1959-and-earlier cohort. This is the authoritative source for retirement age; never use a flat number.references/life-events.md -- Life events (Step 9): divorce and pension splitting, relocation abroad, spousal attribution, fixation of rights (Form 161ד), and bridge pensions.references/approaching-retirement.md -- The last years before retirement: Bituach Leumi old-age pension (income test, deferral increment), the transition grant for women born 1960-1966, commutation of pension savings, and the Form 161ד choice.references/troubleshooting.md -- Common failure modes and their fixes.No pension-specific MCP exists today. Pair with general Israeli financial MCPs (e.g., il-bank for transaction data) when the user asks for cash-flow context alongside pension planning.
| Source | URL | What to Check |
|---|---|---|
| Kol Zchut - Average Wage | https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/השכר_הממוצע | Annual average wage figure from National Insurance (base for pension ceilings) |
| Kol Zchut - Mandatory Pension | https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/חובת_ביטוח_פנסיוני_לעובדים | Employee/employer pension rates, Section 14, contribution timing |
| Kol Zchut - Default Pension Funds | https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/קרנות_פנסיה_נבחרות_(קרנות_ברירת_מחדל) | Default fund tender, ID-digit assignment rules, fee caps |
| Kol Zchut - Severance Tax Exemption | https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/פטור_ממס_הכנסה_על_פיצויי_פיטורים | Tax-exempt severance ceiling, heichum kitzbah, prisat pituyim |
| Kol Zchut - Severance Withdrawal | https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/משיכת_כספי_פיצויי_פיטורים_מקופת_גמל_או_מהביטוח_הפנסיוני | Bittul pituyim, rezef zechuyot, severance tax mechanics (note: page describes the pre-2024 Form 161א flow; for the current Form 161 unified flow see the gov.il Notice of Retirement link above) |
| Retirement Age Law (Wikisource) | https://he.wikisource.org/wiki/חוק_גיל_פרישה | Statutory retirement-age schedule by month of birth |
| Gov.il - Women's Retirement Age | https://www.gov.il/he/pages/women_retirement_age_news | Per-cohort women's retirement age (the by-year-of-birth table) |
| Kol Zchut - Pension Division at Divorce | https://www.kolzchut.org.il/he/חלוקת_פנסיה_בין_בני_זוג_שנפרדו | Mechanics of the 2014 law on registering a divorce decree with a pension fund |
| Gov.il - Form 161 (New) | https://www.gov.il/he/service/notice-of-retirement | Official Tax Authority page for the redesigned Form 161 (Parts A/B/C, January 2024) |
| Pensuni - 2026 Pension Ceilings | https://pensuni.com/?p=827 | Annual aggregator for tax-credit ceilings, hishtalmut ceilings, kitzbah-mezakah figures |
| Pensuni - Tikun 190 Mechanics | https://pensuni.com/?p=1258 | Tikun 190 deposit rules, kitzbah-mezakah exemption schedule, heichum kitzbah formula |
See references/troubleshooting.md._