Mobility

A person with limited mobility is entitled to benefits in this branch

A person with “limited mobility” is someone who meets the following two conditions:

1.   He is a resident of Israel who is located in Israel, who is at least 3 years old but has not yet reached retirement age (the National Insurance Institute also authorizes mobility allowance to two or more siblings, each of whom for which a limited mobility disability of at least 80% was established and who live in the same apartment, even if they are not yet 3 years old).

      There may be continued entitlement even after retirement age for a person who received a mobility allowance before reaching this age, subject to the conditions of the Mobility Agreement.

2.   A medical committee or a medical appeals committee of the Ministry of Health has established the percentage of his limited mobility due to an impairment in his legs, according to a list of defined impairments.

The age at which you will be entitled to the old-age pension, on condition that your income from work and from other sources does not exceed a certain amount. Income from work pension is not taken into account. This age is not uniform for everybody; it is determined in accordance with gender and date of birth.

Israeli resident living in Israel, aged over 3 but not over the retirement age as defined in law for men (see definition and table in “General Definitions”), in whose case a medical committee has determined a percentage of mobility limitation on account of impairment in the lower limbs, according to a specified list of impairments; Under certain conditions, a person with mobility limitation may be entitled to continue to receive mobility benefits after he has reached the above-mentioned retirement age as defined in law for men.

Under the Mobility Agreement, a first claim for mobility benefits may not be submitted after retirement age.

A person who began receiving a mobility benefit before retirement age may continue receiving the benefit after this age, if he fulfills all the conditions of entitlement in the Mobility Agreement and if he meets one of the following criteria:

1.     He received a mobility allowance just previous to his reaching retirement age;

2.     He received a standing loan within the 4 years previous to his reaching retirement age;

3.     He received a standing loan for the purchase of a car and he still owns this car.

The entitlement of a person to a standing loan only will be examined – subject to the conditions of entitlement to the standing loan under the Mobility Agreement – if the person meets the above criteria, but reached retirement age before January 1, 2002.

• A mobility limitation of at least 80% has been determined for him,
  

• A medical board of the health bureau has determined that he is in need of and uses a wheelchair.

If your child does not meet one of the above conditions, then you must choose either a mobility benefit or a benefit for disabled child.

Important! In order to make sure that receipt of mobility benefits will not prevent your receiving benefit for disabled child as well, you should contact the disabled child department in your local NII branch.

A person who wishes to submit a claim for a mobility allowance - a standing loan, assistance from the loan fund, a loan for financing vehicle accessories to purchase a vehicle for special accessories ("special vehicle"), reimbursement of expenses for accessories for a private vehicle, a lifting device, a mobility allowance - must submit the form Application for Medical Examination to Establish Mobility Limitations to the district health office.

After the district medical committee or the medical appeals committee of the Ministry of Health establishes the percentage of the mobility limitation entitling you to the allowance, you must submit the form Claim for Benefits Under the Mobility Agreement at the National Insurance Institute branch closest to your place of residence. The claim form can also be sent by mail.

Please note,
if you must travel to appear before the medical committee or the medical appeals committee, and you are unable to use public transportation due to the state of your health, you may be entitled to a refund of travel expenses, provided that you are not receiving a mobility allowance.
For the purpose of examining your entitlement to a refund, you must provide the National Insurance Institute branch closest to your place of residence with authorization from the district physician or the chairman of the appeals committee, stating that you are unable to use public transportation, along with original receipts from the trip.

If you are not satisfied with a decision made by the medical committee, you are entitled to appeal the decision to the appeals committee. The appeal must be submitted within 60 days from the date on which you received the decision of the medical committee.

You can appeal the decision of the medical appeals committee to the Regional Labor Court. You must submit the appeal within 30 days from the date on which you received the decision of the medical appeals committee.

A standing loan is given to a person with limited mobility who is purchasing his first vehicle, either private or commercial, or a vehicle for special accessories as he chooses, for the full or partial financing of the taxes that apply to the vehicle – according to the conditions specified in this section. A person who is entitled to receive a standing loan can receive it only after he signs an undertaking (attached to the form Claim for Benefits Under the Mobility Agreement) in which he undertakes to fulfill the obligations specified by the National Insurance Institute. If he possesses a driver’s license, he must also sign a Declaration by the Holder of a Driver’s License (which is also attached to the claim form). The standing loan must be repaid to the National Insurance Institute under the conditions specified in this section.

A vehicle that may be entered while sitting in a wheelchair, or that may be driven while sitting in a wheelchair.

a.  For those entitled to a vehicle for special accessories
The National Insurance Institute is entitled to provide a person with limited mobility who is entitled to purchase a vehicle for special accessories with a loan from the loan fund for purchasing vehicles, in addition to the standing loan for financing the taxes. Both those with drivers' licenses and those without drivers' licenses are eligible

b.  For those entitled to a private vehicle
The National Insurance Institute is entitled to provide a person with limited mobility, who is entitled to a private vehicle and who has severe disabilities and low income from employment, with a loan from the loan fund for purchasing a vehicle, in addition to the standing loan to finance the taxes. Only those with a drivers' license are eligible.

given to cover taxes on car, as autorized acconding to the rules which have been determined.

The National Insurance Institute may grant a loan for the purchase and installation of accessories in a vehicle for special accessories.

A vehicle that may be entered while sitting in a wheelchair, or that may be driven while sitting in a wheelchair.

The National Insurance Institute may reimburse a person with limited mobility for the expenses incurred in the purchase and installation of accessories in a private vehicle.

The National Insurance Institute may give a loan to people with limited mobility who require and use a wheelchair, to purchase a wheelchair wheelchair vehicle, or a loan to purchase a mechanical arm that moves the wheelchair into the cargo area of the vehicle.

An accessory or appliance installed in the vehicle, aimed at lifting a wheelchair to the vehicle’s roof or trunk.

A person with limited mobility is, among other things, an Israeli resident who is living in Israel. If he received a mobility allowance for at least 3 consecutive months before leaving the country, the allowance will be paid to him for 3 months while he is abroad.

If he received a mobility allowance for less than 3 consecutive months before going abroad and he remains abroad for more than one full calendar month (from the 1^st of any month to the 30^th or 31^st of that month), the allowance will cease on the first of the month after his departure abroad.

A person with limited mobility who is not in Israel will not be approved for a standing loan for the purchase of a vehicle and other benefits, until he returns to Israel.

A person whose life is centered in Israel. Among the criteria for determining residence in this context: permanent place of residence, place at which the family is staying, place of the children's education, main place of work, place of learning.

A person with limited mobility who requires and uses a wheelchair and who has been determined to be someone who must drive a vehicle for special accessories while sitting in a wheelchair, can learn to drive in the National Insurance Institute’s vehicle.

For that purpose, the NII has purchased 3 new vehicles which are equipped with sophisticated accessories to assist those learning to drive or learning to use the special accessories that will be installed in their vehicles.

A vehicle that may be entered while sitting in a wheelchair, or that may be driven while sitting in a wheelchair.

A monthly allowance paid to a person with limited mobility to assist with mobility expenses, whether or not he possesses and has a vehicle.

Those who possess a vehicle as well as  those who do not – receive an increment to the allowance if the round trip distance between their home and workplace is at least 40 km, to assist with the additional travel expenses.

You can fax inquiries to the Mobility Department at the local branch handling your case.

To find the fax number you need, click on the “Branches and Service Stations” tab, select the branch you want from the list of branches, or the list of towns, or on the branch map. After you reach “Branch Information,” click on the “Details of Departments” tab.

To connect to Branches and Service Stations - click here.

To obtain a parking permit for a handicapped vehicle and authorization for reduced payment of the license fee, please contact the regional health office in your area of residence.

The handicapped parking permit is also available to someone who is not entitled to benefits under the Mobility Agreement. Please write to the Ministry of Transport at P.O.B. 72, Holon 58100. Please attach any up-to-date medical material you have, including protocols from medical committees before which you appeared.

Ownership of vehicle acquired with standing loan – The name of the person with limited mobility must appear on the vehicle’s license, but the ownership need not be exclusive. The ownership can include a family member or guardian who lives in the same building as the person with limited mobility or in a building whose distance to the home of the person with limited mobility does not exceed 500 meters in a straight line.

Ownership of vehicle acquired without standing loan – The name of the person with limited mobility must appear on the vehicle’s license. However, if the name of parent (for a minor), guardian or spouse of the person with limited mobility appears on the vehicle’s license, it is not compulsory that the name of the person with limited mobility appear on the license. 

Please note:

According to the information available to us, if you pay the license fee as a disabled person, you may transfer ownership of the vehicle (sell the vehicle) only at a local branch of the License Bureau.

Just to make sure, we recommend  that you check this information with the License Bureau in your area.