First condition: Israeli resident who reached retirement age
The applicant is an Israeli residentA person whose life is centered in Israel. Criteria for determining this include: Israel is your permanent place of residence, where your family resides, where your children go to school, your primary place of work, or where you are studying. who has reached retirement age.
Whether the Israeli resident status was given to you only after reaching retirement age, you may be entitled to a long-term care benefit if you did Aliyah under the Law of Return or received an immigrant absorption basket from the Ministry of Integration.
Second condition: Incomes
Entitlement to long-term care benefit is established according to your income and your spouse's income.
Please note that the means test will be performed on your income in the 3 months preceding the date of submission of the claim.
Income calculation when both spouses require long-term care
When both spouses require long-term care, the income of the couple are combined, then divided by 2 and the resulting amount will be held as a single person income for purposes of income examination.
For instance: the couple income amounts to NIS 18,600. Each spouse's eligibility will be examined based of an income of NIS 9,300. Both spouses are subject to income test, since an individual may earn up to NIS 12,536 and be entitled to a benefit.
Single | Up to NIS 12,536 | Full benefit |
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Single
| Over NIS 12,536 and up to NIS 18,804 | Benefit reduced by 50% |
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| Single | Over NIS 18,804 | No entitlement to benefit
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Couple | Up to NIS 18,804 | Full benefit |
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Couple | Over NIS 18,804 and up to NIS 28,206 | Benefit reduced by 50% |
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| Couple | Over NIS 28,206 | No entitlement to benefit |
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In the income test, some incomes are taken into account, and others not. To learn more, click here.
Third condition: Needing extensive help from others
You need either the help of others in performing everyday functionsDressing, eating, control and urine and bowel movements, washing, mobility in the home., or presence and close supervision from others due to your medical or functioning situation which put you at an immediate life-threatening risk or at risk of injury for yourself or others.
In order to establish your degree of dependency, we will examine your functioning capacity. For more information regarding the examination, click here.
Fourth condition: Residency
Those living at their home our in sheltered housing are entitled to long-term care.
Persons institutionalized
A person living in a long-term care institution will be entitled to a long-term care benefit in the following cases:
If you are staying in a department for frail or independent persons which is licensed and supervised by the Ministry of Welfare under the Dormitories Supervision Law.
If you are staying in an institution supervised by the Ministry of Welfare and you bear most of the maintenance expenses.
You will not be entitled to a long-term care benefit in the following cases:
If you are staying in one of the following departments: long-term care division (regular or complex), a mentally frails division, in a prolonged respiratory division, or in an rehabilitation institution supervised by the Ministry of Health, under the Public Health Ordinance.
If a public body such as the state ministry or a municipality are funding most of your maintenance expenses.
Persons in nursing home
If a you receive a long-term care benefit and are interested in living in a nursing
home, you must fill out a form for authorization of residence in an institution/retirement home, and send it to your local branch of the NII, to let us examine your eligibility for the benefit. The form can be sent to the branch directly through the document sending service.
Persons hospitalized
- The recipient of a long-term care benefit who is hospitalized in a general hospital - may continue to receive the benefit only for the first 30 days of his hospitalization.
- If you do not receive long-term care benefit, and are currently or shall soon be hospitalized - you can submit a claim for long-term care benefit without delays. A medical authorization from the hospital referred to as: "Interim Summary", must be attached to your claim.
Fifth condition: You do not receive another long-term care benefit from any governmental body
Whether you receive one of the following benefits, you must choose between that benefit and the long-term care benefit:
- Attendance allowance for persons with severe disabilities.
- Benefit for personal care or supervision from the Treasury.
- Benefit from the Ministry of Defense: "Help from others" advantage for medical reasons or accompaniment advantage.
Please note, if you are receiving from the Ministry of Defense a special needs increment, you may receive it together with a long-term care benefit from the NII.