Senior Citizens Law, 5750-1989

חוק האזרחים הותיקים, התש"ן–1989

Published: 1989-12-28Last amended 2024-07-04✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-09

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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Chapter I: Interpretation

Definitions§

In this Law –

"senior citizen" – a resident of Israel who has reached, according to the registration in the Population Registry, retirement age as defined in the Retirement Age Law, 5764-2004 (hereinafter – the determining age);

"the Ministry" – the Ministry for Social Equality;

"the average wage" – the average wage, for Israeli employees only, as published by the Central Bureau of Statistics;

"fields of discounts" –

(1)(Repealed);

(2)general property tax payments as their meaning under the State Economy Arrangements Law (Legislative Amendments for Achieving Budget Targets), 5753-1992, paid pursuant to any law (hereinafter – property tax payments);

(3)travel fares on buses and trains of public transport (hereinafter – public transport);

(4)entrance fees to national parks and nature reserves as defined in the National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Memorial Sites Law, 5752-1992, and to a regulated site as defined in section 42 of the Antiquities Law, 5738-1978 (hereinafter – entrance fees to parks and sites);

(5)entrance fees to exhibitions, museums and cultural and artistic performances (hereinafter – entrance fees to performances);

(6)payments for medicines;

"the Minister" – the Minister for Social Equality.

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Chapter II: Senior Citizen Card and the Council

Senior Citizen Card§

The Ministry shall issue a senior citizen card to every resident of Israel upon reaching the determining age.

The Senior Citizens (Validity of Senior Citizen Card) Regulations, 5771-2011 have been published.

Adviser§

The Minister, with the approval of the Government, shall appoint an adviser for senior citizens' affairs (hereinafter – the Adviser); the Adviser shall be subordinate to the Minister.

Appointment and Composition of the Council§

(a)The Minister shall appoint a public council for senior citizens' affairs (hereinafter – the Council), whose number of members shall not exceed 35 and shall not be fewer than 21.

(b)At least one third of the members of the Council shall be women.

(c)The Council shall include –

(1)representatives of Government Ministries and other State institutions, as the Minister shall prescribe by Regulations with the approval of the Labour and Welfare Committee of the Knesset, provided that their number shall not exceed one third of the members of the Council;

The Senior Citizens Regulations, 5751-1991 concerning Government Ministries and State institutions on the Council have been published.

(2)at least five representatives of the Local Government Centre;

(3)at least five members who are representatives of the public and voluntary organisations;

(4)at least five representatives of the Pensioners' Organisation in Israel;

(5)persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, have experience and knowledge in the problems of senior citizens.

Chairperson of the Council§

(a)The Minister shall chair the Council;

(b)The Minister may determine that the Adviser shall act in his place as head of the Council, for a particular matter or on a permanent basis.

Functions of the Council§

The Council shall initiate and formulate actions and recommendations that will serve to improve the quality of life of senior citizens; without derogating from the generality of the foregoing, it may recommend to the Minister –

(1)relief – including by way of legislation – in taxes and property taxes;

(2)benefits in public services;

(2a)the subjects and rules according to which discounts shall be granted to senior citizens within the fields of discounts;

(2b)additional fields in which it is appropriate to grant discounts to senior citizens, in addition to those detailed in the definition of "fields of discounts" in section 1;

(3)on any matter that will ease the situation of senior citizens.

Meetings and Their Procedures§

The Council shall convene at least once every two months; it shall determine its working procedures to the extent that they have not been prescribed by Regulations.

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Chapter II-A: Adviser for Senior Citizens' Affairs in a Local Authority

Definitions§

7a.

In this Chapter –

"the local authority adviser" – one who has been appointed pursuant to section 7b(a) to be an adviser for senior citizens' affairs in a local authority;

"local authority" – a municipality or a local council.

Duty to Appoint a Local Authority Adviser§

7b.

(a)A local authority shall appoint, from among its employees, an employee whose grade is at least department head, to be the local authority adviser in that authority; the local authority adviser shall fulfil the said position in addition to any other position that he fills in the local authority.

(b)Where a local authority has appointed a local authority adviser, it shall notify the Minister thereof upon the adviser's appointment and shall transmit to him a copy of the letter of appointment; the appointment shall be presented before the council of the local authority.

(c)Where a local authority adviser has been appointed and has ceased to fulfil his position, notice thereof shall be given to the council of the local authority and to the Minister; the local authority shall act without delay to select a new local authority adviser, as provided in subsections (a) and (b).

Eligibility Requirements and Professional Training§

7c.

(a)A person shall be appointed as local authority adviser only if all of the following conditions are met:

(1)he holds a recognised academic degree from a recognised institution of higher education, as defined in the Council for Higher Education Law, 5718-1958, or holds an academic degree that is equivalent to an academic degree in Israel from an institution of higher education outside Israel that is a recognised institution in its country, or holds a certificate attesting to the completion of other studies recognised in Israel as equivalent for the purpose of an academic pay grade;

(2)he has proven experience of at least three years in a managerial position, or in engagement in fields relating to senior citizens' affairs.

(b)The local authority adviser shall receive, within a reasonable time and no later than the end of six months from the commencement of his tenure, professional training for the purposes of his position; the Ministry is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the professional training programme.

Function of the Local Authority Adviser§

7d.

(a)The local authority adviser shall advise the head of the local authority, the council of the authority and the employees of the authority, on every matter relating to senior citizens within the area of the local authority, including in these matters:

(1)the expansion and improvement of existing services for senior citizens;

(2)the formulation of the policy of the local authority for the purpose of promoting the affairs of senior citizens; advice pursuant to this paragraph shall be given in coordination with the head of the social services department of the local authority;

(3)the actions to be taken for the purpose of fostering public awareness of senior citizens' affairs through education, guidance and information.

(b)For the purpose of carrying out his function as provided in subsection (a), the local authority adviser shall take, among other things, the following actions:

(1)collection of information and data relating to senior citizens' affairs within the area of the local authority;

(2)identification of the needs of senior citizens within the area of the local authority, for the purpose of preparing programmes to promote their affairs;

(3)cooperation with individuals, bodies and organisations operating within the area of the local authority in senior citizens' affairs;

(4)examination of the implications of decisions of the local authority relating to the affairs of senior citizens in the authority, and the submission of opinions concerning the said implications.

(c)The function of the local authority adviser shall be the provision of advice only, and he shall not be entitled to give instructions to employees of the local authority in the framework of his function as aforesaid.

Subordination, Authority and Reporting§

7e.

(a)In the performance of his function as local authority adviser, the local authority adviser shall be directly subordinate to the head of the local authority.

(b)The local authority adviser shall report, annually, to the Ministry and to the council of the local authority in which he is employed, on his actions pursuant to the provisions of section 7d, on the policy of the local authority in senior citizens' affairs and on the advancement of these affairs in that authority; such a report shall be open for public inspection at the offices of the local authority and at the offices of the Ministry and shall be published on the websites of the local authority and of the Ministry.

Duty to Invite to Meetings§

7f.

The local authority adviser shall be invited to every meeting of the council of the local authority and of every committee of its committees, and he shall be given an opportunity to express his position orally or in writing before any decision is taken that relates to the affairs of senior citizens in the local authority.

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Chapter III: Entitlements

8.§

(Repealed — תשע״ד)

Property Tax Payments§

(a)A senior citizen is entitled to a discount on property tax payments applicable to the apartment that serves as his residence; if the area of the residential apartment exceeds 100 square metres, the discount shall be granted only in respect of 100 square metres.

(b)The discount pursuant to subsection (a) shall be granted to a senior citizen at a rate of 30%; and if he is paid a benefit pursuant to the Income Support Law, 5741-1980 (hereinafter – the Income Support Law), at a rate of 100%.

(c)The following provisions shall apply to a discount pursuant to this section:

(1)the discount shall be granted to the same senior citizen in respect of one residential apartment only;

(2)the discount shall be granted to only one senior citizen even if more than one eligible person resides in the apartment;

(3)the discount shall be granted also when only one of the spouses residing in the same residential apartment is a senior citizen;

(4)the discount shall be granted only to a senior citizen whose total income, from every source, does not exceed the average wage as most recently published prior to the submission of the application for the discount; where more than one senior citizen resides in the apartment, the discount shall be granted only if the total income of all those residing in that apartment, from every source, does not exceed 150% of the average wage;

(5)the discount shall be granted upon a written application signed by the applicant, containing the particulars and documents prescribed by the local authority for this purpose, submitted by the applicant to the local authority within whose area the residential apartment in which he resides is situated, or upon a notice from the applicant that the conditions set out in paragraph (4) are fulfilled in respect of him.

(d)

(1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c)(5), where a senior citizen has been granted a discount on property tax payments pursuant to this section, the discount shall continue to be granted to him in respect of the same apartment serving as his residence, automatically, without his being required to submit to the local authority within whose area the apartment is situated (in this subsection – the local authority) an application or notice pursuant to subsection (c)(5) (in this section – automatic discount renewal).

(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), with respect to a senior citizen who is granted a discount at a rate of 30% pursuant to subsection (b) and who has not yet reached the age of 70 in the calendar year in respect of which the property tax charge notice was issued, the following provisions shall apply:

(a)the automatic discount renewal shall continue until the end of the three calendar years following the year in which the property tax discount was granted to him, or until he reaches the age of 70, whichever is earlier (in this subsection – the automatic renewal period);

(b)for the purpose of continuing the automatic discount renewal after the end of the automatic renewal period, the senior citizen shall submit to the local authority a notice pursuant to subsection (c)(5), and if found entitled to the property tax discount – the automatic discount renewal shall continue for an additional period in accordance with the provisions of sub-paragraph (a).

(e)The following provisions shall apply to a senior citizen who has been granted automatic discount renewal pursuant to the provisions of subsection (d):

(1)where a condition of the conditions for granting the property tax discount has ceased to be fulfilled in respect of him, he shall report this to the local authority, in writing, within two months from the date on which the condition ceased to be fulfilled in respect of him; where the senior citizen has so reported, the local authority shall notify him, in writing, of the receipt of the report and whether it is sufficient to cancel the property tax discount;

(2)where it has come to the knowledge of the local authority, other than by way of a report as provided in paragraph (1), that a condition of the conditions for granting the property tax discount has ceased to be fulfilled in respect of a senior citizen, it shall notify him in writing that it intends to cancel the granting of the property tax discount, shall set out the reason for the cancellation of the discount and shall state that he is entitled to respond thereto in writing within two months from the date of receipt of the notice; where the response of the senior citizen has been received as aforesaid or where the time for submitting the response has elapsed and his response has not been received, the local authority shall notify him in writing whether the property tax discount granted to him will be cancelled.

(f)Notices of the local authority pursuant to this section shall be transmitted to the senior citizen also by text message, to the extent that the senior citizen has given his consent thereto and has provided the local authority with the mobile telephone number to which the notices are to be sent.

Public Transport§

10.

A senior citizen is entitled to a discount of 50% on travel fares on public transport, both urban and inter-urban, and it shall be granted on all types of tickets available on public transport.

Entrance Fees to Parks and Sites§

11.

A senior citizen is entitled to a discount of 50% on entrance fees to parks and sites.

Entrance Fees to Performances§

12.

A senior citizen is entitled to a discount of 50% on entrance fees to performances or types of performances, according to rules, criteria and conditions that the Minister shall prescribe in consultation with the Minister of Education, Culture and Sport, and with the approval of the Labour and Welfare Committee of the Knesset; the said Regulations shall prescribe the types of bodies or specific bodies obligated to grant the discount for performances as aforesaid, through which the financing pursuant to the provisions of section 14 shall be effected.

Purchase of Medicines§

13.

A senior citizen who is paid a benefit pursuant to the Income Support Law is entitled to a discount of 50% on the price prescribed pursuant to the National Health Insurance Law, 5754-1994, for medicines included in the health services basket, whether he purchased the medicine at a pharmacy of a health fund or whether he purchased it at another pharmacy pursuant to a medical prescription issued to him by a health fund and in accordance with its procedures.

Entitlement to Benefits for One Not Entitled to a Benefit pursuant to the Income Support Law§

13a.

(a)Benefits granted pursuant to any law, as well as benefits granted by a public body pursuant to an agreement or custom, to a senior citizen who is paid a benefit pursuant to the provisions of the Income Support Law (in this Law – a benefit pursuant to the Income Support Law), shall also be granted to the following:

(1)to a senior citizen who is single and whose income from a pension does not exceed 24.3% of the average wage, and who, but for that income, would be entitled to a benefit pursuant to the Income Support Law;

(2)to a senior citizen who has a spouse with him and whose total pension income and the pension income of his spouse does not exceed 38.3% of the average wage, and who, but for those incomes, would be entitled to a benefit pursuant to the Income Support Law.

(a1)Benefits as provided in subsection (a), all or some of them, as the Minister has prescribed, shall also be granted to a senior citizen who receives a senior citizen disability pension pursuant to section 251 of the National Insurance Law [Consolidated Version], 5755-1995, and who has met the criteria prescribed by the Minister with respect to entitlement to the said benefits; Regulations pursuant to this subsection shall be prescribed with the approval of the Minister of Finance, and with respect to the type of benefits to be granted – also with the approval of the Minister in whose Ministry's area of responsibility the benefit falls, all with the approval of the Labour, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset.

The Senior Citizens (Benefits for a Senior Citizen Who Receives an Old-Age Disability Pension) Regulations, 5772-2011 have been published.

(b)The provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to a senior citizen who began to be insured under a pension insurance for the first time from the date of entry into force of an extension order for comprehensive pension insurance in the economy pursuant to the Collective Agreements Law, 5717-1957, and thereafter.

(c)The National Insurance Institute shall examine the entitlement of a senior citizen to benefits pursuant to this section.

(d)In this section –

"spouse", "single", "the average wage" – as defined in the Income Support Law;

"public body" – the Government, the Jewish Agency for the Land of Israel, and also a supported body or a budgeted body as defined in section 32 of the Budget Foundations Law, 5745-1985.

Provision of a Public Service without Waiting in a Queue to a Senior Citizen Aged over 80§

13b.

(a)In this section –

"medical treatment" – as defined in the Patient Rights Law, 5756-1996;

"public place" – a place or part of a place that is available for use by the general public or by an indeterminate part thereof and that is listed in the Fourth Schedule;

"public authority" – as defined in section 15a(a);

"public service" – a service provided to the public or to an indeterminate part thereof by a public authority or at a public place, by way of a face-to-face encounter, excluding medical treatment.

(b)Where a public service is provided by queue, the public service provider shall provide the said service without waiting in a queue to a senior citizen aged over 80, upon his request, and the public service provider may require the senior citizen to present a document proving his age; for this purpose, "queue" – excluding a queue in which waiting is in a vehicle and excluding a queue that has been scheduled by prior arrangement.

(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), priority in the provision of a public service by queue shall be given to a person with a disability who is entitled to receive a public service without waiting in a queue in accordance with the provisions pursuant to the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, 5758-1998.

(d)The Minister, with the approval of the Labour, Welfare and Health Committee of the Knesset, may, by Order, amend the Fourth Schedule.

Entitlement for a Woman Who Has Reached the Age of 62§

13c.

Notwithstanding the definition of "senior citizen" in section 1, in the years 2022 to 2025, a woman resident in Israel who has reached, according to the registration in the Population Registry, the age of 62 shall also be regarded as a senior citizen for the purposes of sections 9, 10 and 13.

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LawWelfare & Social Security

חוק האזרחים הותיקים, התש"ן–1989

Senior Citizens Law

Hokim Ezrachim Utkim

Hutkim Law

elderly rights law

senior rights Israel

aged citizens law

pensioners law

welfare elderly Israel

old age benefits law

Senior Citizens Law, 5750-1989

Chapter I: Interpretation

Definitions§Cite ✦

Chapter II: Senior Citizen Card and the Council

Senior Citizen Card§Cite ✦

Adviser§Cite ✦

Appointment and Composition of the Council§Cite ✦

Chairperson of the Council§Cite ✦

Functions of the Council§Cite ✦

Meetings and Their Procedures§Cite ✦

Chapter II-A: Adviser for Senior Citizens' Affairs in a Local Authority

Definitions§Cite ✦

Duty to Appoint a Local Authority Adviser§Cite ✦

Eligibility Requirements and Professional Training§Cite ✦

Function of the Local Authority Adviser§Cite ✦

Subordination, Authority and Reporting§Cite ✦

Duty to Invite to Meetings§Cite ✦

Chapter III: Entitlements

Property Tax Payments§Cite ✦

Public Transport§Cite ✦

Entrance Fees to Parks and Sites§Cite ✦

Entrance Fees to Performances§Cite ✦

Purchase of Medicines§Cite ✦

Entitlement to Benefits for One Not Entitled to a Benefit pursuant to the Income Support Law§Cite ✦

Provision of a Public Service without Waiting in a Queue to a Senior Citizen Aged over 80§Cite ✦

Entitlement for a Woman Who Has Reached the Age of 62§Cite ✦

Definitions§

Senior Citizen Card§

Adviser§

Appointment and Composition of the Council§

Chairperson of the Council§

Functions of the Council§

Meetings and Their Procedures§

Definitions§

Duty to Appoint a Local Authority Adviser§

Eligibility Requirements and Professional Training§

Function of the Local Authority Adviser§

Subordination, Authority and Reporting§

Duty to Invite to Meetings§

Property Tax Payments§

Public Transport§

Entrance Fees to Parks and Sites§

Entrance Fees to Performances§

Purchase of Medicines§

Entitlement to Benefits for One Not Entitled to a Benefit pursuant to the Income Support Law§

Provision of a Public Service without Waiting in a Queue to a Senior Citizen Aged over 80§

Entitlement for a Woman Who Has Reached the Age of 62§