Were you in IDF reserves in the last year and did your workplace salary increase? You might be entitled to additional financial compensation according to that new salary.
Israel's National Insurance Institute announced on its website on Tuesday that it will now pay out an addition to IDF reserve duty compensation for the reservists who are either salaried or self-employed if their wages had increased.
This will also be paid out retroactively for periods of IDF reserve duty since January 1, 2022.
Are you entitled to financial compensation?
The National Insurance Insititute's website includes details about whether one is eligible for this additional payment, as well as how much you'd receive and how to submit an application for it.
A salaried employee will get this additional payment directly into their bank account should they meet all of the following conditions.
- You are a salaried employee with a monthly salary and your employer was also compensated. A salaried employee who receives either a daily or hourly wage doesn't qualify.
- Your salary rose by at least 20% for at least three consecutive months, including while you were serving in reserves and in the two months prior.
For self-employed workers serving in the IDF reserves, they will automatically be qualified to receive the additional payment if they meet one of the following conditions:
- You started your IDF reserve service during January, February or March and your income that year is at least 20% greater than in the year before. For example, you went to reserve duty in February 2022 and your 2022 income was 20% higher than in 2021. Note that this means you will not meet this criterion if your reserve duty was between April and December.
- You started reserve duty in the first three months of your self-employment and your monthly income is at least 20% higher than NIS 215.17, the minimum amount of compensation, starting on January 1, 2023.
The amount by which the financial compensation will increase according to your higher salary will be calculated like this:
- Total income during the month of reserve duty multiplied by three and divided by 90 is daily salary.
- Daily salary multiplied by the number of days served as an IDF reservist to calculate the compensation is the new compensation.
- The difference between the reservist compensation received by one's employer or independently and the new compensation is the amount of the new additional payment.
In other words, your additional payment is the difference between the new compensation sum and what was paid to your employer.