National Insurance Institutes Branches to Close for Holidays, Benefit Payments Advanced
The National Insurance Institute (Bituah Leumi) has announced significant changes to its branch operations and public reception hours in observance of the upcoming Jewish holidays. Branches will be closed on several dates throughout September and early October. Specifically, branches will be closed from Thursday, September 17, 2026, to Monday, September 21, 2026, with public reception resuming on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Following this, branches will again be closed for Sukkot and its intermediate days (Chol Hamoed) from September 25, 2026, through October 4, 2026, reopening on October 5, 2026. During these closure periods, neither in-person nor telephone appointments will be available.
Telephone service centers will also operate with reduced hours, available only on September 17, 2026, and October 4, 2026. The Institute emphasized that scheduled medical committee hearings will proceed as planned, even if they fall on days when branches are closed to the public. The Institute will fully resume public service on October 5, 2026.
In addition to the branch closures, the National Insurance Institute is advancing the payment of several long-term benefit types for September. These payments, originally scheduled for September 28, 2026, will be deposited on September 22, 2026, six days earlier, to accommodate the Sukkot holiday. This advance payment applies to a wide range of benefits, including old-age pensions, survivors' benefits, disability benefits, disabled child benefits, special services for the severely disabled, mobility benefits, work injury benefits, alimony, rehabilitation, and prisoners of Zion benefits.
Furthermore, unemployment and income support benefits, initially set for September 14, 2026, were advanced to September 8, 2026, for Rosh Hashanah. Child benefits will be paid on the regular schedule, September 20, 2026. These child benefits are provided to families in Israel with children under 18, regardless of income, and are typically processed automatically.
