Judges and Senior Officials Top Pension Payouts in Israel

Israel's highest budgeted pension payout in September 2025 reached nearly 100,000 shekels per month, according to the Accountant General's financial reports. A retired judge received a gross monthly pension of 99,541 shekels, followed by a retired rabbinical judge with 97,140 shekels and another judge with 88,707 shekels. Six of the top ten highest pension recipients among judges and rabbinical judges are receiving over 80,000 shekels monthly. These figures represent gross budgeted pension payments, not salaries, and include survivor benefits, with full pensions shown before any lump-sum withdrawals. They also exclude annual payments like vacation allowances.

The disparity between legal system retirees and most civil servants is significant. Judges and rabbinical judges had an average monthly pension of 45,654 shekels in September, compared to 7,865 shekels for retired teachers, 8,206 shekels for healthcare workers, and 7,220 shekels for other state service retirees. For those who retired in 2025, the average pension, excluding survivor and disability benefits, was even higher at 51,982 shekels.

One reason for this difference lies in benefit accrual rules. Most civil servants and teachers accrue pension rights at 2% of their qualifying salary per year of service, up to a 70% cap. Judicial officials, however, can accrue up to 7% per year in their early years, also capped at 70% of their qualifying salary.

Retirees from the defense establishment also receive substantial pensions, with the highest in September at 81,386 shekels and the second highest at 79,448 shekels. The top ten defense retirees all received over 73,000 shekels. The state paid approximately 995 million shekels to defense retirees included in the report for September alone, excluding bridging pensions.

High pensions were also noted in the police and prison service. A retired police commissioner-general received 78,465 shekels, followed by a retired deputy commissioner with 78,087 shekels and another commissioner-general with 75,983 shekels. The average pension for police and prison service retirees was 13,181 shekels, with total monthly payments around 352 million shekels.

Among elected officials, the highest pension recipient received 69,659 shekels, with others receiving 67,972 and 67,127 shekels. The Ministry of Finance noted that these figures represent cumulative pensions for those who held multiple positions or were eligible for multiple benefits. The average pension for this group was 19,509 shekels.

The total actuarial liability for budgeted pensions is estimated at approximately 758 billion shekels, comprising about 511 billion for current pensioners and 247 billion for active employees. This calculation excludes certain benefits like IDF bridging pensions. The annual budgetary burden is projected to increase from an estimated 32.1 billion shekels in 2026 to a peak of 40.7 billion shekels in 2038, though as a percentage of GDP, 2026 is expected to be the peak year.