Top Israeli Retirees Earn Up to $27,000 Monthly Pension

The highest monthly pension in Israel, as of September 2025, belongs to a retired judge receiving 99,541 shekels (approximately $27,000 USD), according to data from the Israeli Ministry of Finance's Accountant General published by Calcalist.

Following closely are a religious judge with a pension of 97,140 shekels and another judge earning 88,707 shekels. The data reveals that six of the top ten highest pension recipients exceed 80,000 shekels monthly. In contrast, the average pension for judges and religious judges is 45,654 shekels, with a median of 46,678 shekels.

These judicial pensions starkly contrast with those in other government sectors. The average monthly pension for retirees in education is 7,865 shekels, in health is 8,206 shekels, and for general civil service is 7,220 shekels. For judges and religious judges retiring in 2025, the average monthly pension, excluding survivor and disability benefits, is around 51,982 shekels.

The disparity is partly attributed to different pension calculation methods. Most civil servants accrue pension rights at 2% of their final salary per year of service, capped at 70%, while judicial officials have distinct calculation terms, also capped at 70% of their salary.

High pensions are also prevalent in security agencies, with the top retiree receiving 81,386 shekels and the second highest 79,448 shekels in September 2025. The top ten security retirees each received over 73,000 shekels monthly. The state paid approximately 995 million shekels to security retirees in September alone, excluding certain military and other security personnel.

Within the police and prison service, the highest pension was 78,465 shekels for a former Commissioner General, followed by 78,087 shekels for a former Deputy Commissioner General. The average pension for police and prison service retirees was 13,181 shekels, costing the state about 352 million shekels that month.

Elected officials also receive substantial pensions, with the highest at 69,659 shekels monthly, followed by two at 67,972 and 67,127 shekels. The average pension for this group was 19,509 shekels.

Other sectors show lower top pensions: 36,980 shekels for a retired State Comptroller, 33,308 shekels for general civil servants, 24,233 shekels in health, and 20,792 shekels in education.

The Ministry of Finance estimates the state's total actuarial liability for the budget-funded pension system at approximately 758 billion shekels. This includes 511 billion for current retirees and 247 billion for active employees. Pension payments are projected to rise to 32.1 billion shekels in 2026, peaking at 40.7 billion in 2038, though this will represent a decreasing percentage of GDP.