Long-term care benefit (gimlat siud) from the National Insurance Institute: levels, hours and amounts
Long-term care benefit levels 1 to 6: weekly hours, cash amounts, eligibility, how the level is set, and the rules in sheltered housing, nursing homes and hospital.
The long-term care benefit (גמלת סיעוד) is a benefit from the National Insurance Institute for people who have reached retirement age and need a lot of help with daily activities. It is given as care hours, as services or as money, at levels 1 to 6. The amounts in the second table apply from 01.08.2026. We do not check personal eligibility. The information here is not legal or financial advice.
Level 1 · 2.5 to 3 dependency points
Care hours per week: 5.5
Care hours per week for someone who employs a foreign worker: National Insurance gives no figure for this level
Someone who received the benefit at level 1 before 01.11.2018 continues to receive 9 hours and 45 minutes per week.
You can receive the whole benefit in cash, even without employing a caregiver: up to ILS 1,708 a month
One weekly hour replaced with cash is worth ILS 311 a month.
The National Insurance page on Holocaust survivors does not detail a supplement at this level (2.5 to 3 points). The supplement is detailed for people who scored 5 points or more and for people who scored 1.5 or 2 points. Details on the National Insurance page.
Level 2 · 3.5 to 4.5 dependency points
Care hours per week: 10
Care hours per week for someone who employs a foreign worker: National Insurance gives no figure for this level
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time Israeli caregiver: ILS 2,484 a month
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time foreign worker: ILS 2,484 a month
One weekly hour replaced with cash is worth ILS 248 a month.
The National Insurance page on Holocaust survivors does not detail a supplement at this level (3.5 to 4.5 points). The supplement is detailed for people who scored 5 points or more and for people who scored 1.5 or 2 points. Details on the National Insurance page.
Level 3 · 5 to 6 dependency points
Care hours per week: 17
Care hours per week for someone who employs a foreign worker: 14
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time Israeli caregiver: ILS 4,223 a month
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time foreign worker: ILS 3,478 a month
One weekly hour replaced with cash is worth ILS 248 a month.
A recognised Holocaust survivor who has scored 6 points, receives a full benefit and has been assigned personal care hours at home: 9 additional hours of care per week. Someone who has scored 5 or 5.5 points and receives a full benefit: a fixed monthly payment into the bank account. Other situations are detailed on the National Insurance page.
Level 4 · 6.5 to 7.5 dependency points
Care hours per week: 21
Care hours per week for someone who employs a foreign worker: 18
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time Israeli caregiver: ILS 5,217 a month
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time foreign worker: ILS 4,471 a month
One weekly hour replaced with cash is worth ILS 248 a month.
A recognised Holocaust survivor who receives a full benefit and has been assigned personal care hours at home: 9 additional hours of care per week. If other services were assigned instead of personal care hours at home: a fixed monthly payment into the bank account. Other situations are detailed on the National Insurance page.
Level 5 · 8 to 9 dependency points
Care hours per week: 26
Care hours per week for someone who employs a foreign worker: 22
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time Israeli caregiver: ILS 6,458 a month
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time foreign worker: ILS 5,465 a month
One weekly hour replaced with cash is worth ILS 248 a month.
A recognised Holocaust survivor who receives a full benefit and has been assigned personal care hours at home: 9 additional hours of care per week. If other services were assigned instead of personal care hours at home: a fixed monthly payment into the bank account. Other situations are detailed on the National Insurance page.
Level 6 · 9.5 to 10.5 dependency points
Care hours per week: 30
Care hours per week for someone who employs a foreign worker: 26
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time Israeli caregiver: ILS 7,452 a month
Maximum cash benefit, for employing a full-time foreign worker: ILS 6,458 a month
One weekly hour replaced with cash is worth ILS 248 a month.
A recognised Holocaust survivor who receives a full benefit and has been assigned personal care hours at home: 9 additional hours of care per week. If other services were assigned instead of personal care hours at home: a fixed monthly payment into the bank account. Other situations are detailed on the National Insurance page.
The numbers are from the National Insurance pages. The cash amounts are per month, from 01.08.2026, for a full benefit; someone who receives a reduced benefit because of income receives half. At levels 2 to 6 you receive the maximum cash benefit if you employ a full-time caregiver, under the conditions below. This is not an eligibility check.
| Level | Care hours per week | Hours for someone who employs a foreign worker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5.5 | not stated on the level page |
| 2 | 10 | not stated on the level page |
| 3 | 17 | 14 |
| 4 | 21 | 18 |
| 5 | 26 | 22 |
| 6 | 30 | 26 |
The maximum cash benefit:
| Level | For employing a foreign caregiver | For employing an Israeli caregiver |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ILS 1,708 | ILS 1,708 |
| 2 | ILS 2,484 | ILS 2,484 |
| 3 | ILS 3,478 | ILS 4,223 |
| 4 | ILS 4,471 | ILS 5,217 |
| 5 | ILS 5,465 | ILS 6,458 |
| 6 | ILS 6,458 | ILS 7,452 |
The cash amounts are per month, and they are for a full benefit. Someone who receives a reduced benefit because of income receives half. Someone who received the benefit at level 1 before 01.11.2018 continues to receive 9 hours and 45 minutes of care per week.
At level 1 you can receive the whole benefit in cash even without employing a caregiver. At levels 2 to 6 you receive all of it in cash if you employ a full-time caregiver, meaning at least 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, not a family member, paid, and under a written contract. For a foreign worker you also need a permit and an assignment approval from the Population and Immigration Authority. In exceptional cases, when personal care at home cannot be provided because of the elderly person's distress, you can ask for a full cash benefit through the *2637 line.
If you do not employ a full-time caregiver, you can replace up to 4 weekly hours with cash, or a third of the hours with the approval of a National Insurance social worker. Each weekly hour replaced with cash is worth ILS 248 a month, and at level 1 it is worth ILS 311.
We do not check personal eligibility. For a personal check there is a National Insurance calculator and the *2637 line.
Who is eligible
You must meet all five conditions:
- A resident of Israel who has reached retirement age. Someone who received residency only after retirement age: only if they immigrated under the Law of Return or received an absorption basket.
- Income up to the ceiling in the table.
- Needs a lot of help with daily activities at home, or close supervision because of an immediate danger to life or a danger of harming themselves or others.
- Lives in a place that qualifies for the benefit (see below).
- Does not receive another long-term care benefit from a government body at the same time. Someone who receives one can choose between them.
Gross monthly income ceiling, from 01.04.2026:
| Full benefit | Benefit reduced by 50% | Not eligible | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single person | up to ILS 13,769 | up to ILS 20,654 | above ILS 20,654 |
| Couple | up to ILS 20,654 | up to ILS 30,980 | above ILS 30,980 |
If both spouses need long-term care, their incomes are added together and divided by 2, and each is tested as a single person. What counts as income is detailed by the National Insurance Institute.
How the level is set
An assessor on behalf of the National Insurance Institute tests the person's ability to function and sets a score according to the degree of dependence on the help of others. The score is called "dependency points", and it sets the level:
- Level 1: 2.5 to 3 points
- Level 2: 3.5 to 4.5
- Level 3: 5 to 6
- Level 4: 6.5 to 7.5
- Level 5: 8 to 9
- Level 6: 9.5 to 10.5
Someone who is 90 or older can choose to be examined by a specialist physician in geriatrics, in a hospital or a public clinic, free of charge. Someone who is 90 or older and has scored 6 points receives level 4 instead of level 3.
What happens when moving to an institution
The condition depends on the type of place, according to the eligibility conditions page:
- Eligible: at home, in sheltered housing, and in a ward for the independent or the frail that is supervised and licensed by the Ministry of Welfare.
- Not eligible: in nursing, complex-nursing, mentally frail and prolonged-ventilation wards, and in rehabilitation settings, all supervised by the Ministry of Health. Someone whose maintenance costs are mostly funded by a public body, such as a government ministry or a local authority, is also not eligible.
Someone who receives the benefit and moves to a nursing home fills in the form "Confirmation of residence in an institution" (טופס אישור על מגורים במוסד) and sends it to the branch, and the branch checks whether the eligibility continues. The difference between the types is explained in the guide on sheltered housing and nursing homes (in Hebrew).
Hospital. According to the National Insurance Institute, someone who receives the benefit and is hospitalised in a general hospital continues to receive it only for the first 30 days. On discharge the previous eligibility is renewed, regardless of the length of the hospitalisation, after the insured person fills in a declaration that National Insurance sends. The same applies to someone who stayed in a nursing institution and returned home. The source: a National Insurance circular of 20.12.2012, according to a Kol Zchut summary of 02.03.2025.
Holocaust survivors
According to the National Insurance Institute, a recognised Holocaust survivor who has scored 6 points or more, receives a full benefit and has been assigned personal care hours at home receives 9 additional hours a week. The supplement comes from the Authority for the Rights of Holocaust Survivors or from the Claims Conference. Other situations are detailed on the same page.
Sources
All pages were read on 03.11.2026.
- National Insurance Institute, levels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- National Insurance Institute: cash benefit
- National Insurance Institute: eligibility conditions
- National Insurance Institute: income
- National Insurance Institute: functional test
- National Insurance Institute: Holocaust survivors
- National Insurance Institute, general circular 1402/2012 of 20.12.2012, renewal of eligibility after hospitalisation: PDF
- Kol Zchut, secondary summary, updated 02.03.2025: renewal of eligibility after discharge