THE VACCINE FOR YOUR PENSION

During the corona crisis in which every shekel is important, you may be entitled to a pension repayment that may increase your monthly allowance. We chose to interview financial gerontologist Libat Kempler, who will enlighten our eyes in the bureaucratic tangle inancial gerontologist and experienced tax adviser Libat Kempler has important tips for you. "2020 was a year in which many salaried workers and retirees unnecessarily paid too much tax, so I recommend you check out an option for a tax refund without filing income tax. Reimbursement can result from receiving unemployment benefits, furlough pay, pregnancy and childbirth, for children with attention and concentration problems who have undergone a placement committee, for divorcees who pay alimony, for savings in banks and investment houses, mortgage insurance payments, donations, refunds from insurance companies and more!!! You have the right to receive refunds from the Tax Authority and the National Insurance Institute (yes, there are reimbursements from the National Insurance Institute as well). If you do not ask, you're actually leaving the money in the Finance Ministry, which the state itself will enjoy and not you". In Israel, many people who reach retirement age have not accumulated a large pension. There are those who when they reach retirement age find that the monthly allowance will not be enough for them and choose to continue working, if that remains a possibility. And some also do it simply because they love their job and do not want to just sit around. But then they are afraid to withdraw the pension money at the same time that they’re receiving the monthly salary so as not to pay high taxes.

Since Amendment 190 came into force this is no longer true, but most retirees are still concerned about this. The prevailing opinion that as long as I have not left my job I am not supposed to receive a pension and probably should not because of taxation - is a myth that must be shattered. *U JT QPTTJCMF UP SFDFJWF B QFOTJPO BOE XPSL BU UIF TBNF UJNF XJUIPVU QBZJOH IJHI UBYFT

Today, the prevailing view is that a pension is a tax-exempt income, but this is not the case.

A pension is a taxable income, and exemptions can be applied to it.

The exemptions apply to a woman from the age of 62 and to a man from the age of 67.

Until 2012, the exemption was 35% of the qualifying pension ceiling, and the big change is that the exemption from 2012 has increased incrementally and will reach a 67% exemption in 2025!

As for the preference to continue earning a living only from a salary and leaving the pension money so that it continues to accrue interest this is often an economic error, since the interest

After many years of experience, it is important for me to let you know that most of you are also meant to receive money from savings plans, bank deposits or savings policies with insurance companies. If you don’t check, you won’t receive them.

that the pension money will accumulate will not equal the money lost if the employee chooses not to start receiving the pension.

An exciting example from the last few days is my client, a 74-year-old pensioner who has been receiving a pension for several years and also continues to work as a salaried employee. After my office staff and I treated him for the pension exemption, we were able to get him NIS 77,200 in income tax back.

And a salaried worker from a medical institution, 66, who was afraid to start receiving a long-term pension even though she had exercised all her rights there. After treatment I was able to get her an exemption from a grant she paid tax on, and she received NIS 27,000 back from income tax and also started receiving a monthly tax-exempt pension of NIS 4,860 per month in addition to the regular salary she continued to receive and thus suddenly her monthly net increased by NIS 4,860 per month !! “

In conclusion, it pays to check, you can of course also seek the help of experts who will help you locate lost money and exercise your rights, and the earlier the better.