(No. 43)
	ISRAEL DEFENCE FORCES (PERMANENT SERVICE) (BENEFITS) (CONSOLIDATED VERSION), 5745-1985*
	Chapter One: Introduction
Definitions.	1. In this Law -- "benefit" means a pension or a grant; "medical board" means a board competent to determine the medical fitness of persons received into or serving in permanent service, as well as of persons entitled to a retirement pension; "Invalids Law" means the Invalids (Pensions and Rehabilitation) Law (Consolidated Version), 5719-1959(1)); "soldier" means a soldier serving under an engagement for permanent service; "Soldiers' Families Law" means the Fallen Soldiers' Families (Pensions and Rehabilitation) Law, 5710-1950(2)); "Defence Service Law" means the Defence Service Law (Consolidated Version), 5719-1959(3)); "officer-in-charge" means a person appointed to be in charge of the payment of benefits under section 43; "grant" means a one-time payment; "discharge grant" means a grant payable in consequence of discharge from permanent service; "invalid" means a soldier whose fitness for service is impaired otherwise than temporarily and who, as a result of the impairment, is not capable of service of which a person of his age and sex is normally capable, but does not include an invalid within the meaning of the Invalids Law; "Army Orders" has the same meaning as in the Military Justice Law, 5715-1955(4)); "retirement from service" includes retirement-on-pension, death and dismissal; "pension" means an amount payable every month - (1) to a soldier who has retired from his service (in this case, the amount is hereinafter referred to as a "retirement pension"); (2) to the survivors of a soldier or of a person entitled to a retirement pension (in this case, the amount is hereinafter referred to as a "survivor's pension"); "C.G.S." means the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defence Forces; "service" means permanent service and any other service conferring a right under this Law; "compulsory service" means military service otherwise than under an engagement for permanent service, but does not include reserve service under Chapter Four of the Defence Service Law; "permanent service" means military service under an engagement for permanent service.
Continuous service.	2. Every reference in this Law to a period of service shall be taken to be a reference to a continuous period of service.
Periods which do not break continuity.	3. Continuity of service is not regarded as broken by absence of the soldier from his service owing to - (1) leave or rest granted in accordance with the rules of the service; or (2) a break in the service over which the soldier has no control; or (3) any other break designated by regulations as not breaking continuity of service.
Provisions as to non-renewal of engagement.	4. A soldier to whom the following applies: (1) the period of service specified in his engagement for permanent service has expired and his engagement has not been renewed for any period; (2) he has, at the time and in the manner prescribed by Army Orders, offered to renew his engagement and the authority empowered by the C.G.S. in Army Orders has notified him that it is not prepared to renew the engagement or has not replied to his offer within the period prescribed by Army Orders, shall be deemed to have been dismissed at the expiration of the period of service specified in the engagement. However, if the soldier has offered to renew his engagement for permanent service for a specific period and the said authority has notified him of its readiness to renew it for a different period and the engagement has not been renewed for this reason, the soldier shall not be deemed to have been dismissed.
	Chapter Two: Benefits and Rate Thereof
	Article One: Calculation of Determining Salary and Period of Service
Definitions.	5. In this chapter -- "non-self-supporting person" means a person who has not attained the age of twenty-one years or a person who has attained the age of twenty-one years but has not an income sufficient for his livelihood and is incapable of maintaining himself; "the annual salary", in relation to a soldier who has retired from his service, means the determining salary of the soldier on the date of his retirement, multiplied by twelve; "the determining day" means the first day of a financial year or the first day of the fourth, seventh or tenth month of a financial year; "the determining salary", in relation to a particular person at a particular time, means the salary, including regular allowances, due on the determining day immediately preceding that time to a soldier of the same rank as that person had immediately before his retirement from the service; however, if that person, immediately before his retirement from the service, held an appointment to a post to which a higher rank than his rank is attached, his determining salary shall be calculated in accordance with the rank attached to that post and not according to his rank; "regular allowance" means an allowance payable in addition to the basic salary of a soldier and recognized by the Government as a regular allowance for the purposes of this Law or for the purposes of a particular provision of or under this Law.
Rules for calculating determining salary.	6. 6. The following rules shall apply to the calculation of the determining salary of a person at a particular time: (1) where the determining salary includes a family allowance, the allowance shall be calculated in accordance with the composition of the family of that person at that time; (2) if at that time the salary scale is different from the scale which existed at the time of the person's retirement from permanent service, the determining salary shall be calculated in accordance with the scale binding at the time of the calculation, with such adjustments as the Government may prescribe.
Calculation of period of service.	7. The following rules shall apply in calculating the period of service for the purposes of this Law: (1) a period not amounting to a whole month but exceeding fifteen days shall be reckoned as a whole month, and a period not exceeding fifteen days shall be disregarded; (2) in a period not amounting to a whole year, each whole month, within the meaning of paragraph (1), shall be reckoned as the twelfth part of the year. (3) only a period of service for which a salary is due to the soldier shall be taken into account; (4) where the continuous period of service of a soldier in permanent service was interrupted, then, upon the directions of the C.G.S. or a person empowered by him in that behalf, the period of service preceding the interruption may be taken into account in accordance with rules prescribed by regulations.
Provision as to compulsory service.	8. Notwithstanding anything provided in this Law, the period of compulsory service shall, for the purposes of this Law, be included in calculating the period of service of a soldier who has served in permanent service for at least ten years or has been retired on pension by virtue of section 13.
Period without salary to be taken into account.	9. (a) A period of absence not interrupting continuity of service shall, notwithstanding the provision of section 7(3), be included in calculating the period of service even if a salary was not due to the soldier in respect thereof, as long as payments to the Treasury calculated according to rules prescribed by regulations have been made, by him or on his behalf, for the purpose of acquiring a right to a benefit. (b) Notwithstanding anything provided in subsection (a), where in a period of absence referred to in subsection (a) a soldier was employed in the State Service, the period of such employment shall be included in calculating the period of service if he proves to the satisfaction of the officer-in-charge that he has not received severance pay or any other retirement grants and that he is not and will not be entitled to any benefit whatsoever in respect of the period of his said employment other than the benefit he will receive under the provisions of this Law.
	Article Two: Retirement Benefits
Right to retirement pension.	10. (a) The following are entitled to a retirement pension: (1) a person who has retired on pension under section 12 or 13; (2) a person who has been dismissed from permanent service by reason of invalidity, within the meaning of the Invalids Law, contracted in that service, if the degree of such invalidity is thirty-five per cent or over; (3) a person who was dismissed from permanent service after the expiry of five years of permanent service by reason of invalidity, whether within the meaning of this Law or within the meaning of the Invalids Law, and who, immediately before his dismissal, was found unfit for service by a medical board established under section 40 of the Defence Service Law; (4) a person who was dismissed from permanent service at the age of forty years or over after completing ten years of permanent service. (b) Where a person has been dismissed from permanent service for committing an offence involving moral turpitude and of which he has been convicted by a judgment which is no longer appealable, and at the time of committing it he was not entitled to retire on pension under section 12, then, without prejudice to the provisions of section 19, the C.G.S. may, by a reasoned decision and with the approval of the Minister of Defence, direct that such person shall not be entitled to the whole or part of a benefit.
Medical examination.	11. An examination by the medical board referred to in section 10 shall be carried out in accordance with the tests prescribed under section 4(b) of the Defence Service Law, and section 6 to the Defence Service Law shall apply mutatis mutandis to such an examination.
Retirement on pension upon a soldier's decision.	12. A soldier may retire on pension - (1) after twenty-five years of permanent service; (2) after twenty-five years of service, including not less than ten years of permanent service, if he has attained the age of fifty-five years; (3) after ten years of permanent service if he has attained the age of sixty years.
Retirement on pension upon C.G.S.'s decision.	13. Where a soldier has served in permanent service for at least eight years and has attained the age of forty years, the C.G.S. may direct that he retire on pension.
Rate of retirement pension.	14. (a) A person entitled to a retirement pension shall be paid for life a pension of an amount equal to the six-hundredth part of his determining salary multiplied by the number of his months of service: Provided that the amount of the pension shall not exceed seventy per cent and not be less than twenty per cent of such salary. (b) Where immediately before the retirement of any person a medical board has found that he is an invalid of a degree of fifty per cent or over, or where a person has been dismissed from permanent service by reason of invalidity of a lower degree, his pension shall not be less than twenty per cent of his determining salary, plus three promils in respect of each per cent of invalidity. (c) Where a person was received into permanent service while being an invalid, whether within the meaning of this Law or within the meaning of the Invalids Law, his degree of invalidity shall, for the purposes of this section, be the difference between his degree of invalidity at the time of his reception into permanent service and his degree of invalidity at the time of his retirement. (d) Where a person is entitled to a retirement pension upon dismissal by reason of invalidity, within the meaning of the Invalids Law, contracted in permanent service, and his degree of invaidity is thirty-five per cent or more, he may opt for one of the following: (1) a pension under subsection (a); (2) a pension equal to twenty-five per cent of his determining salary: Provided that if the degree of invalidity of a person entitled as aforesaid is sixty per cent or over, his pension and the pension due to him under the Invalids Law shall not in the aggregate be less than fifty per cent of his determining salary.
Grant in addition to pension.	15. A soldier dismissed from the service who is entitled to a retirement pension under paragraphs (2), (3) or (4) of section 10(a), and a soldier whose retirement on pension has been directed by the C.G.S. under section 13, shall, in addition to the pension, be paid a grant equal to the twenty-fourth part of his annual salary multiplied by the number of his years of service: Provided that the grant shall not exceed the amount of his annual salary.
Defence service.	16. (a) Where a person who has retired from permanent service is entitled to a retirement pension, and the calculation of his period of service includes a period of defence service, he shall, in respect of the period of his defence service, be paid a pension of an amount equal to the amount which would be paid to him if it were a period of permanent service. (b) In this section, "defence service" means such service performed before the establishment of the Israel Defence Forces as has been defined by regulations as defence service and recognised under the regulations by an authority designated for that purpose.
Increased pension.	17. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 14(a), where the calculation of a person's period of service includes a period of compulsory service as referred to in section 8, he shall be paid a pension in accordance with all his years of service even if it exceeds seventy per cent of the amount of his determining salary: Provided that it shall not exceed that percentage by an amount equal to the six-hundredth part of his determining salary multiplied by the number of the months of the said compulsory service.
Increase of period of service under certain conditions.	18. (a) Where a soldier serves in any function designated by the Government as a special function within the meaning of this Law, the period of his service in that certain function shall be reckoned as longer, by as much as the Government shall prescribe, than it actually was. (b) The C.G.S. may, on conditions prescribed by the Government, direct that, for the purpose of determining any right of a particular soldier under this Law, the whole or part of the period during which he served in permanent service while over forty years of age shall be reckoned as longer, by as much as the Government shall prescribe, than it actually was.
Person expelled from the Defence Forces.	19. A person sentenced by a military court to expulsion from the Defence Forces shall not be entitled to a benefit.
Person entitled to a retirement pension who returns to the service.	20. (a) A person entitled to a retirement pension who returns to permanent service may, within twelve months from the date of his return to the service but not after retiring from the new service, notify in writing that instead of his right to a pension for his earlier service he opts for the addition of his earlier service to the period of his new service. (b) Where a soldier notifies as specified in subsection (a), the following provisions shall apply: (1) his right to a pension for his earlier service shall terminate on the date of his return to the service, and he shall refund to the Treasury, in instalments prescribed by regulations, the amount of pension received by him for a period in which he has performed any of the new service; (2) the period of his earlier service shall be added to the period of his new service; (3) if the soldier received a grant under section 15 in respect of his retirement from the earlier service, and he retires from the new service under circumstances which likewise entitle him to a grant (hereinafter referred to as "the second grant"), the period of the earlier service shall not be taken into account in calculating the amount of the second grant, and the second grant and the grant which he received upon retiring from the earlier service shall not in the aggregate exceed the annual salary; (4) if the person entitled capitalized part of the pension for his earlier service, then, in calculating the pension due after his retirement from the new service, the period of his earlier service shall be deemed reduced in the proportion in which the said pension was capitalized; (5) for the purpose of calculating the pension due after retirement from the new service, the determining salary shall be calculated according to the rank of the soldier at the time of the earlier or the later retirement, whichever is the higher rank; where the determining salary according to which the soldier's pension was calculated at the time of his first retirement was higher than the determining salary at the time of his retirement from the new service, the pension shall be calculated according to the higher determining salary. (c) This section shall apply also to a person entitled to a pension by reason of retirement from any other service on behalf of the State and who has been received into permanent service, as if the other service had been service under this Law and as if the grant or pension received by him in respect of the other service were a grant or pension, as the case may be, under this Law.
	Article Three: Benefits to Survivors
Survivors.	21. The following are the survivors of a deceased person for the purposes of this Law - (1) the person who was his wife or her husband at the time of his or her death, including a person who was commonly reputed to be his wife or her husband and was living with him or her at that time (hereinafter referred to as a "spouse"); (2) his or her child, stepchild or adopted child, who is not self-supporting and a grandchild wholly who is not self supporting and is dependent on him or her (hereinafter referred to as "orphans"); (3) any other relative whose dependence on the deceased was the reason for an increase of the last salary or pension of the deceased before his or her death or, if at the death of the deceased the composition of the family did not affect the amount of the salary or pension, a relative whose dependence on the deceased has been recognized in accordance with rules prescribed by regulations (hereinafter referred to as a "dependant").
Pension to survivors of deceased soldier.	22. Where a soldier dies during permanent service in which he or she has served for at least five years, the survivors shall, throughout the period specified in this section, be paid a pension in percentages of his or her determining salary, as follows: (1) the spouse, as long as he or she has not remarried - forty per cent; (2) the orphans, as long as they are not self-supporting and there is a spouse entitled to a pension - ten per cent for each orphan, and another five per cent for all the orphans together or, if there is only one orphan, for that orphan; (3) the orphans, as long as they are not self-supporting and there is not a spouse entitled to a pension, fifteen per cent for each orphan and another fifteen per cent for all the orphans together or, if there is only one orphan, for that orphan; (4) the dependants, as long as they are not self-supporting, ten per cent for each or, if the deceased has not left a spouse, or an orphan, entitled to a pension, fifteen per cent for each.
Pension to survivors entitled to other pensions.	23. (a) Where a soldier dies during permanent service and his survivors, by reason of his death, are entitled to a pension under the Fallen Soldiers' Families Law (in this section referred to as "the other pension"), his survivors shall be entitled to a pension as specified hereunder: (1) a spouse, as long as she or he has not remarried, and orphans as long as they are not self-supporting, shall be entitled to a pension under section 22 even if the soldier has served in permanent service for less than five years; (2) as long as the spouse or the orphans is or are entitled to the other pension, there shall be deducted from the pension one half thereof or one half of the other pension, or, where the right to the other pension has been converted under section 30 of the Soldiers' Families Law, one half of the pension or one half of the other pension to which they would be entitled if the right had not been converted as aforesaid, whichever is the smaller amount; (3) where the aggregate amount of the pensions due to the spouse and the orphans, plus the other pensions due to them, exceeds the determining salary of the deceased soldier, the excess amount shall be deducted from their pension; (4) for the purposes of paragraph (3), there shall not be included in calculating the other pension the addition under section 14(1) of the Soldiers' Families Law and, in the case of a person entitled to another pension under section 9(b) of that Law, there shall not be included the difference between that other pension and the other pension under section 9(a) of that Law; (5) dependants, as long as they are not self-supporting, shall each be entitled to a pension equal to ten per cent of the soldier's determining salary. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), if a spouse entitled to a pension under this section remarries, there shall be deducted from the pension of each orphan, as long as he is not self-supporting, one third of such pension or one half of the other pension, whichever is the smaller amount. (c) A pension to a survivor under subsection (a) shall be paid as long as he has not ceased to be entitled to the other pension. Where a survivor has converted his right to the other pension under section 30 of the Fallen Soldiers' Families Law, the pension under subsection (a) shall be paid to him throughout the time that he would be paid the other pension if his right to it had not been converted as aforesaid. (d) Dependants entitled to a pension under section 22 and under this section may opt for one of them. If they do not opt the same way, the officer-in-charge shall decide. (e) Where the deceased has left more than one spouse or where the spouse and the orphans are not maintained by one person, or where the dependants are not so maintained, the officer-in-change shall prescribe the mode of apportionment of the pension, having regard to the situation of the survivors and to any agreement between them.
Grant upon death of soldier.	24. (a) Where a soldier dies during permanent service after serving therein for less than five years and the survivors are not entitled to a pension under section 23, they shall be paid a grant of an amount prescribed by the Government: Provided that it shall not exceed the annual salary of the deceased. (b) The grant shall be paid to the spouse and orphans of the deceased or where he or she has not left a spouse or orphans, to the other survivors. (c) The mode of apportionment of the grant among the survivors shall be prescribed by regulations.
Pension to survivors of person entitled to retire- ment pension.	25. (a) Where a person entitled to a retirement pension dies, the survivors shall, throughout the period specified in this section, be paid a pension in percentages of the pension which would be due to the person entitled but for his or her death, as follows: (1) a spouse, if she or he was the deceased's spouse for at least three years preceding the deceased's death or a child was born to them, as long as she or he has not remarried - sixty per cent: Provided that the spouse's pension shall not exceed forty per cent of the determining salary of the deceased; (2) orphans, as long as they are not self-supporting and there is a spouse entitled to a pension - fifteen per cent each; (3) orphans, as long as they are not self-supporting and there is not a spouse entitled to a pension - fifteen per cent each and another twenty-five per cent for all of them together or, if there is only one orphan, for that orphan; (4) dependants, as long as they are not self-supporting and the deceased has not left a spouse or orphan entitled to a pension - twenty per cent each. (b) A pension which would be due to the person entitled but for his or her death, as referred to in the opening passage of subsection (a), is the pension which the person entitled would have received immediately before his or her death but for the provisions of sections 31, 33 and 54(b). (c) Where the pension of a person entitled has been reduced, or partly denied, under section 10(b), 59, 64(b) or 67, the pension under subsection (b) as so reduced or denied shall be regarded as the pension which would be due to that person but for his or her death. Where the whole of the pension has been denied as aforesaid, no pension shall be paid to the survivors.
Survivor's pension the amount of which is fixed by the officer -in-charge.	26. (a) In each of the following cases, the survivors of a deceased person shall, instead of the pensions of the amounts fixed in sections 22, 23, 25 or 32(e), be paid pensions of the amounts fixed by the officer-in-charge, having regard to the situation of the survivors and to any agreement between them: Provided that the aggregate amount of the pensions fixed by the officer-in-charge shall not exceed the maximum amount or the aggregate amount of the pensions which would be due to the survivors but for the provisions of this section, whichever is the smaller amount. The cases in question are those in which - (1) the aggregate amount of the pensions due to the survivors exceeds the maximum amount; (2) the deceased has left more than one spouse, or orphans by several spouses; (3) the orphans are not maintained by one person. (b) Where section 23(a)(3) applies, the spouse and the orphans shall, instead of pensions in amounts fixed in section 23, be paid pensions in amounts fixed by the officer-in-charge, having regard to the situation of the spouse and the orphans and to any agreement between them: Provided that the aggregate amount of the pensions paid to the survivors shall not exceed the maximum amount or the aggregate amount of the pensions which would be due to the survivors but for the provisions of this section, whichever is the smaller amount. (c) In this section, "the maximum amount" means - (1) in the case of the survivors of a soldier, seventy per cent of the determining salary of the soldier or, if the calculation of the period of service includes a period of compulsory service, the pension which would be due to the soldier under section 17(1) had such soldier not died; (2) in the case of the survivors of a person entitled to a retirement pension, seventy-five per cent of the pension of the person entitled or, in the case of a spouse by whom more than one orphan is maintained and as long as at least two orphans as aforesaid are entitled to a pension, ninety per cent of the pension of the person entitled.
Grant to spouse who remarries.	27. (a) Where a spouse entitled to a pension remarries, she or he shall be paid a grant of an amount equal to the pension to which she or he would be entitled but for the remarriage, as specified in subsection (d), multiplied by thirty-six. In the case of a spouse who by reason of the provisions of section 26 or 28 is paid a pension at a reduced rate or no pension at all, the pension to which she or he would be entitled but for the provisions of section 26 or 28 shall for this purpose be taken to be the pension. (b) For the purpose of determining the grant due under subsection (a) to a spouse to whom section 23 applies, no amount shall be deducted under section 23(a)(2). (c) Where a grant has been paid to a spouse under section 29(a), one half thereof shall be deducted from the first half of the grant paid under subsection (d), and the other half thereof shall be deducted from the second half of the grant paid under subsection (d). (d) One half of the grant under this section shall be paid to the spouse upon the filing of the application therefor but not before the remarriage, and it shall be calculated on the basis of the amount of the pension to which she or he was last entitled before the remarriage; the other half shall be paid to her or him upon the expiration of two years after the remarriage, and it shall be calculated on the basis of the amount of the pension which would then be payable to her or him but for the remarriage. (e) Where, within five years from the date of the second marriage, that marriage is terminated by the death of the spouse of the person who was entitled to a pension as referred to in subsection (a) or where, at any time, that marriage is terminated in proceedings which began within five years from the date thereof, the spouse shall, from the date of the termination of that marriage, be paid the same pension as would at that time have been payable to her or him but for that marriage; however, if a grant under this section or one half thereof has already been paid to her or him, an amount equal to the amount so paid shall be deducted from the pension: Provided that not more than one third of the pension shall be deducted in any one month. (f) Where the spouse's right to the pension terminates before the aggregate of the deductions under this section is equal to the amount to be returned, the balance shall be a debt of the spouse or of her or his estate to the Treasury.
Spouse's pension, taking account of age.	28. Notwithstanding the provisions of other sections of this Law - (1) a spouse who has no orphan with her or him, to whom sections 23 and 32(e) do not apply and who is self-supporting shall not be paid a survivor's pension as long as she or he has not attained the age of forty-five years; (2) a spouse who has no orphan with her or him, to whom section 23 or 32(e) applies and who is self-supporting shall not be paid a survivor's pension so long as she has not attained the age of thirty-five years; (3) a posthumous child of the deceased and his spouse shall, for the purposes of the right of the spouse under this section, be deemed to have been alive at the time of his father's death.
Grant to spouse in lieu of pension.	29. (a) A spouse who, by reason of section 28 or of paragraph (1) of section 25(a) as far as it concerns the duration of the marriage, does not receive a survivor's pension shall be paid a grant of an amount equal to the amount of the pension to which she or he would be entitled but for the provisions of those sections, multiplied by twelve, but a spouse as aforesaid to whom section 23 or 32(a) applies shall be paid a grant of an amount equal to that pension, multiplied by thirty; however, in the case of a spouse who does not receive a survivor's pension by reason of section 28, the grant shall - (1) if upon the deceased's death she or he had attained the age of forty-three years - be of an amount equal to one half of the said pension multiplied by the number of months remaining till she or he attains the age of forty-five years; (2) if upon the deceased's death she or he had attained the age of thirty-two-and-a-half years and section 23 or 32(e) applies to her or him -be of an amount equal to the said pension multiplied by the number of months remaining till she or he attains the age of thirty-five years. (b) For the purpose of determining the grant due under subsection (a) to a spouse to whom section 23 applies, no amount shall be deducted under section 23(a)(2).
Wife entitled to maintenance.	30. (a) Where a soldier was divorced from his wife and was thereupon required to pay maintenance to her under a judgment or written agreement, the wife shall, as regards the rights arising out of his death under this Law, be deemed not to have been divorced from him: Provided that if a pension is due to her, it shall not exceed the amount of the maintenance to which the soldier was liable immediately before his death. (b) Where a substantial change has occurred in the determining salary since the right of the divorced woman to a pension was determined, the officer-in-charge may alter her pension in her favour in accordance with the same calculations and reasons as, but for the death of the person liable, might have prompted a court to change her maintenance in her favour. (c) Where a soldier's wife left him of her own volition, she shall, for the purposes of this Law, be treated like a divorced woman, whether or not he was survived by another wife, provided that one of the following is the case: (1) she left him not later than one year before his death and did not return to him before his death and did not, within one year after leaving him, file a suit for maintenance with a civil court or a competent religious court; (2) a maintenance suit of the wife terminated with a judgment of a civil court or a competent religious court or the soldier and the wife made a written agreement concerning maintenance.
	Article Four: Benefits and Income from Other Sources
Restriction as to double benefits.	31. (a) In this section -- "double benefits" means two or more pensions under this Law or one or more pensions under this Law plus one or more of the following benefits: (1) an employment injury pension under the National Insurance Law (Consolidated Version), 5728-1968(5); (2) a pension or similar payment payable out of the Treasury under any other Law or any agreement or arrangement, except a benefit under the Rehabilitation Laws within the meaning of section 32; (3) a pension or similar payment payable under any other Law or any agreement or arrangement out of a public fund designated for the purpose of section 33 or out of a pension fund or provident fund to which the public fund is linked for the purposes of such pension or similar payment. (b) Where a person is entitled to double benefits and the total amount thereof, including such part thereof as he has capitalized, exceeds seventy per cent of the determining salary or, if a period of compulsory service is included in the calculation of the period of service, exceeds the pension fixed under section 17, the pension, or one of the two or more pensions, as the case may be, under this Law shall be reduced by the amount by which the total amount of the double benefit exceeds seventy per cent of the determining salary or exceeds the pension fixed under section 17, as the case may be; this provision shall not apply to an orphan's pension or a pension due by virtue of service in the Palestine Government otherwise than under the State Service (Benefits) Law (Consolidated Version), 5730-1970(6). (c) Subsection (b) shall, in respect of the following, be read as if the words "seventy per cent", in the two places in which they occur, were replaced by the words "ninety per cent": (1) a spouse entitled to double benefits, one benefit being a survivor's pension consequent upon the death of the other spouse and the other a retirement pension; (2) a person entitled to double benefits, one benefit being a retirement pension or the survivor's pension of a spouse and the other an employment injury pension under the National Insurance Law (Consolidated Version), 5728-1968. (d) (1) Notwithstanding anything provided in any other Law, where a person entitled to a pension under this Law is entitled to a pension reduced under some other Law by reason of a pension under this Law (such pension so reduced referred to in this section as "the pension under the other Law"), the reduction of each pension shall bear to the total amount which would be deductible if the reduction were made under the provision of subsection (b) the same proportion as the pension bears to the aggregate amount of the pensions prior to the reduction. (2) Where the pension under the other Law is a pension under the State Service (Benefits) Law (Consolidated Version), 5736-1976, payable out of the Treasury, the following special provisions shall apply: (a) paragraph (1), and section 32 of that Law, shall not be followed; (b) the pension under that Law shall not exceed the amount by which the aggregate amount that would be payable to the person entitled under subsections (b) and (c) but for the provisions of this paragraph exceeds a pension under this Law. (e) The determining salary for the purposes of this section shall be the determining salary according to which any pension under this Law is calculated or the salary according to which the other benefits are calculated, whichever salary is the higher. Where the other benefits are not calculated on the basis of a salary, the salary shall for this purpose be fixed in accordance with the principles by which the determining salary is fixed.
Benefit under this Law and under the Rehabili- tation Laws.	32. (a) In this section -- "the Rehabilitation Laws" means the Invalids Law, the Soldiers' Families Law, the Invalids (War against the Nazis) Law, 5714-1954(7), the Victims of Hostile Action (Pensions) Law, 5730-1970(8), and any such other Law as the Minister of Defence may declare to be a Rehabilitation Law within the meaning of this section; "benefit under the Rehabilitation Laws" means any pension, gratuity, grant or other recurrent or one-time payment due under the Rehabilitation Laws. (b) A person who, in consequence of one event, is entitled to a benefit under this Law and to a benefit under the Rehabilitation Laws may opt for one of them. (c) A person who has opted for a benefit under this Law shall also be entitled to receive twenty-five per cent of the benefit under the Rehabilitation Laws and whatever else is due thereunder; but where a person has opted for a pension under section 14(d)(2) or is entitled to a pension under section 23, he shall be entitled to the full amount of the other pension in addition to the pension under section 14(d)(2) or section 23, which pension shall not, for the purposes of the Rehabilitation Laws, be regarded as income. (d) A person entitled, otherwise than in consequence of one event, to a benefit under this Law and to a benefit under the Rehabilitation Laws is entitled to receive both benefits. (e) Where a person entitled to a retirement pension has died and his widow and orphans are, by reason of his death, entitled to a pension under the Soldiers' Families Law or have converted their right to such pension under section 30 of that Law, they shall, notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, be entitled to one half of their pension under section 24 if that entitled person, had he not died, would have been entitled to a pension under section 14(d)(2), and to one quarter of the said pension in every other case; in addition to the pension under section 24, they shall be entitled to the full pension under the Soldiers' Families Law unless it has been converted under section 30 of that Law, and the pension under section 24 shall not, for the purposes of the Rehabilitation Laws, be regarded as income.
Pension and salary from public fund.	33. (a) In this section -- " income from a public fund" means a salary from the Treasury or from some other fund designated by the Government as a public fund for the purposes of this section; "ordinary pension" means a pension which would be due but for the provisions of this section; "aggregate income" means an income from a public fund together with the ordinary pension; (b) The following provisions shall apply to a person entitled to a pension, other than a spouse entitled to a survivor's pension, who receives also an income from a public fund: (1) a person entitled to a retirement pension whose income from a public fund is less than the determining salary and who is a soldier who has returned to permanent service or an employee in the service of the Israel Defence Forces shall be paid a pension equal to the difference between that income and the determining salary, provided that it shall not exceed the ordinary pension; if that income exceeds the determining salary, he shall not be paid any pension; (2) notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) - (a) where a person entitled to a retirement pension is an employee in the service of the Israel Defence Forces and has attained the age of fifty-five years, he shall be paid a pension according to paragraph (3); (b) where a person entitled to a retirement pension is an employee in the service of the Israel Defence Forces who has not attained the age of fifty-five years, his pension shall not be less than one third of the pension to which he would be entitled but for the provisions of paragraph (1), provided that a waiting period beginning with the day of his retirement on pension has passed, being two years if he retired on pension before attaining the age of fifty years, and one year in any other case; (3) where a person entitled to a retirement pension does not belong to those specified in paragraph (1) and his aggregate income exceeds the determining salary, he shall be paid a pension equal to two thirds of the ordinary pension or to the ordinary pension less one third of the amount by which the aggregate income exceeds the determining salary, whichever is more; if the aggregate income does not exceed the determining salary, the pension shall not by virtue of this section be less. (c) Where a person entitled to a retirement pension has capitalized part of his pension, the calculation for the purposes of subsection (b) shall be made as if he received a full pension, and the capitalized part of the pension shall only be deducted from the pension after the pension has been reduced in consequence of the receipt of an income from a public fund.
Benefit and discharge grant.	34. (a) A soldier, or the survivor of a soldier, who, by reason of the soldier's retirement on pension is entitled to a benefit under this Law shall not on the same ground be entitled to a discharge grant. (b) Where a person, by reason of his option under section 32, is not entitled to a pension under this Law, and a discharge grant is due to him, the calculation of the amount of the grant shall not include any period of service subsequent to the first five years of service. (c) The provision of subsection (a) shall apply also if the person entitled has waived his pension or if the pension is not payable to him by reason of the provisions of sections 10, 19, 28, 33, 54(b), 57, 60, 61, 64(b), 64(c) and 67.
Grant in lieu of benefit.	35. (a) Where a soldier dies after five years of permanent service, his survivors may opt for the larger of the following amounts rather than for all the other benefits under this Law, if the officer-in-charge is satisfied that the option is in their interest: (1) a grant under section 24, as if the soldier had served for less than five years; (2) a discharge grant for the whole of the soldier's period of service. (b) Subsection (a)(2) shall not apply to a survivor who, in accordance with section 32(b), opts for a benefit under the Rehabilitation Laws.
	Article Five: Periods of Employment at Other Places
Employment at recognized institution.	36. (a) Subject to rules and conditions prescribed by regulations, a person who, having retired from a recognized institution, has gone over to permanent service shall have his employment at that institution reckoned as service within the meaning of this Law, and the whole or part of the period of his employment at the institution shall be added to the period of his service in permanent service. (b) In this section, "recognized institution" means any such institution or organization, or any such part of an institution or organization as the Government has approved as a recognized institution within the meaning of this section by reason that all or some of its functions have become a State service.
Transfer from one kind service to another.	37. Subject to rules and conditions prescribed by regulations, a person who, having been in a service on behalf of the State in a function to which this Law did not apply, has passed into permanent service shall have his previous service reckoned as service within the meaning of this Law, and the whole or part of the period of his previous service shall be added to the period of his permanent service, having regard to any payment or right accrued to him in consequence of his retirement from the previous service.
Agreements with public organization.	38. (a) The Minister of Defence may enter into an agreement - either general or specific to a person named therein - with a public organization, under which the whole or part of the period of employment of a person who retired from his employment in the public organization and, within a period prescribed by regulations, passed into permanent service, or vice versa, is to be taken into account for the purposes of the whole or part of the rights to benefits from the State under this Law or from the organization otherwise than under this Law, or partly from the one and partly from the other, all in accordance with conditions they may see fit to prescribe in the agreement, including conditions as to payment or retroactivity. (b) For the purposes of subsection (a), an agreement with a pension fund or provident fund to which the employees of the public organization are linked or which serves those employees shall be treated as an agreement with the public organization. (c) The Minister of Defence shall not enter into a specific agreement under this section save with the consent of the person to whom the agreement relates. (d) A general agreement under this section shall require publication in Reshumot. (e) In this section - "public organization" means an institution or organization approved by the Government as a public organization within the meaning of this Law by reason that all or part of its activities are in the public interest and includes a part of such an institution or organization; "period of employment" means a period of employment in a public organization or a period of service in permanent service.
Rights of person under agreement with public organization.	39. An agreement under section 38 shall, for the purposes of the rights of the person to whom the agreement relates and of his survivors be treated as an agreement to which he or they is or are also a party, and benefits due to a person from the Treasury under such an agreement shall be treated as benefits under this Law.
Conditions of specific agreement.	40. The Minister of Defence shall, with the consent of the Minister of Finance, prescribe by regulations the conditions on which it shall be permissible to enter into a specific agreement under section 38.
Delegation of powers.	41. The Miniser of Defence may delegate any of his powers to enter into a specific agreement under section 38.
Prohibition of double benefits.	42. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 38 to 41, a person shall not be entitled to both a benefit from the State and a benefit from the public organization in respect of the same period, but he may opt for one of them.
	Chapter Three: Rules as to Claims and Determinations
Officer-in- charge of payment of benefits.	43. The Minister of Defence shall appoint one person or more than one person to be an officer or officers in charge of the payment of benefits. Notice of the appointment and address of an officer-in-charge shall be published in Reshumot.
Appeal committees.	44. (a) The Minister of Justice shall appoint appeal committees for the purposes of this Law. (b) An appeal committee shall consist of three persons, of whom at least one shall be a soldier. (c) Notice of the appointment and address of an appeal committee shall be published in Reshumot.
Auxiliary powers.	45. The officer-in-charge as well as an appeal committee shall have all the powers that may be conferred on a commission of inquiry under sections 9 to 11 and 27(b) of the Commissions of Inquiry Law, 5719-1968(9)).
Procedure and rules of evidence.	46. Neither the officer-in-charge nor an appeal committee shall be bound by rules of procedure or rules of evidence but shall act in such manner as seems to them most expedient for clarifying the questions to be decided by them.
Claims.	47. (a) A person claiming a benefit shall file a claim with the officer-in-charge. (b) The officer-in-charge shall, on the basis of the claim, decide whether and to what extent the benefit shall be granted, shall send his decision, by registered mail, to the claimant, and shall indicate the reasons therefor and the right of the claimant under section 48.
Appeal.	48. (a) A claimant who considers himself aggrieved by a decision of the officer-in-charge may appeal to an appeal committee (hereinafter referred to as "the committee") within sixty days from the day on which the decision of the officer-in-charge reaches him: provided that the committee may extend the period of appeal by a period not exceeding sixty days. (b) The appeal shall be filed with the committee in writing in two copies, one of which it shall send to the officer-in-charge. (c) The committee may confirm or alter the decision of the officer-in-charge or give another decision instead. (d) A claimant who has filed an appeal with the committee may appear before it, personally or by proxy, and plead his case. (e) The committee shall give reasons for its decision. (f) The chairman of the committee shall send a copy of its decision, by registered mail, to the claimant and to the officer-in-charge. (g) The Minister of Justice may make regulations concerning procedure for filing and hearing appeals under this section in so far as it is not prescribed by this Law.
Appeal to court.	49. (a) The claimant or the officer-in-charge may, within thirty days from the day on which the committee's decision reaches him, appeal against it to the District Court on a point of law. (b) The court which hears the appeal may confirm the committee's decision or remit it to the committee or, on the basis of the facts established by the committee, give another decision instead. (c) The Minister of Justice may make regulations concerning procedures for filing and hearing appeals under this section. (d) A judgment of the District Court in an appeal under this section is final and not subject to appeal.
New decisions.	50. The officer-in-charge may give a new decision as to any matter even if a final decision under section 48 or 49 has already been given if he is satisfied that the decision was obtained by a criminal offence or if it is discovered, on the strength of fresh evidence which was not before the authority which gave the previous decision, that such decision was based on an error; for the purposes of appeal, the new decision shall be treated like any other decision, but it shall not be carried into effect until the expiration of the period of appeal under section 48 or, if an appeal has been filed, until the committee directs, by final or interim decision, that it shall be carried into effect.
Provision as to decision of C.G.S.	51. For the purposes of sections 47, 48,49 and 50, a decision of the C.G.S., or of a person empowered by him, under this Law shall be treated like a decision of the officer-in-charge, and every reference in those sections to the officer-in-charge shall, in this connection, be read as a reference to the C.G.S. or to the person empowered by him.
Medical examinations of invalids.	52. (a) Where the amount of a person's pension is determined by his degree of invalidity, the officer-in-charge may direct him to submit to a re-examination by a medical board for the purpose of redetermining his degree of invalidity if not less than six months have passed since the day when his degree of invalidity was last determined. (b) A person as aforesaid may demand to be examined by the medical board for the purpose of redetermining his degree of invalidity if not less than six months have passed since the day when his degree of invalidity was last determined.
	Chapter Four: Rules as to Payment
Benefits from Treasury.	53. Benefits shall be paid out of the Treasury.
Pension from when to be paid.	54. (a) A pension shall be paid on the first of every month, from the month beginning after the day on which the ground for the pension arose. (b) A soldier who before attaining the age of fifty years retires on pension under section 12(1) without the C.G.S. having consented in writing to his retirement shall, notwithstanding the provision of subsection (a), be paid a retirement pension from the month beginning after the day on which he attains the age of fifty years: provided that if the medical board finds that the retiring soldier is incapable of earning a living outside the service the pension shall be paid from the month beginning after the day on which the ground for the pension arose or, where the incapacity to earn as aforesaid begins later, from the month beginning after the day on which such incapacity began.
Payment for period prior to submission of application.	55. A pension shall not be paid for a period preceding by more than four months the filing of the application for it: provided that the officer-in-charge may extend the period to up to two years if the delay in filing the application occurred for reasons which, in the opinion of the officer-in-charge, justify the extension.
Payment of benefit otherwise than to person entitled.	56. (a) A benefit shall be paid to the person to whom it is due; provided that a benefit due to a person for whom a guardian has been appointed shall be paid to the guardian. (b) Where the officer-in-charge is satisfied that the payment of the benefit to the person entitled is not in the latter's interest or in the interest of the members of his family to whom he owes maintenance, or that the payment of the benefit to the guardian is not in the interest of the person entitled, he may, upon not less than fifteen days advance notice, take over the whole or a part of the benefit and use it in the interest of the person entitled or the members of his family, or direct that a person empowered by him in that behalf shall do so. (c) A decision under subsection (b), unless quashed upon an appeal under section 48 or 49, shall cease to have effect - (1) if the person entitled had no guardian at the time it was given - upon appointment of a guardian; (2) if the person entitled had a guardian - upon confirmation of the guardian by a competent court or upon appointment of another guardian in his stead.
Prescription of right of claim.	57. The right to file an application for a benefit due to a survivor shall be prescribed at the expiration of two years from the day on which the ground therefor arose: Provided that the officer-in-charge may extend the period if the delay in submitting the application was due to causes over which the applicant had no control.
Accumulation of payments prohibited.	58. Where a person entitled has not collected any benefit moneys within two years from the day on which they were placed at his disposal, the officer-in-charge may decide that his right to receive them has lapsed.
Fraudulent act.	59. Where it is proved that a person has attempted to obtain a benefit by fraud, the benefit to which he is entitled shall be reduced by twenty-five per cent.
Survivor who causes the death through which he becomes entitled.	60. A survivor who intentionally and unlawfully causes the death of a soldier or a person entitled to a pension or who is an accomplice in such an offence shall not be paid a benefit to which he is entitled by reason of such death.
Pension to person under imprisonment.	61. Where a person is under imprisonment by virtue of a judgment of a competent court which sentenced him to imprisonment for a term of three months or more, no pension shall be paid to him for the time that he is under imprisonment.
Transfer of right to benefit.	62. A right to a benefit cannot be transferred, given as security, pledged or attached in any manner save for the purpose of paying maintenance due from the person entitled to the benefit under a judgment of a civil or competent religious court.
Set-off of debts against benefits.	63. The Treasury may not set off against benefits any moneys due from the person entitled except claims for the following amounts: (1) advances received by him from the Treasury on account of benefits; (2) loans received by him from, or guaranteed by, the Treasury; (3) amounts erroneously paid by the Treasury in excess of what was due on account of salary, benefits or a discharge grant; (4) amounts received by him from a third party on account of compensation as specified in section 64.
Claims against third party.	64. (a) When the occurrence which required the Treasury to pay a benefit under this Law is a ground also for requiring a third party to pay compensation to the same entitled person under the Civil Wrongs Ordinance (New Version)(10)) or the Road Accident Victims (Compensation) Law, 5735-1975(11), the Treasury may claim from such third party compensation for the benefit paid or to be paid by it to the extent of the compensation to which the third party is liable. (b) A person entitled to a benefit under this Law shall extend every assistance and do every reasonable act in order to help the Treasury to realize its right under this section, and shall not do any act likely to prejudice the right of the Treasury under this section or to prevent its realization. Where a person entitled to a benefit contravenes a prohibition imposed by this section or does not do what he is required to do thereunder, the officer-in-charge may deny him the right to the whole or part of the benefit. (c) (1) Where the Treasury is liable to the said compensation, the person entitled may opt between the benefit and the compensation. (2) Where the person entitled has filed an action against the State under the Civil Wrongs Ordinance (New Version) or the Road Accident Victims (Compensation) Law, 5735-1975, the option under paragraph (1) shall be open to him until after the rendering of a judgment not subject to appeal or, in the case of a judgment which is subject to appeal but against which an appeal has not been filed, until after the expiration of the period of appeal; where the person entitled opts for compensation, the amounts of the benefit which were paid to him before he opted for it shall be deducted therefrom. (d) For the purposes of section 86 of the Civil Wrongs Ordinance (New Version), a benefit shall be regarded as a right arising from a contract.
Payment of benefit for maintenance of members of family.	65. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sections, whenever, by a decision of the C.G.S. or the officer-in-charge, a person has been denied a benefit or the payment of the benefit to a person has been discontinued, the C.G.S. or the officer-in-charge, as the case may be, may direct that the whole or part thereof be paid to persons to whom that person owes maintenance. (b) Where a person as aforesaid dies, the C.G.S. or the officer-in-charge, as the case may be, may direct that the whole or part of the pension to which his survivors would have been entitled if the right to the benefit had not been denied, or its payment had not been discontinued, as aforesaid, shall be paid to them, provided they submit a claim therefor to the officer-in-charge within two years of the death of that person.
Provision for the purpose of determining the right of family members to a benefit.	66. Where, by virtue of the provisions of section 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 35,55,57, 58, 60, 61, 64(b) or 64(c), and not for any other reason, a survivor is not paid a pension, he shall, for the purpose of determining the right of other family members to a benefit, and the amount of such a benefit, be deemed to be entitled to the pension.
Invalid who conducts himself improperly.	67. (a) In this section, "invalid" includes an invalid within the meaning of the Invalids Law. (b) The officer-in-charge may reduce, suspend or deny a pension the amount of which has been determined in accordance with the degree of invalidity of the person entitled thereto if such person - (1) has brought about his invalidity by grave misconduct on his part; (2) has without sufficient cause contravened a direction issued by the medical board, or by a physician empowered by it in that behalf, designed to speed up his recovery or to reduce his degree of invalidity; (3) has behaved in a way which by common knowledge is likely to increase the degree of invalidity, or to prevent recovery, in a case like his; (4) has, without sufficient cause, refrained from reporting for examinations by the medical board which he is required to undergo according to this Law. (c) The provisions of this section shall not derogate from the criminal liability of the person entitled to the pension.
	Chapter Five: Miscellaneous Provisions
Offences.	68. (a) A person who wilfully gives to a person who decides upon a matter relating to his rights under this Law false information concerning that matter is liable to imprisonment for a term of six months. (b) A person who fraudulently, or knowingly by concealing material particulars, procures the grant of a benefit to himself or another or the increase of a benefit so granted is liable to imprisonment for a term of two years. (c) The provisions of this section shall not derogate from the criminal liability of a person under any other enactment.
Implementation and regulations.	69. The Minister of Defence is charged with the implementation of this Law and he may make regulations as to any matter relating to its implementation, including - (1) the method of capitalising pensions where such is required for the purposes of section 64; (2) the conditions upon and method by which the capitalisation of any pension, including a pension which by virtue of section 54(b) is not yet payable to the person entitled to it, shall be permitted: provided that the capitalisation of more than twenty-five per cent of a pension shall not be permitted and that the capitalization of a retirement pension shall not, in calculating under section 25 the pension of the survivors of the person entitled, entail a reduction of the survivors' pension; (3) the rules and tests for the determination of a degree of invalidity by the medical board; (4) reports, declarations and certificates which an applicant for or recipient of a benefit shall submit for the purpose of preventing excess payments and double payments; (5) the procedure for filing applications for benefits; (6) time limits for the doing of any act under this Law, including the filing of applications thereunder,