The Knesset Finance Committee on Sunday discussed a proposed increase in supplementary income payments to senior citizens.
(Yisrael Beytenu) Committee Chair MK Alex Kushnir said of the proposed bill that he first pushed for it with the intention of ensuring that there would be no elderly under the poverty line in the State of Israel.
The bill proposes that the minimum income for an elderly person will be NIS 3,710 ($1,160) per individual, per month. This will be, in fact, higher than Israel’s current official poverty line of NIS 3,593 ($1,125) per month.
Calling this great news for hundreds of thousands of senior citizens, Kushnir said that they, “will no longer have to choose between food, medications and basic goods, and calculate how to make ends meet. I am very excited about the bill and this change.”
“This change will benefit those who receive income support, and beyond that, it also includes other populations that were not eligible,” added Kushnir.
“With the expansion of the allowance, the entry bar is lowered, meaning that there are many more elderly people who will receive the benefits.
“The income will effectively stand at 70 percent of the minimum wage, and beyond that, everyone who enters the circle of recipients also receives benefits such as assistance in paying rent, electric bills and more, and this enables a very significant increment,” he added.