Responding to a number of media stories, the Foreign Ministry considers it necessary to comment on the situation regarding social security for certain categories of citizen living in the State of Israel and entitlement to pensions and other payments.

The Russian Federation and the State of Israel abide by the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Social Security signed on June 6, 2016. Since its initial implementation, the sides have adopted over 20,000 decisions to provide pensions for persons who had worked in Russia and the RSFSR. Since May 2019, the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation and the National Insurance Institute of the State of Israel have been exchanging electronic pension files, and this makes it possible to process applicants’ requests much faster. In all, over 870 million roubles have been allocated for pension payments over this period.

Lifetime benefits are paid in compliance with Russian Presidential Executive Order No. 311 of July 8, 2017, Measures to Improve the Financial Standing of Certain Categories of Veterans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941−1945 Living in the State of Israel. As of November 2019, over 800 million roubles have been spent for these purposes.

To obtain the relevant payments, applicants should submit the necessary documents under the established procedure to the Consular Department of the Russian Embassy in Tel Aviv and the Russian Consulate General in Haifa.