On the eve of government discussions over the 2015 budget cuts, the Finance Ministry on Monday revealed the huge monthly pensions received by some of the country's senior retired officials, among them defense establishment retirees, former police commissioners and chief superintendents, retired Supreme Court and religious court judges, and former MKs and ministers. The largest pension is received by a retired judge, with a record monthly sum of 86,513 shekels ($25,219) before taxes. His deputy, another retired judge, receives 78,705 shekels ($22,935) each month before taxes. The largest monthly sum among defense establishment pensioners stands at 66,467 shekels ($19,375) before taxes, while the police's leading pensioner "takes home" 59,797 shekels ($17,435). The figures appear in the state's 2013 financial reports, published by Finance Ministry Accountant-General Michal Abadi-Boiangiu, and reveal for the first time that the total actuarial liability for unfunded pensions (including eligible parties still working) reached NIS 565 billion ($165 billion) in December 2013. Pension payments for one month in December 2013 reached NIS 1.3 billion ($380 million), and in December 2014 will stand at NIS 1.55 billion ($450 million) in one month. The pension record holders from the public sector, retired judges (including religious court judges), receive 14 times the amount of minimum wage. Defense establishment pensioners receive a high monthly pension and according to the figures the IDF pays them 563 million shekels ($164 million) per month, which amounts to NIS 8.6 billion ($2.5 billion) on a yearly basis -- which accounts for 43 percent of the country's entire pension fund. Retirees from the Israel Police and Israel Prisons Service also receive hefty pensions, with the average pension for a policeman/prison guard standing at 8,961 shekels ($2,611) per month. The pension for former ministers stands at 2.5 times the average salary in Israel, and five times the minimum wage. In contrast to the aforementioned high monthly sums, the average public pension is considerably more modest at 6,425 shekels ($1,872) per month, less than the average salary. According to the numbers, 51 percent of the state's pension debt, which is NIS 177.2 billion ($51.64 billion), goes to defense establishment retirees; another 22 percent (NIS 74.8 billion or $21.8 billion) goes to teachers; 15 percent goes to state employees and 11 percent is allotted to former policemen and prison guards. The cost of pension payments will reach NIS 18 billion ($5.2 billion) in 2014, and a record NIS 26.4 billion ($7.7 billion) by 2034.
