Israel Atomic Energy Commission personnel earn the most and the Israel Defense Forces earn the least according to the latest wage report of the security forces.
The report also shows that the value of the budgetary pension for an IDF officer is NIS 9 million on average, with an average retirement age of 45, and an average monthly pension of NIS 20,019.
The highest wages were paid to employees of the Atomic Energy Commission, with an average gross monthly salary of over NIS 34,000 in 2024. The salary of members of the intelligence agencies, the Mossad and the Shin Bet, was slightly more than NIS 32,000 gross in 2024; at the Institute for Biological Research, the salary was slightly less than NIS 32,000; The average salary of civilian IDF employees was almost NIS 21,000, in the police about NIS 20,000, in the Israel Prison Service almost NIS 19,000, and the average salary in the IDF was the lowest at only NIS 18,700.
Reducing gaps between ranks but gender gap widened
The Ministry of Finance notes that this year the salaries of those serving in lower ranks increased more than those serving in senior ranks, and that the salary gaps between ranks were slightly narrowed. It also noted that in the security forces there are clear gender gaps between women and men, given the clear male majority in them. It is also noted that although the proportion of women increased slightly - the salary gaps did not narrow and even widened. The reason for this lies in "The nature of the roles held by women and men, which are part of the reasons for the salary gaps. For example, men serve more in field and combat roles, which have high levels of activity and risk levels. and are entitled to salary increases."
Another issue discussed in the report is the pensions of members of the security forces, who retire at a relatively early age and, according to the Ministry of Finance, benefit from a higher monthly pension compared with those retiring in the civil service (for whom the average pension in 2024 was NIS 6,984), and accordingly they also benefit from a relatively high pension.
The value of the pension for IDF officers is the highest in nominal terms, due, among other things, to the early retirement age of IDF officers compared with other employees in the security forces. IDF officers retire on average at 45 with a pension of 9 million shekels and a monthly pension of NIS 20,000.
Police officers retire on average at 54 with a pension of NIS 7.4 million and an average monthly pension of NIS 22,000. In contrast, Israel Prison Service officers who retire at the average age of 55 are entitled to a pension of NIS 5.4 million and a monthly pension of NIS 17,000.
In 2016, the Permanent Service Law was amended and states that if in 2025 the average pension for officers who retired from the IDF is higher than NIS 12,000 per month, as updated in accordance with the change in the Central Government Salary Index of the Central Bureau of Statistics, the Minister of Finance will establish new regulations for the payment of pensions to officers. The aim of the law is to bring pensions to a target level. However, in 2024 the average monthly pension was NIS 20,018, while the target was NIS 15,717.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 26, 2026.
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