The salary component of regular IDF servicemen amounted to 39% of the defence budget in 1990, but even after the dismissal of 5,000 persons, as promised by the then Chief of General Staff Ehud Barak, the salary component has risen to 48% of the defence budget this year. This was revealed today by Finance Minister Dan Meridor, to the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.
This figure, and also the figures relating to salary and retirement grants of regular servicemen, as reported, following Meridor's disclosure, by deputy head of the Budgets Division Nir Gilead, astonished the committee. They also caused some embarrassment, in view of the strong impression made last week by the attacks levelled by CGS Amnon Shachak against the defence budget cut-backs.
The finance minister stated by way of example, that under the 1995 budget, NIS 9 million had been allocated for salary, compared with a mere NIS 3 billion for procurement. In 1985, there was a reverse situation, in which NIS 8 billion went on procurement and only NIS 4 billion on pay. Meridor further stated that a sum of NIS 1.8 billion was presently being paid to IDF pensioners aged 42-43 years; and if regular servicemen continue retiring at the present rate, the pensioners budget will reach NIS 3.2 billion within ten years. This is at a time when in the United States, Britain and the Arab states, retirement age is between 55 and 60.
Gilad said that the aggregate cost per regular serviceman ranking colonel and upward comes to NIS 550,000 per annum; that of a captain to NIS 361,000 and of a senior NCO to NIS 284,000. He emphasised that a major general gets an NIS 1.4 million demobilisation grant on retirement.