Q: How do you prepare for life on a lower income?
Answer:
It is clear from your question that responsible household management is important to you. That is not something to take for granted, and we truly commend you for it!
Over the course of family life, there may be different periods of financial constraint, whether as a result of more expected and planned events such as further education, growing the family, or retiring, or as a result of less expected events such as job loss or illness.
A cornerstone of good household management is planning: being proactive rather than reactive. This is something you clearly understand, since you are reaching out now in order to prepare in advance.
During both lean times and times of plenty, it is important to operate according to a clear plan that reflects your needs and wishes alongside your current capacity. The first step, therefore, is understanding what your needs are, what your goals are, and what your realistic means are, since only you can determine those answers.
From there, you can build a plan that suits your family and helps you navigate the coming period without creating a crisis. Such a plan must be realistic and achievable for your household. It may include ways to increase income, such as additional work by one or both partners, making sure to claim all benefits and entitlements you qualify for, or drawing on savings. It may also include reducing expenses by cutting back on spending that has felt routine until now, reconsidering your living arrangements, or adjusting your lifestyle. The bottom line is that the plan needs to be balanced.
Q: Where can I find reliable information about benefits and entitlements for different populations (seniors, people with disabilities, etc.)?
Answer:
There are several excellent resources available for finding information about benefits and entitlements. General financial and social rights information covering a wide range of topics can often be found through government and public welfare websites. Local social services departments are also a valuable source of guidance and can help connect individuals and families with the support they qualify for. If you are unsure where to start, reaching out to a social worker at your local welfare office is a great first step.
Q: Does Paamonim offer services to help people increase their income?
Answer:
Yes! Families accompanied by Paamonim receive, when needed, employment counseling as part of their guidance process. One of the goals of this counseling is to help increase household income and open up new opportunities for financial growth.
Q: I have been earning minimum wage for many years. Is there a law requiring employers to give pay raises based on seniority? And who would pay my severance if I were let go?
Answer:
In the private sector, there is no law requiring an employer to grant pay raises based on seniority. The law does require that employees receive at least the minimum wage, as well as social benefits such as recuperation pay, sick days, vacation days, and pension contributions.
Since you have a pension fund, in the event of dismissal you are entitled to severance from your pension fund. In addition, if the dismissal was not the result of serious misconduct on your part, your employer is required to supplement that severance for any portion of your employment that was not covered by pension contributions. The process for withdrawing severance pay begins once you receive the relevant tax form from your employer upon leaving the position.
Q: I am 39, living alone, and divorced two months ago. I have no children, and for the past three years I have been living with fibromyalgia. Due to my illness, I am losing my business and my livelihood, and my bank account is about to become restricted. I have been on sick leave for a very long time. Everything is falling apart. I have no property to sell, and my business is my only source of income. I feel completely lost. I have no way to support myself, my social security claim has not yet been approved, and I am being forced to cancel my private insurance policies because the payments will bounce in two weeks anyway. I genuinely do not know what to do. Soon I will not have enough to eat. Every day I tell myself “tomorrow I will get up and make a move,” and I cannot manage to get up at all, or to think clearly. The fibromyalgia makes it impossible for me to function the way I used to.
Answer:
First, we want to say that reaching out took courage, and we are glad you did. What you are going through sounds incredibly difficult, and you do not have to navigate it alone.
From your message, it is not entirely clear what steps have already been taken beyond your social security claim, which it seems you filed some time ago but have not yet received a decision on. Three years is a long time to wait, and it would be important to understand where things stand in that process and why a decision has not yet been reached.
We recommend looking into the following avenues:
- Your pension fund or executive insurance policy
- Disability or loss of work capacity insurance
- Your social security claim (current status and next steps)
- Your local social services department
We would like to try to help you move forward, and to do that we need to know exactly where your social security claim stands, as well as what has already been done regarding the other resources listed above. Once we have that picture, we can see where we can step in and assist.
One important note: please do not rush to cancel your insurance policies before carefully reviewing what each one covers. It is possible that you are already entitled to make a claim on one or more of those policies today. We may be able to help with that as well, and for that we would need copies of your policy documents.
You are not alone in this. Reach out and let us take the next step together.
