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Has anyone spoken to a rav about the mehadrin option vs the other options? Are the other options b’diavad or straight up assur?
I’m hearing Americans are advised to just use the bank option due to potential tax issues – does the bank option also have ribit issues or just the investment track?
so come to think of it…it seems to be that no one really has quite the answer for you.
oy. oy. oy.
i feel your burning searing pain
I have also heard about the bank option and US taxes. The bank option is paying out interest (3 different tracks- fixed rate, variable rate, or fixed but linked to inflation, anyone know which is best?), same as any closed savings account. When you have an account in the bank there is a heter iska with the bank that takes care of the ribit issues. I don’t know if that is automatic here, but I assume you can always arrange one with the bank personally if it is not automatically set up thru bituach leumi.
M husband said there was a sign up in shul about the halachik issues of the situation. My husbands not great at understanding these things, so he didn’t tell me what exactly the sign said, but my suggestion is to ask a rav, because it is not all that simple, which is what I’m going to have to do as well. If anyone asks there rav it would be nice to hear the response.
Does anyone know how it works for an American that’s planning on moving back in a couple of years does it get canceled when I go back or my child can come back and pick up his money when he is 18?
Smarter- I assume you mean that the child is an Israeli citizen. I think on the website they said that payments are only made if the child lives in Israel. but I assume that anything already paid into the system remains there until withdrawal at 18 or 21.
By the way, payments start in Jan- but I think the notice said that we have until Jun 1 to decide on what plan to take (or was I confusing that with Jan 6?). If we don’t decide, the default is the investment options (for younger kids), picked randomly from among the choices. Once that track is picked it cannot be changed to a bank track. So my question is, if we don’t decide by Jan, where does the money go in the meantime until we decide? Even a temporary stay may cause both halachic and tax problems.
Winnie my child is actually not an israeli citizen but we are still on the regular bituach leumi system are you saying that this program is only for citizens?
I assumed that only citizens get child allowances at all, but you are obviously smarter than everyone else, or at least me, and taught me something new.
I just checked the website- and it says that the savings plan are for any child who is entitled to a child allowance. If you are entitled to that then you get the savings plan too. According to the site, you get child allowance if you are a resident of Israel, or if you live in Israel as a salaried employee with a work visa for at least 6 months. If you move back, child allowance only continues for the first 3 months.
To pick up his money at age 18, he and his parents have to sign a withdrawal form. If it is after 21, only he has to sign. I don’t know if it has to be done in person. But keep in mind, if he only qualifies for a couple of years of payments because he leaves the country, the flight will cost much more than any money earned!
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