1.3 million children in Israel are saving in a plan their parents never chose
25.4 billion shekels have already been accumulated in the "Savings for Every Child" program, and the cumulative profit has reached 3.85 billion. However, 37% of parents forgo doubling the monthly deposit, and almost half do not bother to choose an investment track. The most worrying figure: 80% of children who received a default track are the second child or later in the family. And banks? 98,119 savings accounts were closed with them in one year.
The "Savings for Every Child" program ends 2025 with significant figures: 3,633,573 active savings plans, 25.4 billion shekels transferred since January 2017, and a cumulative profit of about 3.85 billion shekels. These data come from the annual report published by the Research and Planning Administration of the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi).
However, beneath these headlines lies a less flattering reality. In 2025, deposits were made in 3,455,443 plans, but only 2,182,409 (63.2%) parents chose to add 57 shekels of their own to double the savings. This means nearly 1.3 million children receive exactly half of what they could. Furthermore, in 1,312,519 plans (33.1%), the investment track was chosen by the National Insurance Institute by default.
"Research shows that parents are not involved enough in choosing tracks and do not utilize the option to double the amount from the child allowance," said Nitza Kasir, former Deputy Director of Research at the National Insurance Institute. A year later, the situation remains largely unchanged.
25.4 billion shekels: contribution breakdown
Of the cumulative total, 17.7 billion shekels (70%) were deposited by the state, while 7.7 billion shekels (30%) came from parents. In 2025 alone, about 3.56 billion shekels were deposited.
The program is maturing. During 2025, 122,300 plans were fully redeemed and 2,960 partially, totaling about 1.075 billion shekels. The average redemption was about 8,600 shekels per child—a respectable amount for an 18-year-old, but not life-changing. Additionally, 433,000 grants were paid in 2025 to children reaching ages 3, 18, and 21, totaling 193.3 million shekels.
The second child pays the price
The most striking finding is that out of 38,729 children born in 2025 assigned a default track, only 7,970 (20%) were first-borns, while 30,759 (80%) were second children or later. The gap is consistent: 77% of parents actively chose a plan for their first-born, compared to only 63% for subsequent children.
Director General of the National Insurance Institute, Tzvika Cohen, stated: "This is the time to call on parents to be more involved in choosing savings plans. This involvement makes the difference between tens of thousands of shekels and hundreds of thousands of shekels for the children in the family."
Banks are bleeding: 98,119 accounts closed in one year
A legislative amendment effective January 2025 allowed parents to stop bank deposits and open new savings in provident funds. Consequently, 98,119 savings accounts were moved from banks to provident funds.
Bank Hapoalim took the biggest hit with 40,103 closed accounts (40.9% of the total exit). By the end of 2025, only 583,504 active plans remained in banks (16% of the market), compared to 3,050,069 in provident funds (84%).
The data explains this migration: total profit in banks since the program's inception averaged 11.6%, while provident funds yielded about 16.1%.
The full article was originally published on Bizportal.
