Family Payments for Soldiers (ת"ש / תשמ"ש) — Financial Support in Compulsory Service

Why this matters especially in our community

A paper prepared by the Knesset Research and Information Center ahead of a session of the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee (December 2015) stated: "Economic background — a considerable share of the soldiers suffer from financial problems at home and are compelled to help support the family." This is the common backdrop to going AWOL, and from there to incarceration. Opening a family-support case in time is the formal way to break that chain — before it starts.

What תשמ"ש is

תשמ"ש (family payments) is a monthly payment intended to secure the minimum subsistence of a soldier's family. It is governed by General Staff Order 35.0210, "The payments code for families of compulsory-service soldiers".

Who may apply

Pre-recruits and compulsory-service soldiers who, or whose families, face financial or social difficulties. Payment may be requested for:

• The parents — both or one of them
• A spouse
• Children
• Siblings — where the soldier is their guardian

For pre-recruits the payment is released only after actual enlistment. Career-service soldiers are outside this entitlement.

How to apply — and it is not a downloadable form

The application goes to the family-support NCO: at the recruitment office before enlistment, and in the unit during service. A digital channel exists in the personal area, but a first application requires the coordinator's involvement. There is no form you fill in alone and send — it starts with a conversation.

What to bring

• Payslips for the parents or spouse — three months
• Bank statements — three months
• National Insurance benefit confirmations, if any
• A copy of the ID card with the appendix listing children
• A social worker's report, if relevant
• Guardianship confirmation, if relevant
• Loan and deposit details
• Credit-card statements — three months
• Proof of vehicle ownership, if any

A home visit may also form part of the assessment.

What the support includes

Beyond the monthly payment to parents or spouse: holiday vouchers twice a year (Rosh Hashanah and Passover), equipment and electrical-appliance grants, one-off payments in urgent hardship, loans, and special leave. Lone soldiers eligible for תשמ"ש also receive monthly food vouchers.

Rejected?

There is a right of appeal — through the recruitment office before service, or through the unit's family-support NCO during it.

What is not written here — and why

We have not listed amounts. The available official sources give conflicting numbers for the same components, and some carry no update date. We have not listed financial thresholds — income ceilings, per-capita calculations, or the weight given to the number of siblings — because the substantive criteria sit in the General Staff order, which is not public. Kol Zchut states explicitly that the scope of support is set "in light of the economic and social situation of the applicant and their family" and that no thresholds are published.

The wizard below therefore checks whether the route to apply is open to you — not whether you will be approved, and not how much you would receive. The only authoritative party for that is the family-support NCO.

Related

• A soldier was detained or jailed — what to do
• Lone soldiers and soldiers from struggling families

> Note: This is general information, not legal or financial advice. The wizard's result reflects the documented conditions only and is not a binding determination.

Sources

• General Staff Order 35.0210 — the payments code for families of compulsory-service soldiers
• תשמ"ש — family payments, Kol Zchut)
• ת"ש (service conditions) — Ministry of Defense)