Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz said that this coming Sunday the Ministry of Defense would have to become fully transparent and accountable, and to transfer NIS 700 million of its budget for the implementation of free education from the age of three, and long school days. Steinitz said that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are determined to implement the Trajtenberg recommendations on free education and the defense budget.
Steinitz: "Historical decisions"
"We are making two historical decisions today," Steinitz said. "The first one is to locate dormant accounts. In other words, NIS 15 billion will be returned to their rightful owners, to the citizens that worked in their youth and do not remember where there savings was stored, or to inheritors that did not even know the inheritance existed. We have funds right in front of our eyes that need to return to their rightful owners."
Steinitz added that, "The second decision is to follow the Smart Model, which matches savings options to a person's character. Our aim is to make sure that citizens are kept safe by gradually reducing risk during savings years."
According the Ministry of Finance, there is NIS 15 billion of pension savings (pension funds, managers insurance, provident funds, and advanced training funds) that belong to people who are not even aware of the existence of the funds, or are listed under names of people who have passed away, and the inheritors do not know that the funds exist. The Ministry of Finance believes that locating the owners or inheritors of these funds will significantly limit the number cases in which the connection has been lost between the financial institutions that manage the funds and the owners of the funds.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 4, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012