In Israel, nearly 40,000 Russians are not receiving their pensions due to sanctions
Nearly 40,000 Russian retirees living in Israel are unable to receive their pension payments directly from Russia. Problems with the transfers arose after international sanctions were imposed on Russian banks in 2022.
According to Knesset Deputy Speaker Yevgeny Sova, approximately 40,000 people are currently unable to receive their Russian pensions. In total, there were previously about 52,500 recipients of Russian pensions living in Israel.
The payment issues arose due to restrictions on cross-border bank transfers following the imposition of U.S. and EU sanctions against Russian financial institutions.
In 2022, Israeli banks ceased cooperation with most Russian financial institutions. In early 2025, pension transfers also stopped flowing through the chain involving Gazprombank and its correspondent bank in Luxembourg.
Approximately 52,500 recipients of Russian pensions were affected by the transfer issues in Israel. Of these:
- 16,600 received payments within Russia;
- 18,300 received payments into accounts at Israeli banks;
- 17,600 received pensions under an agreement between Russia and Israel on cooperation in the field of social security.
The Russian Embassy in Israel stated that Moscow and Tel Aviv had held several rounds of consultations on resuming pension transfers.
One option was to switch payments from dollars to other currencies, but they have not yet been able to agree on a practical mechanism.
“Work is ongoing,” the Russian Embassy reported.
Yevgeny Sova believes that one possible solution could be a special permit or guarantees from the Russian Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Israel for one of the Israeli banks, which would then be able to conduct transactions with Russian pension funds.
At a Knesset committee meeting in June 2026, the possibility of using the Israeli payment mechanism for repatriates who are unable to receive pensions from other countries was also discussed.
Israel is not the only country where Russian pensioners have faced difficulties receiving their benefits.
In August 2025, the Russian Social Fund reported difficulties with pension transfers to Lithuania and Bulgaria. At the same time, according to the fund, transfers to Latvia and Estonia were resumed starting in the third quarter of 2025.
In December 2025, the Russian Social Fund also announced the transfer of pensions to recipients in Bulgaria. At that time, 5,700 people received approximately 5 million euros in payments for 2025.
According to the SFR’s 2022 data, more than 281,000 pensioners in 132 countries around the world received Russian pensions. Of these, 158,400 received payments through Russian banks, while another 122,800 received them directly in their countries of residence.
Experts are considering several alternative methods for transferring Russian pensions abroad.
Alexey Petrov, managing director of the payment service Vepay, suggested that accounts in banks in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, or Uzbekistan could be used for this purpose.
The expert also mentioned stablecoins, whose value is pegged to the dollar or the euro, as another potential tool.
At the same time, any such mechanisms would need to take into account sanctions restrictions and financial monitoring rules in the countries through which the funds would pass.
The European Union plans to introduce a new package of sanctions against Russia in the coming months, which could be the most extensive since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Earlier, New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, announced a new package of sanctions against individuals and organizations supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. The sanctions list also includes individuals involved in the abduction and forced re-education of Ukrainian children.
Switzerland has expanded its sanctions lists against Russia in response to its war against Ukraine, adding nine individuals and 45 organizations. The updated restrictive measures by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) took effect on August 11. Information regarding 11 additional individuals and companies already subject to sanctions was also updated.
