Management fees are the yearly price of having your money managed, and they come out of your savings without an invoice. This is our central guide on the subject: what the law lets a provider charge, how to find out what you actually pay, how to negotiate and when moving really pays. Why a small percentage is not small is explained in Management fees: how a small percentage eats a large part of your savings.
What may be charged: the legal ceilings
The law sets ceilings on the management fees any long-term savings product may charge. A provider may charge less than the ceiling, never more. The table shows the ceilings we found in public sources. Ceilings are updated in regulations, so check them with the Capital Market Authority before you decide.
A ceiling is not a fair price
The ceiling is the most that may be charged, not what people pay and not what counts as fair. Many savers pay far less. Compare what you pay with what other providers charge, not only with the ceiling.
On top of the ceilings there are mechanisms that bring fees down for people who never chose a fund. The selected (default) pension funds are meant for people who never chose a fund, and according to a Capital Market Authority review, cancelling existing employer agreements at maximum fees, which took effect in March 2018, sharply reduced the share paying the maximum. Details are on Kol Zchut's page on default funds (opens in a new tab)) (Hebrew).
How to find out what I pay
- 1
Open the latest report
The fund's quarterly or annual report shows the fee rates on deposits and on the balance, and the shekel amount charged. How to read the report has its own guide.
- 2
Gather every product
Pension, study fund, provident fund and managers' insurance at several providers. The full list is in the Pension Clearing House (opens in a new tab) and Har HaKesef (opens in a new tab), as explained in How to check how much pension you have.
- 3
Enter the numbers in the official calculator
The Capital Market Authority's fee calculator (opens in a new tab) shows the rates different providers offer, so you can see whether you pay more than usual.
- 4
Make the gap concrete
The tool below shows what the gap between two rates costs over the years, with your own assumptions.
Open as a full calculator: Management fee calculator for pension and savings funds
For a second view, our management-fee calculator compares two rates on the same monthly deposit and shows the difference in the final amount. The formula and assumptions are visible, and it runs in your browser.
What counts as a high fee
There is no single number for everyone, because the price depends on the product, the size of the balance and whether you still deposit. What you can do is compare properly. The table sums up what to watch.
Four ways to lower them, in order
- 1
First, ask
Contact the provider or your agent and ask for a reduction. It is free, does not commit you to move, and often works, especially with a competing offer in hand. Ask for the answer in writing.
- 2
Check for an employer agreement
If the pension was opened through your employer, special terms may apply. If you do not know, ask payroll or your agent.
- 3
Move to another provider, when it pays
Moving between pension providers is a right. Before you ask, check insurance cover, qualifying periods and the investment track, as described on Kol Zchut's page on moving between providers (opens in a new tab) (Hebrew).
- 4
Merge duplicates
Several small accounts at several providers each pay their own fee. Merging similar accounts can lower costs, provided you first check what happens to the insurance cover.
Before you cancel or move
Do not cancel a policy or move money before checking which cover would disappear, whether the new provider has a waiting period, and what it does to the continuity of your rights. If in doubt, ask a licensed pension adviser.
The order is deliberate: the first step costs one phone call and the last changes the structure of your savings. So start with the easy, reversible steps, and move on to the ones that are hard to undo only once you have a written offer and numbers in hand. If you work with an agent, ask what commission they receive from your product, because that too is part of the picture and affects the recommendation.
Questions to ask the provider
Before the call
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Fees are not the whole story
A cheap product that loses important insurance cover, or a track that does not suit your age, can cost more than you save on fees. So make a broad comparison: fees, investment track, insurance cover and service. The pension fund guide explains how the pieces fit.
The Shavve app shows the fee on each product you connect against the published market median and against your own cheapest product, so you can see at once where a question is worth asking. It shows and does not act: the decision and the contact with the provider stay with you.
An illustration: what one percent means in shekels
Suppose, purely as an illustration, a balance of ₪200,000. A fee of 0.5% a year on the balance is ₪1,000 a year, and a fee of 0.3% is ₪600. The difference is ₪400 a year, and it grows as the balance grows. If you also deposit ₪2,000 a month and the fee on deposits is 4%, the provider takes ₪80 from each deposit, which is ₪960 a year. These are plain arithmetic examples, not data about any provider and not a forecast.
What changes when you stop depositing or retire
Someone who has stopped depositing pays fees only on the balance, so the rate on the balance is the number that matters. Someone receiving an old-age pension also pays on the balance only, and in a new comprehensive pension fund the ceiling for pensioners is 0.3% according to Kol Zchut (from 1 Feb 2022). An old account left dormant at a provider where you no longer deposit is a good place to start checking.
Common mistakes
- Comparing different tracks, for instance an equity track against a conservative one, and concluding that one provider is more expensive.
- Looking only at the fee on deposits and forgetting the fee on the balance, or the other way round.
- Cancelling insurance to save money without checking which cover is lost.
- Moving money without making sure the insurance cover stays continuous.
- Leaving old accounts unchecked for years.
- Relying on memory or hearsay: the number in the latest report is the one that counts.
A one-evening plan
- 1
Gather
Download the latest reports for every product you hold, or connect them in one place.
- 2
Write down
For each product note the fee on deposits and on the balance, the investment track and the insurance cover.
- 3
Compare
Check the official calculator for a cheaper offer on the same kind of product and the same track.
- 4
Ask
Call the provider or your agent, ask for a reduction and get the answer in writing.
- 5
Decide
Only once you have an answer and understand what happens to the cover, decide whether to stay or move.
What if the provider refuses?
A refusal is not the end of the road. You can ask for the cheapest offer the provider gives new members on the same track, show a competing offer and ask them to match it, or look into moving. A provider that wants to keep you can sometimes offer terms it did not offer on the first call, so it is worth politely insisting. If that fails, ask your agent or a licensed pension adviser for a written comparison. If you think more than the ceiling was charged, you can contact the Capital Market Authority.
Telling a real discount from marketing
- A real discount shows in numbers: the fee on deposits and on the balance, before and after.
- Ask whether the discount is permanent or for a limited period, and what happens when it ends.
- Make sure the track or the insurance cover was not swapped together with the discount.
- Ask for the details in a document, and check in the next quarterly report that the rate really changed.
Frequently asked questions
In a new comprehensive pension fund up to 0.5% a year of the balance and up to 6% of deposits, and for someone receiving an old-age pension 0.3% of the balance (from 1 Feb 2022), according to Kol Zchut. Verify with the Capital Market Authority.
Up to 4% of each deposit and up to 1.05% a year of the balance, according to Kol Zchut's page on investment provident funds. It is a maximum, and a provider may charge less.
Yes. You can contact the provider or your agent and ask. They do not have to agree, but asking costs nothing and does not commit you to move.
Not always. Before moving, check insurance cover, waiting periods, the investment track and service. A move that gives up important cover can cost more than the fee difference.
In the fund's quarterly and annual report, the Capital Market Authority's fee calculator and Gemel Net. An app connected to your pension sources can show it in one place.
