Hi All, Regarding the pension thing: I heard a program on the radio about this subject and as I understood it, people who belong to the old kupat gemel funds and who reached the official retirement age (by 2005 or 07 - I don't remember exactly when) have a certain grace period (sometime towards March 2011) in which they can withdraw their kupat gemel funds without penalty or tax. The discussion then went on as to whether this was worthwhile or not and the advisor mentioned that there was no really safe place to invest this money where it would earn anything like the 4.5% that it would be earning in the pension fund if you left it there. However, he advised that each person consult a financial advisor in order to determine the financial plan suitable to their personal needs. And I want to add that it shouldn't be an advisor in your bank. I fully agree with Rachelli's tirade about those who made the decision regarding our hard earned money. My objection is that sometimes we need a large sum of money and have been counting on being able to withdraw from our kupat gemel. Besides, and probably more important is that if G-d forbid we don't make it to 120, our pension is defaulted to the fund and that, to me, is pure and simple theft! Renee Wahl ----------------------------------------------- ** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org ** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx ** ** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** -----------------------------------------------