Cataract is one of the most common causes of reduced vision and one of the most frequent questions at medical boards. And the answer to “how many disability percentage points are given for cataract?” surprises most patients: at the National Insurance Institute, for the cataract itself — zero. Not out of stinginess on the board’s part, but because of how the impairment schedule is built. That is what I explain here.
The data on this page comes from the same impairment schedules on which the eye disability percentage calculator is built — the same clauses, the same figures.
What the schedule says: clause 62(e)
The National Insurance impairment schedule assigns the lens of the eye clause 62, and its sub-clause (e) states in plain words: cataract — the degree of disability is determined according to the impairment of visual capacity.
In other words, a cataract is not “worth” percentage points simply by existing. The schedule’s only question is what the cataract did to vision: the best corrected acuity of each eye is placed in the visual acuity table, and the intersection of the two eyes determines the percentage. An advanced cataract that brings an eye down to 6/60 with a healthy fellow eye — 20%. A drop to 3/60 — 25%. Practical blindness in one eye — 30%. An early cataract that barely affects acuity — 0%, even if it is troublesome with glare and night vision.
The 2012 trap: the artificial lens no longer earns percentage points
This is the most widespread error on the subject. Before the 2012 amendment, the old text of clause 62 awarded percentage points for the state of the eye after surgery itself: 5% for one eye and 10% for both for pseudophakia (an artificial lens), and 10%/15% for aphakia. Older guides, forum posts and some case-law surveys still quote those figures.
But the 2012 amendment (K.T. 7057, in force from 1.1.2012) replaced the clause in full, and it applies to everyone whose file is heard by a board from the day it came into force. The current text provides:
- State following intraocular lens implantation (pseudophakia) — 0% for one eye, 0% for both.
- Subluxation of the lens — 5% for one eye, 10% for both.
- Absence of the lens or dislocation — 10% for one eye, 15% for both.
- Loss of accommodation (other than presbyopia) — 5%, provided the defect did not arise after the age of 45.
The legislator’s logic is clear: modern cataract surgery with an artificial lens restores vision, so the mere presence of an implanted lens is no longer regarded as an impairment. Anyone who comes to a board expecting “percentage points for the surgery” is relying on a law replaced more than a decade ago.
Secondary cataract — the same principle
Months or years after successful surgery the posterior capsule may cloud over — secondary cataract. It, too, has no clause of its own: it is assessed by the actual damage to visual capacity. And since the short YAG laser procedure clears the opacity and restores vision in most cases, this is usually a reversible impairment — and the assessment reflects the stable state after treatment, not the worst moment.
Weighting with other impairments
Where other impairments accompany the cataract — a constricted visual field, retinal disease, a defect in the fellow eye — the percentages are weighted rather than simply added: each further impairment is taken from the remainder, so 10% plus 10% gives 19%, not 20%. In general disability it is also worth knowing the exclusion rule: impairments of acuity and visual field whose combination does not exceed 25% are not counted towards entitlement to a benefit — except where the visual acuity of one eye is 3/60 or below.
The Ministry of Defense: a different schedule again
As we saw with dry eye, here too the two schedules are separate. Under the Ministry of Defense regulations, cataract does yield independent percentage points — 5% for one eye and 10% for both, in addition to the visual impairment. An IDF disabled veteran with a cataract therefore receives both the cataract clause and the visual impairment, weighted together — whereas at the National Insurance Institute exactly the same condition is assessed by vision alone.
What to document
Since everything derives from visual capacity, the decisive documentation is simple and focused:
- best corrected visual acuity, measured with full optical correction, on more than one date — to show a stable state
- where glare is significant, documentation of the appropriate tests, with the understanding that the table itself assesses acuity, not glare
- after surgery, documentation of the final, stable visual acuity: that is what decides
- where there are additional impairments, orderly documentation of each one separately, for weighting
For anyone preparing for a more complex board or considering an appeal, the page on the expert medical opinion in ophthalmology explains the role of a specialist opinion in the process.
In summary
Cataract has no fixed price in the impairment schedule — it has a mirror: the visual acuity table. At the National Insurance Institute everything derives from what the cataract actually did to vision, the artificial lens has earned no percentage points since 2012, and at the Ministry of Defense the rules are different and more generous. Understanding this means arriving at the board with the right examination in hand — a current, stable acuity measurement — rather than with expectations founded on an old law.
For the medical side itself — diagnosing cataract, the timing of surgery and the choice of lens — see the page on cataract surgery. The assessment on this page is general only and is not a medical opinion or legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
How many disability percentage points are given for cataract?
At the National Insurance Institute — zero as a standalone clause. Clause 62(e) of the impairment schedule states plainly: cataract — the degree of disability is determined according to the impairment of visual capacity. The percentage is therefore derived exclusively from what the cataract has done to corrected visual acuity, through the visual acuity table. At the Ministry of Defense the picture differs: there, cataract yields 5% for one eye and 10% for both, in addition to the visual impairment.
I had cataract surgery with an artificial lens — does that earn percentage points?
Under the current text, no. Clause 62(b) states that the state following intraocular lens implantation (pseudophakia) yields 0% — both for one eye and for both. It is worth knowing that before the 2012 amendment the old text gave 5% per eye and 10% for both, and older guides still quote those figures — but the amendment replaced them and applies to everyone whose file is heard by a board from the day it came into force. If reduced visual acuity remains after surgery, it is assessed through the table.
The cataract reduced vision in one eye — what does that yield?
It is read from the visual acuity table, cross-referenced against the other eye. For example, when the second eye is healthy (6/6): a drop to 6/60 yields 20%, to 3/60 yields 25%, and to 1/60 or below yields 30%. Every combination appears in the full table on the calculator page.
What about secondary cataract after surgery?
Exactly the same principle. Posterior capsule opacification (secondary cataract) is assessed by the actual damage to visual capacity — it has no clause of its own. Since a short YAG laser procedure clears the opacity and restores vision in most cases, the impairment is usually reversible, and the assessment reflects the stable state after treatment.
After surgery I lost the ability to focus up close — does that count?
Clause 62(a) gives 5% for loss of accommodation (other than presbyopia), but with a substantial reservation at the National Insurance Institute: no percentage is awarded if the defect arose after the age of 45. Since most cataract surgery is performed after that age, in practice the clause is mainly relevant to cataract and surgery at a young age.
When should I go before the board — before or after cataract surgery?
The board assesses actual visual capacity, in a stable state and with full optical correction. After successful surgery visual acuity usually returns, and with it the impairment shrinks or disappears — the assessment reflects what remains, not what was. The measurement worth bringing is therefore a current, stable visual acuity documented on more than one date; everything else follows from it.
