News Japan weighs overhaul of pension system for foreign residents

The Japanese government is considering changes to the pension system to encourage foreign nationals to contribute longer by making it easier for them to qualify for future pension benefits. The Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare is reviewing the eligibility criteria and calculation methods for lump-sum pension withdrawals for foreign workers who leave Japan before qualifying for full pension benefits. The goal is to encourage longer-term contributions to the pension system by making it easier for foreign workers to receive future pension benefits.

Currently, all residents in Japan, regardless of nationality, are required to contribute to either the national pension or employee pension plans. However, foreign workers who leave Japan before contributing for at least 10 years are not eligible for pension benefits, resulting in the loss of their contributions. The lump-sum withdrawal payment option was introduced to mitigate this issue, allowing foreign workers to claim a partial refund of their contributions within two years of leaving Japan.

All residents in Japan, regardless of their nationality, are required to pay into the national pension or employee pension plans. However, foreign nationals who leave Japan before contributing for at least 10 years cannot receive pension benefits, meaning they may simply lose the money they have contributed to the pension system. To address this issue, the lump-sum withdrawal payment option was introduced, which allows a partial refund of the pension contributions made. Foreign nationals can claim this partial refund within two years of leaving Japan. Under the current system, foreign nationals can still receive the lump-sum withdrawal payment even if they leave Japan with a re-entry permit. However, once they have received the payment, their pension contribution period resets to zero. This means that if foreign nationals return to Japan and resume making pension contributions, they may still fall short of the 10-year requirement. In fiscal 2022, one in four of those granted lump-sum withdrawal payments held re-entry permits.

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I wonder if I still have my 年金手帳 around somewhere?

I got my refund and never looked back.

yea I got my refund but thankfully I can take social security in Japan. My wife is interesting as she qualifies for the Japanese pension and she can also get a spouse benefit for social security and social security survival benefits based on her time being married to me in the US as I understand it (she did not take a salary in US). One thing I like about US social security is it has a survivor benefit, that is not the case with the Japanese system.

I'm approaching the age when I can get both a US pension from Social Security, and a Japanese pension from Kokumin Nenkin Remind me in a few years to tell you how it works out.