If you worked in Japan as a foreign national and paid into the Employees' Pension Insurance (Kōsei Nenkin), you may be entitled to receive a portion of those contributions back after you leave. This is known as the lump-sum withdrawal payment (dattai ichiji-kin).
Below are the conditions you need to meet in order to be eligible.
Core Eligibility Conditions
All of the following must apply to you at the time you submit your claim:
- Non-Japanese nationality. This payment is available to foreign nationals who were enrolled in Employees' Pension Insurance while working in Japan. Japanese nationals are not eligible.
- At least 6 months of enrollment. You must have been enrolled in Employees' Pension Insurance for a cumulative total of at least 6 months. Partial months generally count as full months for this purpose.
- No registered address in Japan. You must have deregistered your residence in Japan before submitting the claim. In practice, this means you have already left the country.
- Application submitted within 2 years of leaving Japan. There is a strict deadline. The claim must be received by the Japan Pension Service within 2 years of the date you deregistered your Japanese address.
- Not entitled to a Japanese old-age pension. If you have accumulated enough years to qualify for a Japanese pension benefit under a social security agreement, you generally cannot receive the lump-sum withdrawal payment.
The 2-year filing window starts from the date you cancelled your residence registration in Japan, not from your flight date. If you are unsure of your deregistration date, check the certificate of residence cancellation you received when you left.
Which Type of Pension Insurance Qualifies?
The lump-sum withdrawal payment applies specifically to Employees' Pension Insurance (Kōsei Nenkin Hoken), which covers most full-time employees at companies in Japan. If you were enrolled as a company employee, your contributions are the relevant ones for this claim.
How Much Can You Receive?
The refund amount depends on your average monthly remuneration and the number of months enrolled. As a general indication:
- 1 year of enrollment at a monthly salary of ¥300,000 → approximately ¥250,000–¥300,000
- 3 years of enrollment at a monthly salary of ¥500,000 → approximately ¥1,000,000–¥1,500,000
- 5 years of enrollment with a higher salary and bonuses → over ¥5,600,000 in some cases
These are illustrative figures. The actual amount is calculated by the Japan Pension Service based on your individual records.
The Withholding Tax and the Follow-Up Refund
When the lump-sum withdrawal payment is paid out, a 20.42% withholding income tax is deducted at source. This withheld tax may be recoverable through a separate tax refund procedure filed with the Japanese tax authorities. PenPos handles this follow-up step as part of its end-to-end service where applicable.
If you worked in Japan for at least 6 months, are no longer a resident there, and have not yet applied, you likely have a claim worth exploring. The 2-year window means it is worth checking sooner rather than later.
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