Nagamine & Mishima Consulting

Accounting practice since 1989

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If my company does not pay my pension directly, should I be making payment to the Japanese government directly? Am I legally obligated to opt in to the Japanese pension system? What will happen if I leave the country before retiring?

December 7, 2012

In the case your company does not pay your pension directly, you should make payment to the National Pension Agency on your own.

If you meet the following two conditions, you are legally obligated to opt in to the Japanese pension system.

Condition1)     You live in Japan

Condition2)     You are at latest 20 years old and less than 74 years old.

If you leave Japan before retiring and you have been paying into Japanese public pension system for 6 months or longer, it is possible that you can receive a lump-sum withdrawal payment. However, once you receive any such withdrawal payment, the period of time used as the basis to calculate future pension benefits will be extinguished. When considering whether to request a withdrawal payment or not, you should consider whether your home country has a bilateral agreement with Japan for totalization of benefits. It may make more sense to apply the time and benefits accrued during your stay in Japan to your pension in your home country if such an agreement exists.

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People are Talking

  • “The launch of Berry Bros. & Rudd Limited’s Japanese branch in November 2008 required the support of a knowledgeable, reliable and professional accounting firm and we were therefore fortunate to find all of these qualities working with the Nagamine & Mishima Accounting Office.

    Since assisting us with the initial set-up, N&M have managed our monthly and year-end Accounts as well as handling our Payroll, ensuring compliance with Tax regulations and filing annual Tax Returns and supervising year-end stock counts.  They respond to all queries in a very timely manner, their work is of a high consistency and their approach friendly.

    With N&M assistance we have confidence in the controls and integrity of the accounting information for our Japanese operations.”

    Philip Duggan, Finance Director

    Berry Bros. & Rudd Limited Japan branch