US Social Security in Japan

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Something for US citizens today for a change 😉

The other day I came across the excellent ACA information page for US expats on the subject of social security.

You should look at the page for the details, but the following are probably the most important points:

  1. US citizens can claim Social Security benefits while abroad
  2. They can also check the status of their accounts online
  3. Nenkin and Social Security eligibility can be combined
  4. Non-residents do not have to pay into Social Security
  5. In fact, if they work for a non-US employer abroad, they are not allowed to pay in voluntarily
  6. If a US citizen runs a business they may have to pay self-employment taxes which do contribute to Social Security*

*it is possible the US-Japan tax treaty means that people can choose to pay Japanese taxes instead (much cheaper)
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Anything to add? Any other good resources out there for US citizens?

11 Responses

  1. My Japanese wife worked longer than 10 years in the states before we retired to Japan. We were shocked and dismayed to learn that her SS benefits were cut by nearly 60% due to the claim from SS that she had double-dipped; that is, she was entitled to a Japanese pension for the years she worked in Japan so she was penalized for working in the states. It still burns my hide that she paid into SS all those years she worked in the states.

    1. Sorry to hear that! Did you look into combining eligibility? Was this because she is a NRA?

      2. We haven’t looked into combining eligibility yet but I’ll suggest it to my wife. Not sure if it had anything to do with her residency status.

  2. I have been here for several years. I communicated by email with the U.S. Social Security Admin. a few years ago to make sure I knew what I had to do. Please note: It is important to sign up for MEDICAID (not Medicare) at age 65 even if still living overseas at age 65 (which I will be).
    I also pay taxes to Japan currently.
    I do contribute to the Japanese pension – Japan does have that agreement with the U.S. To be honest, I am not counting on getting any Japanese pension when I retire in 4 years, but from what I have read I may get something. I hope so. I could use it and I will have put a lot of money into it by then. But I don’t want any stress worrying about it. Because I have not paid into the Japanese pension system for more than ten years (I think it’s 10; I will have to recheck my old notes), it should NOT lower my earned Social Security income when I retire.
    So for me, I know I have already worked my full 35 years in the U.S.paying taxes all that time. I do not have to pay further income tax to the U.S. govt. due to my contributions here to the joint pension system (also my total income is far below the minimum income threshold set by the IRS that would require me to pay). Just fyi, my employer contributes half and I contribute half to the Japanese pension system.
    Laws and rules can change within 4 years, of course. But for now, I think I am on track to receive my Social Security, full amount at my full retirement age and possibly get a small Japanese pension, also (which, again, I do not count on). In three years, I will be in contact again with the U.S. Social Security Admin. to go over all details at that point.

    1. Sounds like you may be able to have those years you paid in Japan count towards SS. Definitely worth looking into.

      1. My wife informs me that she did approach Japanese authorities about the discrepancy but they refused to intervene or increase her pension.

      1. Tom, I have not studied the whole Medicaid situation, but it is separate from Medicare and a U.S. citizen must sign up for it at age 65. That’s all I know; that was confirmed to me. I will need all benefits I can get when I retire and move back to eh U.S. (I will be retiring at low income category) and I will need to make sure I have Medicaid available for me. But I can register for it while overseas.

    3. I believe you sign up for Medicare not Medicaid. Medicaid is the income-based health insurance program for people of very low income. US citizens are eligible for Medicare from age 65 and if they don’t sign up then (and don’t meet certain exemptions) they will pay an extra penalty if they ever do sign up for Medicare.

  3. Yeah, we know about the windfall thing. It just seems unfair to have paid into a system for which she can’t fully benefit.