RetireJapan

May I ask how you actually made the payments? I.e. is there a page with bank numbers, etc.? I think I'm going to give them till around April 1 - 1 week since my first call - and then call them again. If they were able to sort it for you after a bit of pressure, maybe they can for me? The last page ...

I am in almost exactly the same situation. Just yesterday, I got the same letter with the same rather opaque comments telling me to call the Future Pension Center to "find out if your state pension will increase once you've paid voluntary National Insurance contributions (NICs)". I also r...

When do the annual bills for Class 2 usually arrive? I also set up a direct debit but for some reason ended up with annual payments. A minor inconvenience that for me isn't worth filling in forms or calling the nice people at the pensions service. Looking at my bank statement, I payed at the end of...

Success! I've been accepted for Class 2 and have to pay certain years by 5 April. A huge thank you to everyone on RJ! I'm very glad I sent a long cover letter to explain my situation as I wasn't sure if I would qualify for Class 2 or Class 3. I've paid everything and called the Future Pensions Centr...

What I've used before and which you didn't mention already: - Medical expenses (above JPY 100k) The JPY 100k figure is often used, but if your income is low, then < JPY 100k is possible. This site states 100,000 yen or 5 percent of your annual income (whichever is smaller). https://www.ibmjapankenp...

Enquire by 5th April. HMRC call back within 8 weeks (if they abide by their own deadline!). Potentially, an application. Months (?) for them to assess. Then 8 weeks to pay (at the rates in the letter, and for any gaps more than 6 years ago). Months seems to be the case for assessing online applicat...

Your situation depends on where in Canada you will be living as Quebec is not included in the Japan-Canada social security agreement.
https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/ ... anada.html (Section 1)

will I be able to collect unemployment benefits because I have lost my main job? Yes, if you have paid sufficient employment insurance premiums. However, running a business may cause a problem. This MHLW pamphlet for people who have lost their job explains the procedure in detail. https://www.mhlw....

If you lost your job because your employer did not renew your contract or you were dismissed, there is a 7 day wait after signing on. You initially have to declare you have no work, but later you can work part-time while signing on and you don't need to declare earnings, just days worked. For exampl...

They will have a full record of your UK employment history on file. When I explained I wasn't sure of my status when I left the UK, I was told they could check. I wanted to send everything while I was in England over the summer, so this was a better solution than applying to get information about m...