Health insurance after stopping work - my research to date

[Tokyo]

If you are under 65 you still have to pay your national pension contributions - these are set at about ￥20,000 a month and paid through city hall. Of course, once you start getting the Japanese pension you stop paying into this scheme.

Technically, yes you are supposed to keep paying but … I retired at 63 and intended to continue payments but the pension office people I talked to suggested that I don’t pay. So I didn’t, and just waited to my 65th birthday to apply.

As to the ability to continue health insurance through Kyosai for 2 years after retirement, this will almost certainly be the cheaper option for the 1st year of retirement. For those with good post-retirement incomes, it may also be cheaper for your second and final year as well. Enjoy getting a Kyosai subsidy for Ningen Doc while you can! Your employer’s HR should explain health insurance options, as well as retirement bonuses and tax obligations sometime in your final 2~6months. If they don’t, maybe you should request one.

[RetireJapan]

Technically, yes you are supposed to keep paying but … I retired at 63 and intended to continue payments but the pension office people I talked to suggested that I don’t pay.

I believe you are only obliged to pay until 60 -that is because you would reach the maximum 40 years then (reduced or waived payments for university students still accrue eligibility). However, for people that need or want to keep paying into kokumin nenkin they are allowed to under certain circumstances.

People working and enrolled in kosei nenkin don't get a choice, I believe.

Could be wrong about one or both of those though! In my defence I am at least 16 years away from having to worry about this

[beanhead]

Technically, yes you are supposed to keep paying but … I retired at 63 and intended to continue payments but the pension office people I talked to suggested that I don’t pay.

I believe you are only obliged to pay until 60 -that is because you would reach the maximum 40 years then (reduced or waived payments for university students still accrue eligibility). However, for people that need or want to keep paying into kokumin nenkin they are allowed to under certain circumstances.

People working and enrolled in kosei nenkin don't get a choice, I believe.

Could be wrong about one or both of those though! In my defence I am at least 16 years away from having to worry about this

My nenkin net forecast only goes to 60. As you said, payments after 60 are voluntary unless you are still employed and paying kosei nenkin.

I was thinking about this related to the iDeCo extension to 65.
If you are still employed and paying kosei nenkin until 65, it seems quite simple. You can choose to keep paying, for example 23,000yen a month from 60 to 65.Probably a sensible idea.

If, after 60, you are not working or are doing something independent or part-time, you would not be paying into kosei nenkin. So, to continue investing via iDeCo you would have to voluntarily pay the kokumin nenkin of about 16,000 per month, to then be able to pay your iDeCo. At the same iDeCo rate I pay now, that would be around 40,000 yen per month for the 2. This makes sense if you have an income of some sort. I am not sure if it makes sense if the income is from dividends or selling off assets after 60...

[kuma]

Interesting thread.

I'm insured by Shigaku Kyosai but am a flight risk to freelance work in the medium term, and had been wondering whether the voluntary insurance coverage could be possible and beneficial if I one day make the jump... especially if my wife is my dependent at the time. I haven't looked in fine detail as to whether this option would be open if 'retiring' from a Shigaku Kyosai-insured job (significantly before state retirement age), but then working as a freelancer. I will do further investigation if things get less hypothetical.

[beanhead]

I... especially if my wife is my dependent at the time.

aaah...I forgot about the current dependent wife 'bonus'. On iDeco after 60:
In my case, the cost of continuing to invest in iDeCo after 60 years old if I am no longer in shakai hoken/kosei nenkin is:
16,000 x 2 for 2 of us to pay kokumin nenkin, and then 23,000 x 2 for both of us to continue with the current rates of iDeCo.
Basically 80,000 yen a month...
Of course doing this gives us more years in nenkin and more investment in iDeCo, both of which are good things. Staying in a position with kosei nenkin, however, seems more attractive, but that means continuing to wear the salaryman suit until 65

[RetireJapan]

In my case, the cost of continuing to invest in iDeCo after 60 years old if I am no longer in shakai hoken/kosei nenkin is:
16,000 x 2 for 2 of us to pay kokumin nenkin, and then 23,000 x 2 for both of us to continue with the current rates of iDeCo.
Basically 80,000 yen a month...

One or both of you could pay in up to 68,000 yen a month into iDeCo if you are paying kokumin nenkin. Really supercharge the old account