Paying half Hoken or full Hoken

[northSaver]

On a side note, I didn't pay any nenkin at all for my first 15 years in Japan. I don't recall anyone asking me for it (or maybe they did once, at the start, but not after that), and didn't appreciate that it was mandatory for a foreigner until I started visiting this site. I figured wrongly that since I was paying into the UK state pension and my wife was paying into the Japanese one, we didn't need to pay into each other's systems too.

So I finally went to city hall expecting to be scolded and handed a huge 15-year invoice, but they were very nice about it and suggested that I backpay the maximum-allowed two years, with no obligation to do so. I was surprised how relaxed they were considering I'd been breaking the law for 15 years! Maybe other city halls might not be as forgiving? Anyway, I backpaid the two years and now all is well.

[Haystack]

On a side note, I didn't pay any nenkin at all for my first 15 years in Japan. I don't recall anyone asking me for it (or maybe they did once, at the start, but not after that), and didn't appreciate that it was mandatory for a foreigner until I started visiting this site. I figured wrongly that since I was paying into the UK state pension and my wife was paying into the Japanese one, we didn't need to pay into each other's systems too.

So I finally went to city hall expecting to be scolded and handed a huge 15-year invoice, but they were very nice about it and suggested that I backpay the maximum-allowed two years, with no obligation to do so. I was surprised how relaxed they were considering I'd been breaking the law for 15 years! Maybe other city halls might not be as forgiving? Anyway, I backpaid the two years and now all is well.

Well, the penalty for not paying is loss of guaranteed income in retirement.

Please note, PR rules have changed. You and your guarenteer need to demonstrate 2-3 years of no missed payments. You also need to demonstrate financial stability.

[Oliver]

Thank you all for all the advice, it has been great! Albeit it has been a humbling experience! Realizing how little I know about the subject of retirement. But, I would rather ask stupid question than be ignorant.
So here is a stupid question, I started this conversation thinking that I needed to invest in TNISA since I was only doing half payment in Nenkin.
Then, I thought that maybe paying full Nenkin was the better investment.
Then I learned that you can do a Fuka Nenkin add on a plus 400 yen. I wasn’t clear to me if I could or should do a payback or not or if it even was a good idea to do so. This is still a question in my mind.
Here the thing that struck me, the 120 minimum payment or ten years. My wife is 50 years old and is on pardoned payment. That sounded wrong to me, I should be paying in full for her and trying to do some makeup payment if I want to get anything out of the Japanese pension system.
Well, that was my last nights musing that did not help me sleep well.
A penny for your thoughts.

[Haystack]

Thank you all for all the advice, it has been great! Albeit it has been a humbling experience! Realizing how little I know about the subject of retirement. But, I would rather ask stupid question than be ignorant.
So here is a stupid question, I started this conversation thinking that I needed to invest in TNISA since I was only doing half payment in Nenkin.
Then, I thought that maybe paying full Nenkin was the better investment.
Then I learned that you can do a Fuka Nenkin add on a plus 400 yen. I wasn’t clear to me if I could or should do a payback or not or if it even was a good idea to do so. This is still a question in my mind.
Here the thing that struck me, the 120 minimum payment or ten years. My wife is 50 years old and is on pardoned payment. That sounded wrong to me, I should be paying in full for her and trying to do some makeup payment if I want to get anything out of the Japanese pension system.
Well, that was my last nights musing that did not help me sleep well.
A penny for your thoughts.

Step #1 Get an IC card reader for your My Number card and Login to Nenkin Net. You can then get a VERY clear picture of your history and projected payments.

You need to do this first, as you seem to be going in circles.

Step #2 Look at your budget. What can you afford to save and invest monthly?

Step #3 With 1 and 2 done you now have a clear picture. And you can start to make a decision about what to do going forward.

Finally, please let go of the anxiety and shame. It is weighing you down.

[zeroshiki]

I assume when you say full exempt for your wife that means she hasn't been working and is your dependent. If that's true, she qualifies as a Category 3 taxpayer and is completely exempt from paying pension as long as she remains a dependent. In that case, she will receive the full kokumin nenkin payout on retirement of 779,300 JPY a year (assuming you worked 40 years).

https://fp-moneydoctor.com/news/knowledge/no3_insured/

[RetireJapan]

I assume when you say full exempt for your wife that means she hasn't been working and is your dependent. If that's true, she qualifies as a Category 3 taxpayer and is completely exempt from paying pension as long as she remains a dependent.

That only applies to spouses of kosei nenkin payers.

[zeroshiki]

Ah, you're right. I just quickly looked for 扶養者 and didn't notice the kosei nenkin requirement. In that case, you're both Category 1 and you will receive 3/4 for paying half pension and she will receive 1/2 for being fully exempt.

That comes out to roughly 682k a year total for the both of you.

[CarlB]

Ah, you're right. I just quickly looked for 扶養者 and didn't notice the kosei nenkin requirement. In that case, you're both Category 1 and you will receive 3/4 for paying half pension and she will receive 1/2 for being fully exempt.

That comes out to roughly 682k a year total for the both of you.

I believe that number (682k) is for people who have been in the system for 40 years - which the OP hasn't.

[beanhead]

Ah, you're right. I just quickly looked for 扶養者 and didn't notice the kosei nenkin requirement. In that case, you're both Category 1 and you will receive 3/4 for paying half pension and she will receive 1/2 for being fully exempt.

That comes out to roughly 682k a year total for the both of you.

I don't think speculating will help too much. The OP has been advised to check on the nenkin website to get a clear handle on his actual situation.
Haystack's post a couple above mine is very sensible.

[Oliver]

I really liked the idea of getting a clear idea of where I am financially with my retirement, so I looked into this ID card reader. Although it doesn’t look very expensive on Amazon I wasn’t sure if I was computer savvy enough to make it work.
I was at the Aoi (blue Tax form) reporting office yesterday to start my new tax year and the agent told me that getting a new computer for work was tax deductible. I been working with her for 7 years now, and I understand a gentle hint that I need to upgrade my computer.
Anyway, I asked my friends if they had an ic reader. Nobody did. This morning I looked for my Nenkin book, unfortunately it was blank. There is no information on it besides when I started the program.
Since I started the Nenkin program 2021 March 29th and I have been pardoned since the start of it. Is there anyone in the RJ that can do the math for me?
Question:
If I get pardoned or pay half price for 120 months how much would I get in pension VS if I were to pay fully for 120 months.
Question:
My very important person in my life who I am responsible for supporting questions my judgment. She thinks we would be better off investing the money into NISA since we are both pardoned.
Who is correct?
Or am I missing an account important part of the calculating process?