How much better is Shakai Hoken (Shigaku Kyousai) than Kokumin Hoken?

[Biketokyo]

I'm coming to the end of a teaching contract and am still job hunting for next march. Since we have a new baby with whom I want to spend as much time as possible I've been limiting my search for places within an hour commute of home, but still don't have a full-time position lined up yet.

Salary-wise, we would be fine with me just taking a few part-time positions for 6-months to a year, and personally that is more appealing than a full time position where I have to spend 3+ hours commuting each day. However, the one thing I'm not sure about is how different kokumin hoken and shakai hoken (shigaku kyousai) are. Staying on a form of shakai hoken is the reason I'm thinking of extending my job search to places with a longer commute but am not sure how different kokumin hoken would be. I understand that shakai hoken is better but haven't found the details.

For details, my wife and baby are my dependents and since we live in Tokyo the baby's medical care is basically completely covered as far as I understand it.

So in short, how much better is shakai hoken? What changes when switching from shakai to kokumin hoken?

Any information or personal experiences would be a great help!
Thank you.

[captainspoke]

The usual recommendation is to stay on shigakukyosai--IIRC, you can continue for two years. This is what I did post-retirement, and I think the option is the same in your situation. You don't really need to switch till April, and even a few days into that month when you do sign up for kokumin you'll be fully covered.

Consider also that you may be able go back to full time sometime during that two year window--6, 12,18, or even 24 months later. A new job.

[Biketokyo]

Thank you once again for the useful information Captainspoke. I'll double check with my university's HR since I'm going in to talk to them about insurance next week but it's great news to know that of I need to I can probably stay on shihaku for a bit longer!

[RetireJapan]

For health insurance (you don't get the option for pension, but that can be a good thing if you are in a position to max out your 68,000 yen iDeCo allowance) it can often be cheaper to stay on your former employer's insurance as captainspoke points out above.

I did this earlier in the year when I finished a full-time university job and moved to freelance/helping my wife.

Paying kokumin Kenko Hoken based on my previous year's salary would have been about 50% more expensive than staying on the Kyosai health insurance, at least for the first year (and assuming my income this year is less -it should be!). You can stop at any time, if you get a new job or find that kokumin Kenko Hoken is cheaper in the second year. The maximum you can stay on there is two years.

Your jinjika should be able to give you the details, as well as the application form. I don't have dependents, so the numbers might be different for you. Certainly worth getting an estimate before making a decision.

There is not really any difference in the amount of medical cover provided, etc. but the Kyosai might have some minor extras (I get a subsidized ningen dock, for example).

[Tokyo]

If you call and tell the kokumin hoken people your estimated salary for this year, they can tell you how much you’ll need to pay them. Your jinji rep can tell you the Kyosai cost and the extra benefits involved.

When I quit my final job I stayed with Kyosai hoken simply because it was much cheaper. Although retired, I didn’t use any of the Kyosai member benefits (hotels, tours, discounts) although I did get about 50% subsidized of my Ningen Dock visit.

[ClearAsMud]

You seem to be focused on health insurance rather than shakai hoken generally. Shigaku Kyōsai, like all Category 2 insurers, provides five types of social insurance: health insurance, pension insurance, long-term care insurance, workers' disability insurance, and (un)employment insurance. The first three types of social insurance are mandatory for all residents of Japan, while the last two types apply only to full-time company employees and members of mutual-aid societies. Pension benefits for Category 2 insured persons are significantly better than those for contributors to kokumin nenkin. In addition, dependent spouses of Category 2 employees receive free pension payments, so the social-insurance advantages of Shigaku Kyōsai are pretty obvious on that basis alone -- not to mention the tax-free transportation allowance employers provide. Social insurance, in other words, is not just health insurance.

I haven't really compared premiums between company insurance and national insurance (variables regarding income, location, and number of dependents come into play, so it's a bit of work, although the other posts indicate lower cost for Shigaku Kyōsai coverage), but Shigaku Kyōsai offers access to their system of recreational facilities and discounts (mentioned in the preceding post) as well as a number of extra benefits. See this page for the complete list of "short term" benefits, and this page for a list of other benefits.

Basically, full-time employees have it all over the self-employed, unemployed, and part-timers as far as social insurance goes.

[Biketokyo]

Thank you so much for that detailed reply. I had been thinking about pension and should have been clearer in my original post. Pension is actually the area I care more about than a slight increase in insurance premiums.

So as far as I understand it, if I do not find a full time position and work PT and a few different universities, I would be able to:

1. Stay enrolled in shigaku kyosai
2. Recieve health, pension, and long term care insurance as I do now.
3. My (dependent) wife's pension would still be part of the shigaku kyosai pension plan as it is now.


However, I would no longer have unemployment or disability insurance like I do now.

Does that sound about right? I will check with my university's HR of course but it's helpful to get a general understanding first.

Also, thank you to everyone else for your input and sharing your experiences.

[ClearAsMud]

No, it looks like my description may have given you a mistaken impression especially regarding your No. 2 and No. 3. The key point regarding social insurance is that the content varies depending on your employment status. There is no general term like "kokumin hoken" to be distinguished from "shakai hoken" -- the latter is an umbrella term used to refer to all five forms of social insurance regardless of differences in employment status. Rather, the applicability of each of the five forms of social insurance varies depending on that status.

Once you leave full-time employment, you stop receiving disability insurance and (un)employment insurance coverage (although you should check into receiving unemployment benefits from your previous coverage). Your long-term care insurance -- which by the way only applies after the age of 40 -- will probably change from company/school withholding to individual payments (although it's also worth checking on that if you are of a certain age).

After you leave full-time employment, your pension insurance changes from kōsei nenkin (for full-time employees) to kokumin nenkin (for the self-employed, unemployed, and part-timers). You have no choice in the matter, and you cannot continue on kōsei nenkin through your previous employer. Further, dependent spouses become responsible for their own pension payments.

As for health insurance, Shigaku Kyōsai apparently allows you to continue on their health insurance for two years after "retirement" (or until you find another full-time job), so you don't immediately have to switch over to kokumin kenkō hoken, which is the default social-insurance component for Category 1 individuals. That coverage will come with some extra benefits that will likely make it advantageous to continue with it, but that does not mean that you are also covered by the Shigaku Kyōsai pension (= kōsei nenkin). Pensions are a separate component of social insurance, and (to repeat) you are only covered by kōsei nenkin as a full-time employee. Once you leave your full-time position, you still have pension coverage (i.e. shakai hoken), but in the less advantageous form of kokumin nenkin.

Do be sure to confirm with your university's HR office, but I think you'll find that "continuing on Shigaku Kyōsai" only means continuing on their health-insurance scheme.

[Edited to tidy-up spelling.]

[Biketokyo]

Thank you for clarifying that. That makes sense. I will definitely get the details from HR if I end up moving to PT work but it is very helpful to get a general idea here.

[TJKansai]

but Shigaku Kyōsai offers access to their system of recreational facilities and discounts (mentioned in the preceding post) as well as a number of extra benefits.

I've noticed the recreational "benefits" being rolled back over the last decade, to the point where the discounts are any better than the general public can get.

When I just joined the uni I thought the Garden Palace hotels were a deal, but now they are just old. There are so many better places with similar (or cheaper) rates.