Retire or resign?

[MacAddict]

This is definitely a naive query as I am extremely bad at personal finance. I read this Forum with much envy. Anyway, I have ‘sliding doors’ moment and am seeking opinions. If this query is out of scope for this Forum, I apologize in advance.

I am a professor of 18 years at a Japanese public university and must retire in 2024.
In my final year at university my salary is reduced; despite being expected to do the same/more work (but let’s not go down that road).
However, I have been offered another full time job.

So my dilemma is: do I remain at my university on this reduced salary until I retire OR do I resign and take the new job?

The concern I have is: what financial benefits will I lose if I resign as opposed to naturally seeing out this university employment til I officially retire?
Obviously, I cannot seek advice from my uni admin.

Thank you in advance.
Michael

[captainspoke]

The elephant in the room might be how this would affect your severance. Retiring at the official threshold usually means a higher payout than if you resign (an informal retirement that doesn't meet the rule book criteria).

Also the new job--is it contract or regular/seishain, hours, commute, non-teaching responsibilities (shadow work), and so on.

And your personal situation--investments to date, any debt, family needs, housing, goals for what you'd want your situation to be in 3, 5, or 10 yrs, etc.

[adamu]

Are they likely to turn around at the end of one year of lower pay to say "how about another year of lower pay?", just delaying the situation?

Is there a reason the salary is reduced (i.e. compensated elsewhere)?

[Tkydon]

When does the new gig want you to start? and are the terms better than the reduced terms where you are?

When in 2024? Jan? Dec? 9 months, or 20 months?

You might want to check out the Labour Consultation and Information Center local to your school.

産業労働局労働相談情報センター

Other useful links

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/general/seido/ch ... oudan.html

https://t-ecc.jp/english/

https://jsite.mhlw.go.jp/tokyo-foreigne ... ec_1c.html

[Tokyo]

There are two matters I would investigate further if I were in your position: severance pay (retirement bonus) and pension.

Obviously, I cannot seek advice from my uni admin.

Really? I understand that you would not ask them directly about your new job offer but there is nothing wrong with asking them what your expected severance pay would be: retiring early versus regular age retirement. Each university has different rules but often there can be a considerable increase in your retirement bonus when retiring after a certain age (I believe it was over 60 at my institution) as well a further increase for professors who worked at the university more than 15 years.

The other major issue could be the next university’s situation. Is it private or public? If it operates within the same kyosai system as your current workplace then your pension will be unaffected. If you were moving to a private university which comes under a different kyosai system then it may not be good for your eventual pension. I would assume that it’s more beneficial to have all your working years counted within one system than split into two systems but I’m no expert as I only worked at a private university. Maybe someone else who has been in this situation can provide some insight.

[RetireJapan]

I am a professor of 18 years at a Japanese public university and must retire in 2024.
In my final year at university my salary is reduced; despite being expected to do the same/more work (but let’s not go down that road).

However, I have been offered another full time job.

So my dilemma is: do I remain at my university on this reduced salary until I retire OR do I resign and take the new job?

The concern I have is: what financial benefits will I lose if I resign as opposed to naturally seeing out this university employment til I officially retire?

The main one is going to be your retirement bonus. At my uni it was based on length of employment, reason for retirement, and final salary.

If you leave at retirement age you will generally get a higher multiplyer than if you decide to leave before then, BUT if you go on the reduced salary year that lower salary may be used to decide your bonus, sometimes resulting in a much lower payout. Definitely worth running the numbers.

Obviously, I cannot seek advice from my uni admin.

I wouldn't go that far. You can ask to see the 退職金 (taishokukin: retirement bonus) tables for your uni. I got ours from our 人事課 (jinjika: HR) website and used them to plan out my career.

[MacAddict]

This is all terrific advice and thank you for spending time responding with such insight.
Much to consider over Golden Week.