RetireJapan

I've have registered and paid into the pension system here for 6 years. We went to our town's pension office and they toid us I have to pay into the system for 4 more years to be able to receive a pension when I turn 65. They also said there is another option. Since I'm a foreigner I can get a Ejyuken form fill it out and submit it, Then I can stop paying and still receive a pension at 64. My Japanese is limited and the clerk didn't speak English, So I resolved to figure out what he meant. I think he means a Permament Visa. Does anyone know what the clerk is talking about? Edward

Hi Edward

Welcome to the forum!

I think something might have been lost in translation here

How old are you? Did you go to the pension office or the desk at town hall? (never talk to the desk at town hall) Does your country of nationality have a pension treaty with Japan?

I believe you need 120 months paid in to receive nenkin (unless you can use a pension treaty with another country to make up for that).

You will receive a proportional pension (months paid as a proportion of full pension which requires 480 months), so best to pay in as much as you can.

I believe there is an option to receive credit for time before you came to Japan in some cases. That might be what the pension officer was referring to.

It sounds like he is talking about once you have PR you can take advantage of the 'karakikan' idea that they will add the time you were abroad to make up for your lack of time paying into the Japanese system, i.e. you usually need to pay in for 10 years to get anything. It won't increase your pension income but you would get something.

The minimum period used to be 25 years and I'd have just missed that, so I asked about it to the pension fund and got a clear answer. But, as Ben says, never accept what anyone says on a help desk or over the phone - you most likely get an hourly paid part timer half remembering something from a manual they looked once.

Stewart