Requirement of paying the national pension scheme

[David Cardinal]

I have been a resident of Japan for about 20 years and am looking to open an iDeCo account.
In order to open an iDeCo account I see that I have to be paying into the national pension scheme. I have never paid into this. Can anyone advise me as to whether I will have to back pay this or can start from now?
Thank you for any advice.

[RetireJapan]

Hi David

Welcome to the forum! I believe you will be asked to backpay a number of years (I have heard 2-5 mentioned) but it will not be the full amount. You can also negotiate with the pension office if you have a low income or other special considerations.

This reddit thread is a couple of years old but has some interesting stories: https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comm ... h=7151fa90

Anyone else?

[DragonAsh]

Living in Japan for 20 years suggests you may be here for the long haul; it's too bad you haven't been paying into the system the whole time. You have to pay in for a minimum of 10 years to be vested in the program - not to mention any one living in Japan between the ages of 20-60 is legally obligated to pay into the system. .

IIRC you'll need to pay in at least two years worth of nenkin before you can pay into iDeco. Depending on how close you are to retirement and such, you may want to consider paying in more.