Job Discussion Forums

[meridian]

OK. Being idiotic, I just finished a year of work in Japan, in which I was paying into the pension plan, and left, with my alien registration card still in hand. I handed it in to immigration, but they handed it right back to me, and I didnt have the presence of mind to insist that they keep it so I would be eligible to apply for the pension refund (since you must NOT be a resident, and you must cancel out that card.)

SO- my question now is:
what do I have to do to make myself eligible for that pension refund (a lot of money)? I understand that from now I have two years in which to claim it--
Is there no way to cancel my residency status from home (the US?)?
Or can I still get the refund, if I go back to Japan and work (on another job?)

If anyone can enlighten me on this issue or point me to a website or person that can I would greatly appreciate it.

[PAULH]

I dont know if this is any help but this is what I found:

Pension Refund

Most foreign workers who leave Japan after 1994 are eligible to receive
a "Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payment" from National Health Insurance. The payment
is subject to Japanese income tax (20%), but you may not know that you
can also get this back, please read below. For best results, you should
start thinking about this before you even leave Japan and contact me
if you need a local representative.

There are three sections to this file. Please read all parts carefully,
then email me with questions or to request my services.

The pension refund itself
The additional 20% tax refund
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. The amount you will receive depends on how long you paid into the
pension fund.

Insured Person Coverage Period
Rate

6 months or more, but under 12 months
0.5

12 months or more, but under 18 months
1.0

18 months or more, but under 24 months
1.5

24 months or more, but under 30 months
2.0

30 months or more, but under 36 months
2.5

36 months or more
3.0


For example, if your monthly salary is 300,000 yen you have paid 12 month's
worth of Pension payments, you will receive an equivalent of one month's
remuneration or 300,000 yen when you complete the forms and send the required
information back to Japan. (please note you must leave Japan while this
payment is being processed.)

In addition, please note an automatic 20% income tax will be withheld
(see below on how to get that back.)

If you are leaving Japan soon, you should visit your local Social Insurance
Office (Shakai Hoken Jimusho) or the National Pension Section of the municipal
office near you, and request the claim forms and multi-lingual brochure
for the Request of Arbitration for Lump-Sum Withdrawal Benefit. Ask for
the Dattai Ichijikin Saitei Seikyusho for the Kokumin Nenkin/Kosei
Nenkin. In some cases a quick telephone call to your ward office might
save you some time. (They have mailed this form to some people.)

Although the forms are obtained in Japan, they must be complete
and filed from outside of Japan. To be eligible to apply for the "Lump
Sum Payment", you must meet the following conditions:
You do not possess Japanese citizenship
You have paid Employees' Pension Insurance premiums for six months
or more (please check with your employer)
You do not have a place of residence in Japan (this means you have
moved.)
You never have qualified for pension benefits (including Disability
Allowance / not including previous "Lump Sum Payments")

In order to claim the benefit, you must attach the following documents
with your application:

Your Pension BookThe orange one you received a few weeks
after arriving in Japan (or your Employees' Pension Insurance Registration
Number as noted in your Pension Book) (if you don't have this book,
it will take 3 weeks for the pension office to re-issue it.

Passport Photocopies photocopy of your passport pages(s)
showing your name, date of birth, nationality, signature, and the
date of departure from Japan

Bank Information document verifying the name of your
bank (must be outside of Japan), name of the branch office, address
of the branch and your bank account number in your name. A voided
personal check or copy of a bank statement is OK.
You must mail the application from outside Japan. The average time to
receive payment is anywhere from two to four months, assuming the application
was in order.

Method of Payment: The amount of the lump sum withdrawal payment remitted
to your account will be calculated at the currency exchange rate on the
date of the transaction to your non Japan based bank account.

Notes:
When the lump-sum withdrawal payment has been accepted, the term
corresponding to that amount shall cease to be considered as the pension
enlistment period.

If the applicant should die before receiving the lump sum withdrawal
payment, a spouse, child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, or sibling
living off the same income source, or considered a member of the same
fiscal household as the applicant at the time of the applicant's death
can receive payment in place of the applicant.

Twenty percent (20%) income tax is withheld from the lump sum withdrawal
payment for Employees' Welfare Pension Insurance at the time of payment.
(Use my services to get this percentage back)

Regardless of whether or not you receive the lump sum withdrawal
payment for the Employees' Welfare Pension Insurance (Kosei nenkin
hoken), you can also receive a specific amount for the period
of time insurance payments are paid for the National Pension (kokumin
nenkin) IF you have paid into the system.
Please note: This refund is administered by the Social Insurance Agency
and is applicable to any non-Japanese citizen who has paid into the pension
for six months or more. Thus, no organization is responsible for the decisions
made by said agency, nor can they check on individual claims. If you have
any questions about your claim please send them (in English or Japanese)
to the following address:

Social Insurance Office Center
3-5-24 Takaido-nishi
Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-0071
JAPAN

the additional 20% tax refund
Q. "What is this... they tax my Lump Sum Payment?"


A. Yes, but you can get it back.

A flat-rate tax of 20% is levied on the Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payment.
A person working for 3 years on the program who has made 36 months payments
into the fund:

Amount of payment of Employees Pension Insurance (300,000 yen
x 3) = 900,000 yen
Income Tax (900,000 yen x 20%) = 180,000 yen

Once you have received the Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payment you can
apply to reclaim the tax. Applications must be made within 5 years of
leaving Japan.

How can I get this tax refund back?

You need to choose a tax representative, (that would be me if you choose
my services) a person who is a resident in Japan. This person needs to
send you the 'Nozeikanrinin no todokedesho' (gaikokujin-yo) [Declaration
Naming a Person to Administer the Taxpayer's Tax Affairs (for use by aliens)]
form. This can be obtained from the local tax office where you were located
in Japan. Once you have filled in the form, send it back to your tax representative
with the 'Shikyu Kettei Tsuchicho' [Notice of the Lump-sum Withdrawal
Payment]. Your tax representative should take these two papers and go
to the tax office and file the 'Kakutei Shinkokusho' on your behalf.
A bank account in Japan needs to be designated at the time of filing.
The refund will be deposited into that account. Once completed the refund
will be sent on to you.

To summarize, your tax representative takes the:

Declaration Naming a Person to Administer the Taxpayer's Tax

Notice of Lump-Sum Withdrawal Payment
to your local tax office and files the Kakutei Shinkokusho.


Additional Information
Q: I will be returning home after a long stay in Japan. I was
working in Japan from 1990-1993 and I paid into the National Pension Scheme.
Am I eligible to claim back the original payment?

A: The Pension Reform Bill was passed in the Diet on November 2, 1994,
and became effective on November 9, 1994. In order to qualify to be considered
for the Lump Sum Payment (the pension refund), you need to have been in
Japan on or after 11/9/94, had a Japanese address on or after 11/9/94,
have ALL of the following four conditions listed below and file
an application within two years of leaving Japan.

You do not possess Japanese citizenship
You have paid National Pension Insurance or Employee' Pension Insurance
premiums for six months or more
You do not have a place of residence in Japan (in order to file)
You have never had the right to receive pension payments (including allowances for the handicapped)
If you were living in Japan after 11/9/94 you would therefore still qualify
for the lump-sum withdrawal payment. However, if you left Japan before
then, you would not be able to claim the payment unless you worked in
Japan again and made more payments into (aka "reactivated") the pension
account.

PS I was just wondering whether you had a re-entry permit when you left the country- if not you are supposed to hand the card back if you dont plan on returning but they may let you keep it if you have a re-entry stamped in your passport.

[meridian]

Hi,
I actually had this information, but thanks anyway, maybe it will be useful to others.

Also, I found out a little more about my situation... I talked to a woman who works for CLAIR who called Narita Airport and posed as a person in my situation, and she said that they advised to mail the alien registration card along with a copy of my passport and a letter explaining that I need my residency cancelled as I am no longer living in Japan. Other people, in my situation, have apparently done this, and she had not heard back from them, so MAYBE I can assume that this means it was taken care of OK. I guess it is simply better avoided, because it causes complications and there is no real, official procedure in place for dealing with it?...

Apparently I am not doing anything illegal after all.

She is supposed to email me more information, which I will post, when I get it.
I'm relieved! But I hope it works OK. yet to be seen.