Job Discussion Forums

[TWG]

Long story;

I'm filling out my pension refund application a week ago and I notice that they're asking for two pension numbers. The basic number and the number for the pension program I'm a part of. I go looking through my pension book and only find the basic pension number. Going through all of the pension documents, I fail to find the needed information. I ask a Japanese friend living here in Canada and she tells me there should have been some paper or form stapled into the back of my pension book with the information I need.

So I email my former employers about it and that's where the fun began.

The following week

Them: "Look in your pension book."

Me: "It's not there. That's why I'm emailing you. Can you tell me what it was and which system you had me in?"

One day later

Them: "Did you look in your pension book?"

Me: "Yes. It's not there. That's why I'm emailing you. Can you tell me what it was and which pension system you had me in?"

One day later

Them: "It's in the back of my book. It must be in yours. Did you look?"

Me: "Yes. It's not there. That's why I'm emailing you. Can you tell me what it was and which system you had me in? Just in case we're talking about different things, I've emailed you a photo along with a helpful diagram."

One day later

Them: "You should call the pension office. We don't deal with that pension stuff."

You've probably had similar conversations.

Anyway, it seems I'm stuck trying to brave the twelve hour time difference and hope I can snag someone in the pension office with some sort of English skills so I can use my secret code to get the rest of my pension info so I can fill out the form completely.

So here's my question: Do you think I can get away with just including my basic pension number or will I just be getting the form back in a few months? Or do I have to suck it up and call the pension office?

I was an eikaiwa chimp and not a JET chimp, if that makes a difference.

[fluffyhamster]

About the only (and very generalized) advice I could find online was this:

[TWG]

Thanks.

I spent hours pouring through all of the pension documents and pay stubs I had looking for the right info. Since my Japanese is crap and the Internet is only slightly less useless as a translator, my eyes were watering. I evetually found some numbers that seemed to fit the bill and I mailed the docs off today.

I'm hoping that I got it right. The worst that can happen is that they'll send it back to me to do it again. Since it counts towards my Canadian pension I may just leave it alone since I won't be able to get the info I need if I was wrong.

Unless I go back to Japan and start being inconvenient at them... Inconveniencing being a mortal sin in Japan.

Thanks for your help. I appreciated it. I bookmarked it.

[dekkard]

TWG - did you resolve your pension issue in the end? I'll be applying for the lump sum payment soon and am curious as to how you got on.

[RustyShackleford]

Here's what happened with me:

My blue book got lost in transition from Japan to Vietnam and I just e-mailed my old employers. They gave me the relevant numbers and address stuff, then I stuck a bank statement from my bank in the US proving that it's me and mailed it to the folks at my BoE.

They then mailed to Tokyo and Tokyo sent me a confirmation form a couple months later. I sent the confirmation to them. The whole process took about six months but I got my money in a lump sum and boy did it save my ass.