Job Discussion Forums

cafebleu · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 404

I was interested in reading the replies to the healthcare thread and thought I would like to ask a question about the pension system. I apologise in advance for sounding so ignorant but I worked full time at a school where I was kept in the dark about many things.

I worked about 30 hours of teaching and maybe 10 hours of non teaching activities per week - lesson planning, textbook buying, liaising with the manager and students etc. My salary was 250,000 yen per month and 30,000 yen was taken out for tax. My tax return was never more than 25,000 yen.

I paid my own health insurance but I am wondering if some of my salary`s tax deduction actually was spent on paying into a pension fund? When I quit that job - completely legitimately after giving due notice and letting my contract run out - I was told nothing about such payments. I was also subjected to dodgy behaviour such as the manager not giving me a letter of release. However, I obtained it by leaving firm messages on her answering machine.

Yet I am still in the dark about pension payments. The manager lied to me about so many things that I have lost track of them. What is the Japanese term for pension payments? I had a lot of papers from my time at that school but the manager trashed some papers on the grounds that I was not packing up quick enough. I don`t think she was deliberately trying to destroy papers from a pension fund (if I ever had them) but I need to know just what is the deal about pension payments.

Is it likely that 30,000 taken out for tax each month actually included a payment into a pension fund?

easyasabc · Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 179 Location: Japan

cafebleu · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 404

Yes, I am a big fan of the Style Council, especially Paul Weller! Paris Match is my all-time favourite love song!

About the money - I suspected as much. It always amuses me when Japan honeymooners or the established who have been treated honestly in their job/s like to dismiss honest or critical or questioning posters as negative. However, I was cheated out of money in any number of small ways at that school so it would not surprise me if the money found its way into the manager`s pocket. I would still like to know what the official title for pension payment is in Japanese. Then I could try and find some kind of documentation if I have it.

Thanks.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

If you had to pay for your own health insurance, you can pretty much bet that the employer not only used a loophole to get out of doing that for you, but he also didn't contribute to any pension fund. Foreigners who work "full-time" don't always get FT beneits. Depends on the number of hours you are listed as working. If it's less than what the Japanese system is for real FT labor, the employer doesn't have to help with insurance or pension. Sounds like this is what may have happened to you.

easyasabc · Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 179 Location: Japan

Iwantmyrightsnow · Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 202

cafebleu · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 404

Thank you for your replies, all of which were informative. I think I can conclude that I was taken for a ride there, too - I suspect the manager was pocketing some of that so called tax money. It was a small conversation school and every year the manager did all the tax stuff - I just went along as the token employee with her to the tax office.

I`d love nothing more than to turn up on her doorstep and ask some hard questions but it is a little late. I also think it is an example of cutting losses necessarily in Japan. Sometimes it is not in our best interests to come on strongly about such matters. I suppose I should count my blessings that I now work for employers who are transparent about everything to do with my salary and associated matters.

G Cthulhu · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 12:43 pm Post subject: Re: Pension system

ironopolis · Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 379

cafebleu · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 404

Well said. I should add that this board exists for the exchange of information and if people don`t like posters requesting advice, then don`t visit this website. Easy!

About the letter of release or whatever anybody likes to call it - letter of employment etc - he is plain wrong. Funny about that. I needed that letter absolutely the last time I went to Immigration to renew my visa or whatever terminology one can use. Technically I should say when I went to Immigration to extend my permission to live and work in Japan. The Immigration person I spoke to said such a letter must be given to the office - it is not an option.

As for being ripped off - it happens and is not always easy to do anything about. If you are told before you work somewhere that your purchases on behalf of the school - teaching materials, etc - and expenses directly related to your job will be reimbursed, and you are then subjected to endless iiwake by the manager on why she can`t reimburse you `now` then I believe that is cheating your employee.

If you are told to go and hand out advertising leaflets and informed that your travelling expenses will be paid and are then told that no, they won`t be, after you have forked out as much as 5,000 or so travelling around by bus or train leafleting etc, then it is not difficult for an ethical person to understand that is cheating the employee. My list could go on but I think it is clear that while you cannot go to labour boards about such practices, it doesn`t make them any less dishonest.

cafebleu · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 404

I forgot to add that city tax was also paid by me. I had a city tax booklet as with my health insurance. I paid all my own rent and utilities.

azarashi sushi · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 562 Location: Shinjuku

I sympathize with you Cafebleu, you were quite unlucky with that employer.

Just one thing to add about the letter of release... I was in a similar situation the first time I renewed my visa. I didn't part on very good terms with my employer and they didn't want to give the letter either. At the time I wasn't in a mood to hound them for it. So, I explained the situation to the immigration official in Otemachi and she told me that if I wrote a letter along with my application explaining why I didn't have a letter of release, it would be OK... And it was. Maybe I just lucked out with an understanding immigration official.

G Cthulhu · Posted: Thu Apr 15, 2004 3:56 am Post subject:

Look, I honestly don't care what you *want* to believe, but as someone that used to hire and fire people since first arriving in Japan in 1991, and *had to issue the things*, I can assure you that they are *not* a "letter of release". The thing you're all referring to is a simple record or statement of employment. Nothing more. You get a tax certificate and a statement of employment period. That's it.

Why is this so difficult to accept? You needed a letter for Immigration so you could renew your visa? So why would you have a letter of *release*?!

The letter you're all referring to is a letter recording your employment and the dates thereof. Yes, it translates (but only if you translate badly, IMO) as something like 'letter of release', but that doesn't make it so.

Japan is tricky enough to deal with papework as it is without people taking Japanese document names and then mis-naming them when referring to them in English and thinking the inferences you might make in English over the name are the same in the Japanese! Why? Because you get situations like this where people get all upset that they don't have X or Y when the reality is that they don't need it for the reasons they thought they did!

sidjameson · Joined: 11 Jan 2004 Posts: 629 Location: osaka

Sorry cafe bleu to hear of your situation. Browsed over this thread. This may be relevant. You CAN claim tax back at any time. I over paid and just got a rebate for the 2002 and 2003 year. Your tax for that year would be 130,000 yen, I think. I also think you could join the union and take your employer to small claims court. Of course yu would need pay slips to proof their theft.
I have found most employers to be fairly honest but am sorry to hear about your experience. Good luck.

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

I'll agree with ya G Cthulhu.

I've left a few jobs here and there at the end of a contract and needed only a contract and proof of tax playment slip but no "letter of release" to renew my visa.

For CAFE Blue you can reclaim your pension payments though a special form. I was on JET so this will be quite a bit.

It's a form you can get at your ward or city hall office. It's multilingual.

You should've had a small blue book recording what was deducted as far as pension payments go.

They may still have the book. My former employer still had mine until last week.

The main question I have is do you have something showing them (this former employer) deducting this money you're talking about?

If not your SOL. naked thievery!

However, if you do then pursue the blue book or the return of the cash. With a paper trail of evidence you can cause them a world of trouble.

They vould be evading taxes etc etc. Who knows how about a vist from the tax office? Bet they would love that!

Also you can recalculate your taxes by taking those little tax witholding slips, from PT jobs especially where you are overtaxed as per instructions of the government, but watch out!

I recently did it and ended up ahead by only 6000 yen for 4 years. One year I made too much so it wiped out my 6 mon refund.

Try a year when you made the least as an experiement and see what happens!

You'll need to go to a national tax office to do it.