外国人暮らしのQ&A:　年金脱退一時金が請求できない

Q:

When I came to Japan previously, I worked at a company for 3 years, and paid into the Employee's Pension Insurance (kōsei nenkin / 厚生年金) for 3 years. I later left that company and returned to my home country, but didn't apply for a Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment at that time. I'm now back in Japan, and have been working at a company for 8 years, and am enrolled in Employee's Pension Insurance once again. As I have to return to my home country again, I want to apply for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment, but when I asked at my city office, I was told that I couldn't. Does this mean that you can't apply for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment if you have been enrolled twice?

A:

Eligibility for the pension Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (dattai ichijikin / 脱退一時金) is dependent on the following conditions: The applicant ①must not have Japanese citizenship, ②must have been enrolled in the pension system in Japan for more than 6 months (the period for which payments have been made must be more than 6 months in the case of the National Pension [kokumin nenkin / 国民年金]), ③must no longer have a residential address in Japan, and ④must not have been entitled to receive the pension.

In your case, the total length of time you have spent in Japan is 11 years. In Japan, if one has made contributions to the pension system for 10 years or more, one is eligible to receive the pension. Therefore, since you are eligible to receive the pension, you are no longer able to apply for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment.

If, for example, you had applied for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment after your initial 3-year stay in Japan, your enrolment in the pension system for those 3 years would have been erased. If that were the case, your enrolment for your current 8-year stay would have fallen short of the qualifying period for the pension, and, provided you met the other conditions, you would also have been able to apply for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment this time.

In your case, at present you will be able to receive your Japanese pension when you turn 65. If your country has concluded a Social Security Agreement with Japan, you should be able to apply for your Japanese pension through the agency responsible for pensions in your home country. Please contact an office of your country's pension agency for information on how to apply.
Also, please be sure to keep your pension passbook (nenkin techō / 年金手帳) and other documents related to your Japanese pension safe.

For more information on the pension and Social Security Agreements, please consult your nearest Japan Pension Service office.

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