09. LUMP-SUM WITHDRAWAL PAYMENT

We are afraid that we do not accept inquiry regarding procedures for both Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment for Pension and Refund of Withholding Tax. Please contact Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構) or National Tax Office (税務署) for the details.

>> Japan Pension Service: Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment
>> National Tax Office

（Amended on February 20th, 2023）

Foreign nationals who have enrolled in the Japanese National Pension scheme can receive pension based on the amount and rate of payment by claiming LUMP-SUM WITHDRAWAL PAYMENT (脱退一時金; hereinafter referred to as the “Payment”) within 2 years after withdraw from the Pension scheme and moving out of Japan (quitting to live in Japan).

In case you have enrolled in the pension scheme for 10 years (120 months) or more, you have another choice; you are eligible for receiving the Japanese Old-age Pension (老齢年金).

You should consider whether you claim LUMP-SUM WITHDRAWAL PAYMENT or you take the payment of the Old-age Pension (老齢年金の受給) according to the amount of pension benefits you will receive in the future.

You can find some basic information for the Payment below.
For further information or inquiry regarding the Payment or pension, please contact the Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構) or a specialist in the field of pension called Shakaihoken-Roumu-shi (社会保険労務士) directly since we don’t specialize in the field of Pension and Social Insurance.

Here’s the Japan Pension Service website for the details of the Payment >> Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments

INTRODUCTION

CASE STUDY

REFERENCE

Contents

REQUIREMENT to CLAIM the PAYMENT
QUALIFIED PERIOD for the OLD-AGE PENSION
TOTALIZATION of COVERAGE PERIOD
METHOD of CALCULATION
APPLICATION and PAYMENT

REQUIREMENT to CLAIM the PAYMENT

To claim the LUMP-SUM WITHDRAWAL PAYMENT, You need to satisfy all the items below;

You are not a Japanese national,
You have paid the contribution for at least 6 months under the Japanese Pension scheme,
You have moved out of Japan already and no longer have a registered address in Japan,
You have never been entitled to the Japanese pension benefits including Disability Allowance (障害手当金).

QUALIFIED PERIOD for the OLD-AGE PENSION

You may be qualified to receive the payment for the Japanese Old-age Pension in the future if you have been enrolling in the Japanese National Pension scheme for at least 10 years (120 months).

Qualified Period

Total of the period that you have paid pension premium for the National Pension and the period that you have been exempted from the premium
Period of enrollment in the Employee Pension Insurance (厚生年金保険) and/or Mutual Aid Association Pension Insurance (共済組合) etc.
Period which may countable for this period without the period of enrollment in the Japanese National Pension scheme (if any)

Once you receive the LUMP-SUM WITHDRAWAL PAYMENT, however, all of the coverage period (both in Japan and overseas) before you claim the Payment will be reset and no longer be countable as the pension enrollment periods.

TOTALIZATION of COVERAGE PERIOD

If you have been enrolling in a Pension Scheme in a particular country participating in the Pension Totalization Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) with Japan, it is possible to totalize the period of pension contribution of each country under the specific circumstance.

Countries which made the Agreement with Japan (as of June 2022)
Germany, United States, Belgium, France, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, Switzerland, Hungary, India, Luxembourg, the Philippines, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden
>> check the latest information on the Japan Pension Service website

METHOD of CALCULATION

Calculation Method of the Payments is different depending on the types of pension; National Pension (国民年金) or Employees Pension (厚生年金) etc.

Basically, the amount of the Payments will be calculated based on the period of pension contribution up to 60 months even if you have enrolled in the scheme and have paid the contribution for 61 months or more (*NOTE).

* NOTE: The maximum period of pension benefits has been amended from 36 months (3 years) to 60 months (5 years) in April 2021. Due to this amendment, the maximum period of pension benefits will be considered as 36 months in case your contribution period has ended before March 2021.

APPLICATION and PAYMENT

You can apply for the Payment at the Japan Pension Service Office in person or you can process it via mail. We strongly recommend that you should consult a specialist or the Pension Service Office in advance of application to decide whether you should process the application or you should receive it in the future as the payment for the Old-age Pension.

Basic Required Documents

Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment Claim Form
Photocopy of your passport:
pages which can confirm your name, date of birth, nationality, signature, and status of residence etc.
Documents to confirm your bank account:
Certificate issued by the bank to certify you are the account holder, showing bank name, branch name, address of the branch, account number and account holder (must be your name)
Pension Book (年金手帳) or documents to confirm your Pension Number (基礎年金番号)

You can find more information at the website of the Japan Pension Service in PDF format.

Payment

After the National Pension Service Office decide to process the payment for you, they will send a Notice of Entitlement for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment to your residence address overseas.

Payment will be sent to your bank account overseas in the specific currency designated by the Japan Pension Service. You will receive the amount after-tax. Income tax will be deducted from the total amount of the payment.

You can receive a refund for the tax deducted from the payment by submitting Tax Return for the withholding income tax. Please refer to the pages below for the details.
>> Refund of Withholding Tax related to Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments