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Pension Refunds
Please refer to the Pension Refund Section of your General Information Handbook for more information about getting your pension refund. In short, the steps to get a pension refund are:
1. Download the application form from The Japan Pension Service website:
http://www.nenkin.go.jp/main/individual_02/pdf/english.pdf
2. Designate somebody to be your tax representative and inform your local tax office (fill in the two forms you got at the regional meeting)
3. Go home
4. Send documentation to the Japan Pension Service(NOT to your school or BOE!)
5. Payment (-20% tax) is deposited in an account in your home country, which you will specify when you're applying for the pension refund.
6. Send the ORIGINAL proof of the payment to the aforementioned tax representative, who then needs to file for the tax refund on your behalf. Be sure to make a copy first for your records
7. Refund is deposited into tax representative’s account in Japan
8. Tax representative sends tax refund to you
This is where the ￥40,000 (exact amount varies according to nationality) that gets taken out of every paycheck goes. Most of it goes to a pension and social welfare insurance fund. Most of it is refundable for foreigners. The Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (Dattai Ichijikin脱退一時金) is calculated as follows (multiply Rate by 1 month’s pay):
| Months on JET | Rate | Months on JET | Rate |
| 6– less than 12 | 0.4 | 24 – less than 30 | 1.7 |
| 12 – less than 18 | 0.8 | 30 - less than 36 | 2.1 |
| 18– less than 24 | 1.3 | 36+ months | 2.5 |
Unfortunately, you cannot choose to pay an extra month of pension just to bump yourself up a rate bracket.
Additionally, if you stay more than 3 years, please keep in mind when calculating your refund after you leave that although you continued to pay into the pension refund past 3 years, only 3 years' worth will be reimbursed to you.
Before leaving Japan, you need to have the Application for Lump-sum Withdrawal (Dattai Ichijikin Saitei Seikyu-sho 脱退一時金裁定請求書). This form plus your Pension Book (Nenkin Techo 年金手帳) are essential. The Pension Book is issued by the Japan Pension Service (formerly known as the Social Insurance Agency of Japan) (Shakai Hoken Cho 社会保険庁). You apply for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment after you leave Japan. You cannot receive it if you still reside in Japan. Your application must be made within two years of leaving Japan and you need to attach the following to it:
1. Pension Book
2. Photocopy of passport showing name, DOB, nationality, signature, date of departure from Japan
3. Document verifying your bank, name of branch office, address of your branch, and the bank account number of a bank in your home country.
4. Application for Lump-sum Withdrawal
Japan Pension Service
3-5-24 Takaido Nishi
Suginami-ku
Tokyo
〒168-0071 JAPAN
The reimbursement amount is calculated at the currency exchange rate on the day of transaction. Your Lump-sum Withdrawal payment is automatically taxed 20%. This tax is refundable but you must apply to receive it. You must designate a person who is a resident of Japan to be your tax representative. To do this, file an Declaration Naming a Person to Administer the Taxpayer's Affairs (Nozeikanrin-in no Todokede-sho 納税管理人の届出書) at your local tax office (zeimusho 税務署).
Once you receive your Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment back home, make a copy and then send the original Notice of Lump-sum Payment (Dattai Ichijikin Shikyu Kettei Tsuchisho 脱退一時金至急決定通知書). Your representative then goes to the same tax office as before and files a Payment Confirmation (Kakutei Shinkokusho 確定申告書). The refund will be directly deposited into your tax representative’s bank account in Japan. He/she can send it to you.
Sound confusing? It doesn't have to be! Tiffany has made a nifty checklist/cartoon to help you through the process, and you can find it here
Additionally, you can download all three forms you're going to need here
Still got questions? Check out the Pension Refund FAQ!