Why not apply for Pension Refund (Lumpsum Withdrawal Payment)?
If you’ve been enrolled in a Japanese public pension scheme for at least 6 months, you can apply for the Pension Refund (Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments).
The Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment for the National Pension Insurance is not taxed, but a 20% income tax applies to the Payment for Employees’ Pension Insurance.
To claim tax refunds, visit a tax office and submit a “notification of tax agent” before leaving Japan.
Applying for Pension Refund (Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments) and Tax Refund can be complex and time-consuming.
We assist with these applications on your behalf, saving you time.
We offer free estimations for your Pension Refund (Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments) and Tax Refund.
Our fees are deducted from your refunded money, so you pay nothing up-front.
Please note that we are not Japan Pension Office.
Who is eligible for Employee Pension Refund?
You need to meet all of the following requirements:
- Who is within 2 years after leaving Japan
- Who do not have Japanese nationality
- Who have paid Employee Pension Insurance contribution for 6 months or more
- Who do not have an address in Japan
- Who have never been qualified for receipt of pension benefits (including Disability Allowance)
If you have been enrolled in the pension system of a partner country that has concluded the Pension Totalization Agreement with Japan, under certain conditions, you may receive a Japanese pension and a partner country pension by totalizing your enrollment periods.
If, as a result of totalizing your enrollment periods, your Japanese pension eligibility period is 120 months or more, you cannot claim Employee Pension (the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment. You can claim the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment) if your pension eligibility period is less than 120 months.
However, if you receive the Employee Pension (Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment), you cannot add up your Japanese pension enrollment periods that occurred prior to your claim for the Employee Pension (Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment) because these periods are thereby considered invalid.
Process
STEP
CONFIRM
Please confirm if you are eligible for your Lumpsum Withdrawal Payment.
You must meet all of the following requirements 1 to 4
- You do not have Japanese nationality.
- The number of months of the Employees’ Pension Insurance enrollment period (including the Mutual Aid Association Pension enrollment period etc.) is six months or more.
- You do not have an address in Japan.
※If you submit a Moving-out Notification to the municipality, you can claim for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment after leaving Japan with a re-entry permit/deemed re-entry permit.
However, suppose you have not submitted the Moving-out Notification.
In that case, you are considered as an insured person in the National Pension insurance; that’s why you cannot claim for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment until your re-entry permit expires. - You were never eligible to receive a pension (including disability allowance).
STEP
Fill out
We will send you necessary documents for you to fill out by email.
STEP
Send
You will prepare necessary documents and send those documents to us
*You will need to send the original documents, including those to be signed by you, to the us by post.
Documents that do not require signatures or seals should be sent by e-mail.
STEP
Apply for your lump-sum
We will apply for your lump-sum withdrawal payment (pension refund)
STEP
Remit
The Japan Pension Service will remit the lump-sum withdrawal payment to your nominated bank after deduction of income tax
*from STEP5, it takes about 3-6 months.
STEP
Apply to the tax office
We will apply to the tax office for a refund of your income tax deducted from the lump-sum withdrawal payment.
STEP
The tax applied for is paid into our bank account
The tax applied for is paid into our bank account
*from STEP 7, it takes about 2-4 months
STEP
We will transfer your tax refund from the tax office to your personal account.
After deducting service charges, VAT and bank transfer fees, we will transfer your tax refund from the tax office to your personal account.
For Foreigners who only use the tax refund service for lump-sum withdrawal payments：
Start from the STEP 7 above. You need to send us ORIGINAL COPY of “Notice of Entitlement: Your Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments”
Our Service Fee
Your pension refund (lump-sum withdrawal payment) will be paid directly by the Japan Pension Service to your designated bank account.
Around 20% of this is deducted as income tax, so you will only receive around 80% of the amount.
However, we will act as your tax agent and claim the deducted tax back from the tax office on your behalf.
We will deduct our service charge and bank transfer fee from your tax refund and transfer the rest to your designated bank account.
You can therefore use our services without having to pay a separate service fee in advance.
SERVICE FEE (Consumption tax and bank transfer fee is additionally required)
| General fee (claiming your pension and its tax refund service) | 7% of the pension refund (lumpsum withdrawal payment) |
| Pension refund (lumpsum withdrawal payment）amount is JPY720,000 or less | JPY 50,000 |
| Only Tax Refund Service | JPY 60,000 |
In addition to the above, bank charges for international transfers are required. As of 2024, this is JPY 8,000.
About us
Japan-Pension-Refund.com is run by Hoshi Labor Consulting in Tokyo.
We are social insurance and labor attorney office in Japan.
About Hoshi Labor Consulting
HOSHI LABOR CONSULTING is a social insurance and labor consulting office in Tokyo.
We offer the following services in addition to our Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment （Employee Pension Refund）Claims Service.
Statutory Social Insurance Procedures
There are four types of statutory social insurance for workers in Japan. In principle, these insurance policies apply to foreign workers, too.
But in some cases, there are some exceptions or special treatments for foreigners.
We take all kinds of procedures for you in the best way.
Draw up Work Rules
The Labor Standards Law stipulates that the company or organization which continuously employs 10 or more workers must draw up the Work Rules and submit them to the Director of Labor Standard Inspection Office.
We help you draw them up both in Japanese and English.
Labor Consulting
Labor disputes such as redundancy, overtime, mental health and sexual harassment are on the rise and legislation is changing more frequently.
Please consult our experts. We can provide you with legally effective solutions.