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Japanese pension for foreigners: National Pension and Employees’ Pension

Everyone living in Japan aged 20 to 59 must be in the public pension system — foreigners too, even if they never plan to retire in Japan. Employees pay Employees’ Pension Insurance through their salary; everyone else pays the National Pension themselves. What you pay, how to defer it, whether you will ever get a Japanese pension, and what changes if your country has a social security agreement with Japan.

What you pay

Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment

Checked against the websites of the Japan Pension Service and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on October 7, 2026 · Social insurance overview · Family and dependents

National Pension a month (April 2026 – March 2027)¥17,920

Of standard monthly pay for Employees’ Pension, half paid by the employer18.3%

Of coverage needed for a Japanese old-age pension10 years

Social security agreements Japan has in force24

In short

The Japanese pension in five lines

  • Compulsory: everyone living in Japan aged 20 to 59, whatever their nationality.
  • Employees pay Employees’ Pension Insurance (厚生年金, kōsei nenkin) — 9.15% of their standard monthly remuneration; the employer pays the same.
  • Everyone else pays the National Pension (国民年金, kokumin nenkin) — ¥17,920 a month (¥18,290 from April 2027).
  • Students and people with a low income can defer or be exempted — but they must apply every year.
  • An old-age pension starts at 65 and needs at least 10 years of coverage. If you leave earlier, you can get part of your contributions back — or, if your country has a social security agreement with Japan, you may be able to add your Japanese years to your home country’s.

Three categories: who you are in the system

Japan has one pension system, but its members fall into three categories. Your category decides who pays and how much.

Category Who What you pay
Category I (第1号) residents aged 20–59 not in Employees’ Pension Insurance: students, freelancers, the unemployed, business owners without social insurance National Pension — ¥17,920 a month, yourself
Category II (第2号) employees insured at work (Employees’ Pension Insurance), up to age 70 9.15% of standard monthly remuneration, through your salary; no separate National Pension
Category III (第3号) a spouse aged 20–59 who is the dependent of a Category II employee, with an income under ¥1.3 million a year (under ¥1.8 million with a disability) nothing

If you leave a job and are 20 to 59, switch to Category I at the city office within 14 days. A spouse who was in Category III must do the same.

National Pension

A flat contribution for Category I

Period A month A year
April 2026 – March 2027 ¥17,920 ¥215,040
April 2027 – March 2028 ¥18,290 ¥219,480
  • Each month’s contribution is due by the end of the following month — with payment slips, by bank transfer, credit card, smartphone app or Nenkin Net.
  • You can voluntarily add ¥400 a month (付加保険料, additional contribution) — it slightly raises your future pension.
  • Paying in advance is cheaper. The 2-year advance payment by bank transfer starts only in April, and you apply by the end of February: for April 2026 – March 2028 it was ¥417,150 instead of ¥434,520, a saving of ¥17,370. For 1 year or 6 months in advance, apply by the end of February (debited at the end of April), or by the end of August for the 6-month payment debited at the end of October.
  • All contributions — National Pension and Employees’ Pension Insurance — are fully deductible from your taxable income (社会保険料控除, deduction for social insurance premiums). You can also claim them for family members if you pay for them. More: tax deductions.

If you can’t pay

Exemption, postponement and the system for students

Not paying without applying is the worst option: the months do not count as coverage and become a debt. With an application they count toward the 10 years.

Option You pay a month (FY2026) What the month adds to your pension amount
Full exemption ¥0 half a month
3/4 exemption ¥4,480 part of a month
Half exemption ¥8,960 part of a month
1/4 exemption ¥13,440 part of a month
Postponement (under 50) and the Special Payment System for Students ¥0 nothing — only coverage time
  • Exemption (免除) is granted when last year’s income was low — your own, your spouse’s and the head of household’s income are checked. For a single person, full exemption applies with an income after the deduction for employment income (所得) of up to ¥670,000: (dependents + 1) × ¥350,000 + ¥320,000.
  • One application covers July to June of the next year. You can also apply retroactively — for up to 2 years and 1 month.
  • Having a baby — no income test. A mother in Category I pays no contributions for 4 months around the birth (産前産後免除, 6 months for twins or more); you can apply from 6 months before the due date. From October 1, 2026, parents in Category I — mother and father — can also stop paying until the child turns 1 (育児免除, National Pension exemption during childcare): the mother for up to 9 more months after those 4, the father for up to 12 months. All these months count as paid for your pension. Apply at the city office or through Mynaportal.
  • Months of exemption or postponement can be paid later within 10 years (追納, back-payment) — then they count in full.
  • The Special Payment System for Students (学生納付特例) — April to March, apply every year. It covers universities, junior colleges (短期大学), vocational schools (専修学校), miscellaneous schools (各種学校) with a course of 1 year or more and, since April 1, 2024, certified Japanese language institutions (認定日本語教育機関). Check your school on the official list. Income limit: ¥1.28 million + ¥380,000 for each dependent + social insurance deductions.
  • If your school is not on the list, apply for the ordinary low-income exemption instead.

More about a student’s contributions: taxes and insurance for students.

Employees’ Pension Insurance

The employee pension: a percentage of your pay

  • The rate is 18.3% of your standard monthly remuneration (標準報酬月額), unchanged since 2017. You pay 9.15%, your employer the same.
  • The standard monthly remuneration runs from ¥88,000 to ¥650,000. Above ¥650,000 the contribution stops rising: the employee pays at most ¥59,475 a month.
  • The 2025 reform raises the ceiling: ¥680,000 from September 2027, ¥710,000 from September 2028 and ¥750,000 from September 2029.
  • Bonuses are charged the same 9.15%, but on no more than ¥1.5 million per month of payment.
  • An employee in Employees’ Pension Insurance is also in the National Pension (Category II), so does not pay it separately.

Example. With a standard monthly remuneration of ¥300,000, your salary is reduced by ¥300,000 × 9.15% = ¥27,450 a month, and your employer adds another ¥27,450. All premiums on this salary: Social insurance in Japan; your take-home pay: the take-home pay calculator.

Will you get a Japanese pension?

The 10-year rule and social security agreements

  • An old-age pension is paid from 65 if your total coverage is at least 10 years (the rule since August 1, 2017). Paid months, months of exemption or postponement, and Category II and III periods all count. Once you qualify, the pension can also be paid to you abroad.
  • If your country has a social security agreement with Japan that totalizes coverage periods, your years in both countries can be added up to reach the 10 years. Each country then pays its own pension for its own years. Japan has 24 agreements in force; 20 of them totalize periods — including India, the Philippines, the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Germany and France.
  • The agreements with the United Kingdom, Korea, China and Italy only prevent double contributions: your Japanese and home years cannot be added up.
  • If you were sent to Japan by your employer from an agreement country for up to 5 years and have a certificate of coverage (適用証明書), you may stay in your home system and not pay into the Japanese pension at all.
  • If your country has no agreement with Japan — Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand and many others — you pay full Japanese contributions, and your Japanese years cannot be combined with your home pension. Under 10 years, the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment is the way to get part of the money back.
  • If you leave before 10 years, you can claim part of your contributions back — the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (脱退一時金, dattai ichijikin). But it erases all your Japanese coverage up to that point — and those years can then no longer be totalized under an agreement.

Check before you leave Japan. Which countries have agreements, what they change and how to choose between totalization and the refund: social security agreements.

How to check your coverage

Every year in your birth month you get a ねんきん定期便 (nenkin teikibin, Pension Record Notice) postcard showing your contributions and coverage; at 35, 45 and 59 a detailed letter in an envelope. Online, your records are always available in ねんきんネット (Nenkin Net). Keep the letters: a printout of your records is also needed for permanent residency, and your Basic Pension Number (基礎年金番号) is needed for any claim from abroad.

Deadlines

What to file, and when

What When If you miss it
Join the National Pension after leaving a job (ages 20–59) 14 days from the day after you leave months without contributions become a debt; a minus for permanent residency
Pay a month’s contribution by the end of the following month a debt; the month does not count until paid
Apply for exemption for July to June; retroactively up to 2 years and 1 month months without payment and without an application do not count
Special Payment System for Students every year, for April to March the same
Exemption around a birth (産前産後免除, 育児免除) from 6 months before the due date, or after the birth as soon as possible without an application you have to pay for those months
Back-pay months of exemption (追納) within 10 years a smaller pension
Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment after leaving Japan 2 years from the day you no longer have an address in Japan the right to the payment is lost

Linked to your visa.

  • For permanent residency you need proof of pension payments for the last 2 years: a record of your contributions (ねんきん定期便 or a Nenkin Net printout) and your National Pension receipts. Late payment counts against you even if the debt has been paid.
  • From April 2027 permanent residency can be revoked for deliberately not paying taxes and premiums (not for missing payments because of illness or losing your job).

Taxes and your visa · Permanent residency

If you have a family

Spouse, children, parents: what changes

A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.

  • A spouse aged 20 to 59 who is your dependent (income under ¥1.3 million a year; under ¥1.8 million with a disability) becomes Category III and pays nothing — if you are in Employees’ Pension Insurance. Your employer files it together with the health insurance; for a foreign spouse a romanized name notification (ローマ字氏名届) is also filed.
  • If you are not in Employees’ Pension Insurance (freelancer, student, business owner without social insurance), a spouse aged 20 to 59 pays the National Pension themselves — ¥17,920 a month.
  • If your spouse’s income rises to ¥1.3 million a year or more (¥1.8 million with a disability), they leave Category III and pay themselves — or get Employees’ Pension Insurance at their own job.
  • A spouse living abroad cannot be in Category III: they must live in Japan (with exceptions — for example a spouse who went abroad with an employee posted there by the company).
  • A baby is born and you or your spouse are in Category I — from October 1, 2026 both parents can stop paying the National Pension until the child turns 1, with no income test; for the pension these months count as paid (details above).
  • Children from age 20 join the National Pension themselves; if they are studying, they can use the special payment system for students.
  • Family of a posted worker from an agreement country may also be exempt from the Japanese pension — see social security agreements.

FAQ

Pension questions

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Do foreigners have to pay into the Japanese pension?

Yes. Everyone living in Japan aged 20 to 59 must be in the pension system, whatever their nationality and even if they do not plan to retire in Japan. The main exception is a worker posted to Japan for up to 5 years by an employer in a country that has a social security agreement with Japan, who holds a certificate of coverage.

¥17,920 a month from April 2026 to March 2027, and ¥18,290 a month from April 2027. Each month is due by the end of the following month. Paying 1 or 2 years in advance by bank transfer is a little cheaper.

9.15% of your standard monthly remuneration; your employer pays the same, for a total of 18.3%. With ¥300,000 that is ¥27,450 a month. The contribution stops rising at a standard monthly remuneration of ¥650,000, or ¥59,475 a month for the employee.

Students aged 20 or older are in the National Pension, but they can apply every year for the Special Payment System for Students and pay nothing for the time being. It covers universities, vocational schools and, since April 2024, certified Japanese language institutions. Students of other schools can apply for the low-income exemption.

Only with at least 10 years of coverage in total. If your country has a social security agreement with Japan that totalizes periods, years in both countries can be added up to reach the 10 years, and each country pays its own part. Otherwise, if you leave before 10 years, you can claim the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment instead.

Japan has agreements in force with 24 countries, including India, the Philippines, China, Korea, Brazil, the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and many Western European countries. The agreements with the UK, Korea, China and Italy only prevent double contributions. Vietnam is in negotiation; Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand and many other countries have no agreement.

The Japan Pension Service treats all your coverage before the claim as invalid. You can no longer use those years for a Japanese pension or add them up with your home country’s years under a social security agreement. If your totalized coverage already reaches 10 years, you cannot claim the refund at all.

Apply for an exemption or postponement at the city office rather than just not paying. With an application, the months still count toward the 10 years and fully exempt months add half a month to your pension; without one, they are a debt. You can pay exempted months later within 10 years.

Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave

From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way

  1. Studylanguage school · part-time up to 28 h a week
  2. Find a jobresume, interviews, shūkatsu
  3. Workcontract, pay, your first 30 days
  4. Taxestaxes, insurance and pensionYou are here
  5. PR or leavea clean record for PR — or the pension refund

Sources

Where this information comes from

Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Japan Pension Service, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Immigration Services Agency on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.

This page is general information. Your employer, the health insurance association, the Japan Pension Service and your city office decide your actual premiums and benefits. A Labor and Social Security Attorney (社会保険労務士, sharōshi) can help with a dispute.

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