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What do you think about Japan's pension system?

20 Comments

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20 Comments
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Nenkin is excessively stingy. People pay out of pocket all their careers for very little in return. In Canada, the basic pension is universal, coming out of taxes. In the US, the average social security monthly payment is around $1,700, over twice as much as nenkin. Japan could well confront a elderly-poverty crisis in the coming years.

The Nenkin online site is good, giving lots of updated data, although I fear that the planned integration with MyNumber may deny me access to my account, as NM currently doesn't support my PC's Chrome OS.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

I strongly dislike it. Never even been able to complete the login process for the website. Monthly payment is too high, and payout too low. I'd rather save and invest the money myself. Having this as non-optional is basically just another tax.

13 ( +15 / -2 )

The monthly payment to the Kokumin Nenkin is far too low to eventually get a decent monthly pension.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

It's a scam, recently they even ask you to extend pension payment during your lifetime.

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14753403

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

Here is my opinion:

What pension? There will be none so I pay it but I feel better just throwing the money in a garbage can because that is what you essentially doing.

This is one of the reasons why I got out of the employer employee system and started to do something I Love to do and made a small business out of it. Ill be happy to do even after Im 70 making retirement something sounding very depressing to me.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

its outdated scam.

to be short and frank.

daylight robbery by LDP crooks.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

I like the plan but lots of people opt out of it so it's not as effective as it can be. If it were automatically deducted from one's paycheck, it'd work better, just like Social Security in the US.

The National Pension people are rather too aggressive if a person falls behind a couple of months with intrusive phone calls, mail notices and even once a visit from to my house.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Poor and not enough even for basic living.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Too dang expensive. Even when I wasn't working due to 2020 being 2020 (and 2022), I still had to pay out of my pocket.

They say it's based on your previous year's income. But even if you didn't work the previous year, the minimum your still have to pay is 200,000 a year.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

It's better than it used to be. When I first came to Japan, if you paid into the nenkin but later left the country, you would lose everything you had paid. At least now you can get it back.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

kokumin nenkin is far too low, in both contributions and payouts, to support a retirement. Since some people say the contributions are already too high, do not expect it to improve. Provided that everyone knows you cannot live off a kokumin nenkin pension and will need to work or have other savings/assets, perhaps its not such a problem.

Given life expectancy in Japan, its pretty good that it still pays out at 65. It means the average woman will get the money for 23 years. No retirement scheme was ever set up with the intention of paying people that long. Japan also has the longest healthy/active life expectancy. The average 65 year old Japanese is way healthier and active than most people in every other country. Healthy and active is great of course, but it also means healthy and active enough to work. My dad was completely crooked from the physical side of his job at 61/62.

The free pension for a dependent spouse should end. Everyone should have to contribute.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

I think it's much better to have an exceedingly generous trust fund.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

 lots of people opt out of it so it's not as effective as it can be. 

It's crazy that the govt bills people for their contributions, which are basically a tax. Why don't they take the money out of the tax budget if they're so worried about non-payment? Same situation with health insurance.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I wouldn't bet on much being there in the future. There will be a trickle but that's about it. It's best to start squirreling money away now before it's too late.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The basic Japanese pension after paying for 40 years is ¥64,000 a month. But luckily you will not reach the pension age overnight so start preparing for your retirement by investing when you are young.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Very afraid of not being able to get paid in the future, though I have been paying a portion of salary to the Pension Service.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Pension only pays 7man per month not sure how to live off that if you have zero savings. Im not on on Pension but my inlaws mother and father are.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

If your unemployed for a few months before your next job they still make you pay kokumin nenkin for every month that you were unemployed so by law you are required to pay Pension tot he ward office regardless.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Skeptical. I hope I don't end up having to shoplift bread and milk when I am 80.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Like many above have said, its a scam.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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