Live here for 5 years but work full time for 2 years and a few months
I’m currently already quit the job but my Nenkin is paid everytime by my employer automically.
I search and read a little bit about other people situation in this /r, It’s seem like you can take that lump sum of money before going back so
My question is I think I am not going to be coming back and live here anymore in my foreseeable future, So can I refund my 2 years-ish nenkin before I go back to my home country(Thailand)?
If I can how long would that process take before I get the lump sum money?
Thank you in advance and sorry for my weird grammar english
by TTTJP
3 comments
Before you leave, you need to specify someone (a friend you trust) to be your tax representative. You eventually send them some paperwork that you get from the pension office, and then they bring it to your your former tax office (not their tax office) and file some paperwork. Some months later your refund (20% of what you paid?) is deposited into their account. After they subtract enough to buy a nice bottle of whisky 😁 they wire the rest to you. It takes a while (maybe a year?)
For 2 years nenkin payments, I believe your refund will be approx. 203,760 JPY. To file a claim for withdrawing your lumpsum pension payment, you will need to file this paperwork: [https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/japanese-system/withdrawalpayment/payment.html](https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/japanese-system/withdrawalpayment/payment.html)
And then designate someone to be your tax rep (https://mailmate.jp/blog/tax-representative-japan), as mentioned by Jeffrey.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on pension withdrawals for those leaving Japan:
[https://mailmate.jp/blog/japan-pension-refund](https://mailmate.jp/blog/japan-pension-refund)
Good luck!
>can I refund my 2 years-ish nenkin before I go back to my home country(Thailand)?
You can apply to make a “lump-sum withdrawal” from the employees’ pension system *after* you have left Japan. In practice, it is possible to apply for the withdrawal shortly before leaving Japan, but you must be out of Japan by the time the Pension Service processes your application, so most people apply after they have left.
Note that the withdrawal is not a “refund” of the contributions you made. It’s a “retirement benefit” that is calculated by reference to your contributions, but it’s not a 1:1 refund.
>If I can how long would that process take before I get the lump sum money?
The Pension Service will process your application about 4-6 months after they receive it. Upon processing it, they will pay the lump-sum withdrawal into your designated bank account.
Because you were enrolled in the employees’ pension, the Pension Service is required to withhold 20.42% Japanese income tax from your lump-sum withdrawal. However, in the vast majority of cases you can obtain a full refund of this tax by filing a tax return for the year in which you received it. As you will be a non-resident by that time, you will need to [appoint a tax representative](https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/tetsuzuki/shinsei/annai/shinkoku/annai/07.htm) to file the tax return on your behalf.
As you may have seen from the link posted by u/CalmFig5029, the Pension Service provides an explanation of the lump-sum withdrawal system in Thai [here (PDF)](https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/japanese-system/withdrawalpayment/payment.files/H.pdf).