Back again with an update post. In my last post, I questioned whether waiting a whole year before receiving your pension money (at least the first 80%) was strange. So before mustering the courage to call the pension office, I messaged my supervisor/tax agent about my concerns.
That's when they told me that the lump-sum withdrawal process went smoothly and the first 80% of the funds were deposited to my Japanese bank account. They are waiting for the remaining 20% to come in before sending me the whole thing. Isn't the first 80% supposed to go directly to your home bank? I definitely submitted my American bank's info with the application, but the money went to my Japanese bank account which my supervisor has access to. Regardless, I will hopefully get the money transferred to me soon, I just haven't heard of this scenario happening to anyone else and wanted to share. If I never assigned a tax agent, I would've never known the money went to my Japanese account.
by ThatOneNerd8