Just wondering if anyone has ever had property seized / their bank account raided due to non-payment of national pension premiums? Details would be appreciated.
Bank account raided yes. I think they send like 3 warnings and after that they raid your bank account and withdraw the amount you owe.
But seizing properly I never heard of.
As a US person, I know that not paying social security would, as they say, land you in deep doo-doo. I’ve always been a little surprised by how lax japan is about pension–even giving a lot of it back if you leave.
There have been a few posters in this sub over the years that have had bank accounts seized.
There have been numerous reports in the news about Japanese nationals who’ve had property seized.
So yes – it happens.
I am currently selling a house for someone with this problem. First the city or ward will put a lien on your property by adding the debt to your land registration. Anyone who wants to buy your property will know that this debt must be cleared in order to transfer ownership. In practical terms, potential buyers will know your financial situation and try to negotiate your sales price down.
Once the lien is added, you have about 3 years or so to pay the debt before the property is actually auctioned off. The Japanese government does not like to foreclose on residences like this, so they take their time. But if you no longer reside in the property they may move a bit faster.
Similar questions pop up quite a bit, excluding the property bit. You can google around to find examples of what happens to people who don’t pay their pension and stay here long term. Summary is that they get their bank account seized and end up negotiating a payment plan for the last two years of backpayments with their pension office.
I couldn’t find anything about seizing property but they will get your bank account eventually.
I had received threats for years — they never did anything. If they had decided to take the money themselves, they’re entitled to.
I know people who have had their bank accounts seized for this and also nonpayment of taxes.
Authorities here are generally pretty friendly (am more familiar with state tax authorities in the US, who will put up big posters closing your business or garnish wages without a second thought).
Yes, it can happen
1. Pay your shit.
2. Pay your shit on time.
3. Can’t? Quit your shitty teaching job and get a new one or go back home.
4. Bring on the downvotes
Yes – bank account – , and it caused them to do an audit and tacked on extra fees, took more than just the pension. Fees from 7 years back that I should not have had to owe (I had insurance from my own country and did not use any NHI).
If they are sending you multiple warnings, pay it before you get audited.
I know they can seize the title to your car, without even a court hearing. If they do that, they put a boot on the car unless it happens to occur while you’re out of the country for an extended period and the car is parked in long-term parking out at Narita. At least that’s what my friend said.
FYI you can defer payments easily. Just go and have a chat rather than leaving it. Had staff member defer multiple times, they might have been 16 months behind ,from memory, as they thought I was paying via company
My old eikaiwa never paid mine and I wasn’t even on their radar until I joined a Japanese company that paid it with my salary. From that moment I started getting letters, but over time I noticed the amount getting smaller, I think the two year window of non-payment was moving forward into with my new company’s payments and the amount demanded kept decreasing until they eventually stopped coming. Perhaps my company payments showed some sort of “willingness” to pay and nothing ever got escalated. YMMV and definitely not advising to do it this way though.
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Bank account raided yes. I think they send like 3 warnings and after that they raid your bank account and withdraw the amount you owe.
But seizing properly I never heard of.
As a US person, I know that not paying social security would, as they say, land you in deep doo-doo. I’ve always been a little surprised by how lax japan is about pension–even giving a lot of it back if you leave.
There have been a few posters in this sub over the years that have had bank accounts seized.
There have been numerous reports in the news about Japanese nationals who’ve had property seized.
So yes – it happens.
I am currently selling a house for someone with this problem. First the city or ward will put a lien on your property by adding the debt to your land registration. Anyone who wants to buy your property will know that this debt must be cleared in order to transfer ownership. In practical terms, potential buyers will know your financial situation and try to negotiate your sales price down.
Once the lien is added, you have about 3 years or so to pay the debt before the property is actually auctioned off. The Japanese government does not like to foreclose on residences like this, so they take their time. But if you no longer reside in the property they may move a bit faster.
Similar questions pop up quite a bit, excluding the property bit. You can google around to find examples of what happens to people who don’t pay their pension and stay here long term. Summary is that they get their bank account seized and end up negotiating a payment plan for the last two years of backpayments with their pension office.
Example:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/bb1rt8/pay_your_pension_an_alts_story_of/](https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/bb1rt8/pay_your_pension_an_alts_story_of/)
​
I couldn’t find anything about seizing property but they will get your bank account eventually.
I had received threats for years — they never did anything. If they had decided to take the money themselves, they’re entitled to.
I know people who have had their bank accounts seized for this and also nonpayment of taxes.
Authorities here are generally pretty friendly (am more familiar with state tax authorities in the US, who will put up big posters closing your business or garnish wages without a second thought).
Yes, it can happen
1. Pay your shit.
2. Pay your shit on time.
3. Can’t? Quit your shitty teaching job and get a new one or go back home.
4. Bring on the downvotes
Yes – bank account – , and it caused them to do an audit and tacked on extra fees, took more than just the pension.
Fees from 7 years back that I should not have had to owe (I had insurance from my own country and did not use any NHI).
If they are sending you multiple warnings, pay it before you get audited.
I know they can seize the title to your car, without even a court hearing. If they do that, they put a boot on the car unless it happens to occur while you’re out of the country for an extended period and the car is parked in long-term parking out at Narita. At least that’s what my friend said.
FYI you can defer payments easily. Just go and have a chat rather than leaving it. Had staff member defer multiple times, they might have been 16 months behind ,from memory, as they thought I was paying via company
My old eikaiwa never paid mine and I wasn’t even on their radar until I joined a Japanese company that paid it with my salary.
From that moment I started getting letters, but over time I noticed the amount getting smaller, I think the two year window of non-payment was moving forward into with my new company’s payments and the amount demanded kept decreasing until they eventually stopped coming.
Perhaps my company payments showed some sort of “willingness” to pay and nothing ever got escalated. YMMV and definitely not advising to do it this way though.