Hello.
As the title suggests, I didn’t apply for pension exemption back when I was a student as I didn’t know I was supposed to and recently got the bills for that period (up to two years, which is nearly 300k).
What is the best to do here? Should I go to the pension office (or does the city hall take care of this) and explain everything hoping that they approve the exemption retroactively or are the chances of that happening very slim at this point? Should I just ignore it and wait for the two year period to pass? Or should I pay after all? (I’ve been paying pension properly for the past year, it’s being deducted from my salary, so it’s just the student period.)
I think I would rather go and explain everything while hoping for the best. On the other hand, 300k yen is not an insignificant amount and I would rather avoid paying something I was originally supposed to be exempted from, if possible. What are the consequences if I don’t pay? I applied for visa renewal last week and, from what I understood, unpaid pension shouldn’t affect regular renewal (I know it’s a big deal for PR, though), but I still can’t help but feel slightly anxious.
Any kind of advice would be much appreciated.
9 comments
Go to the pension office. And explained that. Also bring something to show that you’re enrolled in a school during that time. For me I brought my graduation certificate that specifically have the dates.
That was my case. The amount gave me so much anxiety. Just go to the pension office closest to you and ask for exemption. Take one of the slips or your pension book for the id number. You explain your situation and fill out a form. A few weeks later you’ll get a letter and the debt is wiped away.
Yes, you can request for an exemption from your local City hall. But please take into consideration that gaps in your pension might affect your application for permanent residency if you are inclined to do so in the future.
I know how you feel but there is always a solution to every problem.
Hang in there.
The pension office will usually demand you back-pay the last two years of arrears, with any other outstanding amount remaining as a debt (that does *not* go away).
If you qualify for any exemptions since you arrived in Japan, or turned twenty, you need to apply for it.
Bad records (eg: unpaid pensions) can’t be “fixed” after 5 years, even if you qualified for an exemption at that time, it will be permanently recorded as non-payment instead.
If you qualified for an exemption (or reduction), you may “back pay” the exempted amount up to ten years later if you wish to. This has no bearing on applying for or obtaining permanent residence, it generally gives you the opportunity to receive a larger pension payout in the future.
You should drop by your pension office to get this sorted out. If you have evidence of being a full-time student (eg: transcripts, etc), you should bring that along with you.
Same thing happened to me! I received unpaid slips for 3 years after moving to a new place.
Don’t worry about it, just take the slips with your residence card, along with proof that you were exempted then( e.g: student IDs)They’ll make you fill the forms retroactively.
They’ll ask you why you didn’t come earlier, just say you didn’t know or didn’t notice. But do it as soon as possible, because I was told that after a certified amount of time, these forms cannot be filled retroactively.
I had the same thing. I just went afterwards and applied for an exemption for that time. It was fine.
Go to your local pension office and ask as much as you want until you fully understand your options. You might need to book an appointment a few days in advance.
If you plan to pay, and plan to do so gradually instead of all at once, make sure to let them know too. They might prepare new payment slips and send them to your home.
It is usually suggested around this sub that you pay the amount retroactively if you plan to apply for PR in the future.
Are you sure that they’re bills that you have to pay? My wife just got something similar in the post (she was a student over 5 years ago). They weren’t mandatory to pay but were just saying hey, you can pay x amount to top up your pension for the time that you were a student, if you want to.
Thank you everyone for your replies! I’ll definitely go as soon as tomorrow. While I wish I had taken care of this before submitting my visa renewal application, I hope everything gets sorted out soon.