Japan Pension Refund for Foreigners: Lump-Sum Guide

A Japan pension refund for foreigners is a one-time 脱退一時金 (dattai ichijikin, lump-sum withdrawal) for qualifying people who leave Japan. You generally need at least six qualifying months and must apply within two years of ceasing to have a Japanese address. The payout counts at most 60 months, but claiming cancels every Japanese pension period before the claim, even if you paid in for longer. Compare the cash with the future pension credit before sending the form.

Japan pension refund for foreigners: eligibility first

As of October 2026, Japan Pension Service lists four main conditions: you do not have Japanese nationality; you have at least six qualifying months under National Pension or Employees’ Pension, including relevant mutual-aid periods; you no longer have an address in Japan; and you have never acquired a right to receive a pension, including a disability allowance. The claim must reach the relevant institution within two years after you lose your Japanese address. A pension entitlement assessed with totalised foreign periods can rule out the lump sum even when your Japan-only record looks short.

For 国民年金 (kokumin nenkin, National Pension) — explained in our guide to the Japan pension system for foreigners — the six months are contribution-paid months and qualifying fractions of partially exempt months, not simply six months of residence. For 厚生年金 (kōsei nenkin, Employees’ Pension), use the insured period on your pension record. Keep your 基礎年金番号 (basic pension number) and ask the pension office to reconcile missing months before deciding. The moving to Japan guide explains the earlier registration sequence that creates these records.

Do the 60-month calculation before you leave

The post-April-2021 rule caps the payment calculation at 60 months, not your actual insured history. The older 36-month cap still applies where the relevant last paid or insured month was no later than March 2021. A person with 90 Japanese months in 2026 can be paid as if for 60 but loses all 90 when the claim is accepted. That 30-month gap is the first calculation to make, especially if you might return.

For National Pension, Japan Pension Service publishes yen amounts by the fiscal year of the last month for which you paid and by qualifying-month band. These are the official amounts where that last month falls from April 2026 through March 2027:

There are six-month steps between these rows; use the full current official table for your precise band. This is not a repayment of every National Pension premium. Earlier last-paid months use the corresponding older fiscal-year column. Partially exempt months can count as fractions, so verify the qualifying-month total instead of counting calendar months.

Employees’ Pension works differently. For a recent record, Japan Pension Service multiplies average standard remuneration by a payment rate tied to insured months. The average includes the standard remuneration used for pension purposes, not just the net salary you remember receiving; the 2026 claim form explains how bonuses enter the calculation. The rates for a last insured month from April 2021 are 1.1 at 12–17 months, 3.3 at 36–41 months and 5.5 at 60 months or more.

The ¥300,000 figure is a hypothetical input, not an average claimant salary or a guaranteed payment. For the middle row, ¥300,000 × 3.3 gives ¥990,000 gross. If paid to a non-resident, 20.42% withholding would be ¥202,158, leaving ¥787,842 at payment, before any later tax-refund result. The salary calculator explains payslip deductions but does not calculate pension lump sums; use your pension record and JPS rate table for that.

Why taking the cash can be the wrong choice

Receiving the lump sum makes all Japanese pension periods before the claim invalid for future Japanese benefits. It also prevents those periods from being used in a social security agreement’s totalisation calculation. If you return to Japan later, new insured months begin a new record, but the withdrawn months do not revive. The JPS example explicitly describes 90 months paid, only 60 counted for cash, and all 90 cancelled.

As of March 2026, JPS lists 24 implemented social security agreements, but four — with the United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, China and Italy — cover dual-contribution avoidance without pension-period totalisation. The other listed agreements can have a totalisation mechanism, subject to their detailed rules. Do not infer from the word “agreement” alone that your Japanese months can be combined with your home-country record. Check the current JPS country page and your foreign pension agency before claiming.

A Japanese old-age pension generally needs 120 months of qualifying period. If your own Japanese record or a permitted totalised record already satisfies that requirement, JPS says a lump sum is unavailable. Even below 120 months today, keeping the record may be valuable if you expect another Japanese posting, hope to settle, or pursue permanent residency in Japan. PR does not itself require you to keep a pension lump sum unclaimed; the issue is the pension history you would lose, plus the need for consistent pension compliance during a future immigration process.

Apply within two years: documents, post or e-Gov

The October 2026 JPS bilingual claim form asks for a signed application and evidence of identity, no current Japanese address, a bank account in your own name, and your basic pension number. Its checklist specifies passport pages showing name, birth date, nationality, signature and residence status. A deleted residence record or similar proof can establish the address change; JPS may confirm it itself if you filed a municipal move-out notice before departing. Follow the current form’s checklist for your case, including the bank’s name, branch, location and account number.

Submit to JPS or, for some mutual-aid histories, the relevant institution. JPS lists post and an e-Gov electronic application. For e-Gov, search for 電子申請用送付書（年金給付用） (electronic cover sheet for pension benefits), choose the lump-sum claim in the document menu, and attach the completed claim as PDF or JPEG. The electronic route still requires the form and supporting records; it is not an instant calculator. If posting from Japan, JPS must receive the claim after the planned deletion date of your registered address.

Recovering Employees’ Pension withholding

The NTA confirms that a non-resident’s Employees’ Pension lump sum has 20.42% withheld. It permits a separate optional return under the retirement-income taxation rules that may return some or all of that withholding. National Pension payments have no such withholding, so there is no identical 20.42% amount to recover. The final tax result depends on your retirement-income calculation and other relevant facts; a website promising the entire withholding back in every case is overstating it.

Appoint a 納税管理人 (nōzei kanrinin, tax agent) in Japan using the NTA notification, ideally before leaving. JPS says a missed pre-departure notification can be filed together with the later return. After payment, send the original lump-sum decision notice to the agent, who files the optional refund return with the tax office for your last Japanese address. Keep copies of the form, bank details and correspondence. For the exact income-tax treatment or a tax-agent filing, consult a 税理士 (zeirishi, tax accountant).