Can you get your Japanese pension back when you stop teaching?
Last checked: 2026-11-06
Often yes, in part. Foreign nationals who leave Japan can claim a Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment if they meet four conditions and claim within two years. The payment has a cap, income tax is withheld from it, and claiming wipes out your Japanese pension record. This page covers teachers, including JET participants.
This is general information, not financial or tax advice. The Japan Pension Service decides each claim.
The four conditions
| Condition | What the Japan Pension Service says |
|---|---|
| Nationality | You do not have Japanese nationality. |
| Time paid in | 6 months or more of Employees' Pension Insurance, including mutual aid association time, or of National Pension contributions. |
| Address | You do not have an address in Japan. |
| Past benefits | You were never eligible to receive a pension, including a disability allowance. |
You also cannot claim if you have 120 months (10 years) or more of qualifying time, because you could then receive Japan's old-age pension.
The deadline
You must claim within two years. The claim form says the two years run from the date you no longer had an address in Japan. The service's web page says from when you leave Japan. CLAIR warns that the date may be earlier than your passport's departure stamp, so do not plan around the last possible day.
How much you get
For Employees' Pension, the payment before tax is your average standard remuneration multiplied by a payment rate. The rate depends on your months in the system.
| Months in Employees' Pension | Payment rate, if your last month is April 2021 or later |
|---|---|
| 6 to 11 | 0.5 |
| 12 to 17 | 1.1 |
| 18 to 23 | 1.6 |
| 24 to 29 | 2.2 |
| 30 to 35 | 2.7 |
| 36 to 41 | 3.3 |
| 42 to 47 | 3.8 |
| 48 to 53 | 4.4 |
| 54 to 59 | 4.9 |
| 60 or more | 5.5 |
The rate table is in the Japan Pension Service's claim notes, and CLAIR's handbook repeats it. The cap is 60 months. Months over 60 add nothing.
Worked example
The 300,000 yen below is a made-up average, not a JET figure. Your own average comes from your pension record, so ask the Japan Pension Service. The sums are ours.
| Time in the system | Before tax | 20.42% withheld | Paid to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months | 300,000 x 1.1 = 330,000 yen | 67,386 yen | 262,614 yen |
| 36 months | 300,000 x 3.3 = 990,000 yen | 202,158 yen | 787,842 yen |
| 60 months | 300,000 x 5.5 = 1,650,000 yen | 336,930 yen | 1,313,070 yen |
If you were on National Pension
The amount for this plan is set by a table. If your last premium month is between April 2026 and March 2027, it is 53,760 yen for 6 to 11 months, rising to 322,560 yen for 36 to 41 months and 537,600 yen for 60 months or more. Tax is not withheld from this plan.
The tax, and getting it back
For Employees' Pension, 20.42% is withheld. You may be able to get this back by filing a return, but you need a tax agent in Japan. The agent must have an address or residence in Japan. The Japan Pension Service says to file the agent form before you go home, or with your return if you did not.
The catch: your record is erased
- All your months go. Once you take the payment, all your Japanese pension time before that claim is lost. This is true even for months over the 60 cap. Someone with 90 months is paid for 60 and loses all 90.
- Long-stay teachers should think first. If you may reach 120 months later, the payment ends that path.
- Totalisation can matter. Japan has agreements that combine pension time with some countries. As of March 2026 these are Germany, the USA, Belgium, France, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, Switzerland, Hungary, India, Luxembourg, the Philippines, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and Austria. Time you withdraw can no longer be combined.
How to claim
- Before you leave, file a moving-out notice at your city office. This can remove the need to send separate proof that you have no address in Japan.
- If you want the tax back, appoint your tax agent before you go.
- Prepare a passport copy, proof of your bank account and a document showing your Basic Pension Number.
- Send the claim form. You can send it after you leave. If you send it from Japan, it must reach the service after your moving-out date, because you must have no address in Japan on the day it is received.
- Money is paid to the account you name, in principle in local currency.
If you are on JET
CLAIR says all participants pay into Employees' Pension or Private School Mutual Aid. Participants at private schools claim through the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools (PMAC), so ask your supervisor. Others claim through the Japan Pension Service. CLAIR is not connected to the service, and its summary is for reference only.
See how much you can save on JET for the wider money picture, resident tax for the bill that can follow you when you leave, and the contract rules for your final months.
How we checked: we read the Japan Pension Service page, its English claim notes and CLAIR's 2026-27 handbook directly on November 6, 2026. The service's page showed an update date of October 1, 2026. Rates and amounts change, so check the current form before you claim.