Dattai Ichijikin: Japan Pension Lump-Sum & 20.42% Tax Refund

Regulatory & Legal Advisory: Educational & Informational Content Only

The procedures, legal frameworks, tax laws, and visa requirements described in this guide reflect official guidelines and regulatory synthesis current as of publication. Immigration policies, tax treaties, and municipal requirements change frequently. This content is for educational and planning purposes only and cannot substitute for formal legal, tax, or immigration counsel. Readers must verify current requirements directly with relevant municipal city halls, the National Tax Agency (NTA), the Japan Pension Service, official embassies, or certified professional advisors (licensed immigration lawyers, certified tax accountants / Zeirishi).

Non-Japanese who leave Japan after at least 6 months of pension coverage can claim a Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (Dattai Ichijikin 脱退一時金) within 2 years of ceasing to have an address in Japan, paid for up to 60 months of coverage (as of October 2026).¹² Claiming permanently erases every month of Japanese coverage before the claim, and the Employees’ Pension portion arrives net of 20.42% income tax, which can be partly or fully reclaimed through a tax agent.¹³ This guide covers eligibility, the formulas, the claim, the tax refund and a reform that is enacted but not yet in force.

Where this decision sits in your departure timeline is set out in the Pension Strategy section of the master relocation framework.

What Is the Dattai Ichijikin and Who Qualifies?

The Dattai Ichijikin is a measure provided “for the time being” (当分の間) in the supplementary provisions of the pension laws. Its legal basis is National Pension Act (Kokumin Nenkin Ho 国民年金法) Supplementary Provisions Article 9-3-2 and Employees’ Pension Insurance Act (Kosei Nenkin Hoken Ho 厚生年金保険法) Supplementary Provisions Articles 29 and 30, not the Article 120 or Article 87 that some English guides cite.⁴⁵

The Four Statutory Conditions (① to ④)

The Japan Pension Service (JPS, 日本年金機構) lists four conditions on its claim form leaflet, and the statute adds three more.¹²⁴⁵ You must meet all of them on the day JPS receives your claim.

Condition	What it means in practice
① No Japanese nationality	Only people “without Japanese nationality” (日本国籍を有しない者) may claim.45
② 6 months or more of coverage	6 or more National Pension (NP) Category 1 contribution-paid months, or 6 or more Employees’ Pension Insurance (EPI) months including mutual aid periods, each tested separately.16
③ No address in Japan	Tested on the day JPS receives the claim.16
④ Never had a pension right	You must never have been entitled to any pension, including a disability allowance (Shogai Teatekin 障害手当金).157
Not currently insured	You must no longer be covered by a Japanese public pension.2
Qualifying period under 120 months	You must not meet the 10-year qualifying period for an old-age pension.24
Within 2 years	JPS must receive the claim within 2 years of the date you no longer had an address in Japan.14

Unpaid months (Minou 未納) count for nothing toward condition ②.² National Pension and Employees’ Pension months are never added together: JPS’s example of 4 NP months plus 4 EPI months produces no lump sum at all.⁶

How Partial-Exemption Months Count Toward the 6 Months

The NP “contribution-paid period” is a weighted figure. It equals fully paid Category 1 months, plus 3/4 of quarter-exempt months, plus 1/2 of half-exempt months, plus 1/4 of three-quarter-exempt months, counted up to the month before the claim month.¹²⁴ Category 1 includes voluntary insured persons (Nin’i Kanyu Hihokensha 任意加入被保険者).²

Full-exemption and student-deferral months count zero toward the lump sum, although they count toward the 120-month qualifying period.¹⁴ For example, 4 fully paid months plus 4 half-exempt months give 4 + 2 = 6, which meets the test.

Category 2 months are Employees’ Pension months and are paid through the EPI lump sum. Category 3 months (a dependent spouse of an employee) generate no lump sum under either Act.⁶⁴

The 120-Month Bar: When You Are Too Vested to Claim

If your qualifying period (Jukyu Shikaku Kikan 受給資格期間) is 120 months or more on the claim date, you cannot claim, because a Japanese old-age pension will be payable in future.¹⁴⁵ The qualifying period was cut from 25 to 10 years in August 2017.⁶

The 120 months are wider than your paid months. They include NP contribution-paid and exemption periods, EPI and mutual aid periods, and complementary periods (Gassan Taisho Kikan 合算対象期間).¹ For foreign nationals granted permanent residence, overseas periods from April 1961 up to the grant (ages 20 to 59 only) count, as do periods in a partner country’s system under a totalization agreement.¹

The claim form makes you declare that your total, including totalized periods, is under 120 months, and asks when any permanent residence was granted.¹ If you are over the line, see our guide to receiving a Japanese pension overseas.

National Pension, Employees’ Pension and Mutual Aid: One Claim Form

A single bilingual form covers both systems: the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment Claim Form (National Pension / Employees’ Pension Insurance) (脱退一時金請求書（国民年金／厚生年金保険）), available in 14 languages.¹⁸⁹

Mutual aid periods follow a routing rule. If your NP months reach 6, JPS handles the NP, EPI and mutual aid lump sums together; if not, you claim with the body that covered you last, which may be a mutual aid association.⁹¹⁰ Periods across EPI categories are aggregated, but the amount is computed per category.⁵

The 2-Year Deadline and 60-Month Contribution Cap Explained

When the 2-Year Clock Starts

The clock runs from the day you last lost insured status, or, if you still had an address in Japan that day, from the first later day on which you no longer had one.⁴⁵ JPS applies this as 2 years from the day after your moving-out date, which is the day you lose NP coverage.¹⁹ The JPS English web page simplifies this to “within two years since you leave Japan”, but the departure flight and the moving-out date can differ.⁸

Late claims are not paid. The 2-year limit is a condition of the claim itself, and neither the statute nor JPS material provides any relief.⁴⁵

The 60-Month Cap (36 Months for Coverage Ending by March 2021)

The payout tops out at a band of “60 months or more”, set by cabinet order for both systems (as of October 2026).¹¹⁷ The cap rose from 36 to 60 months in April 2021 under Act No. 40 of 2020, because Specified Skilled Worker (i) made 5 years the longest fixed-term stay.¹²⁴⁵

Which cap applies depends on your last month. For NP, the 60-month cap applies if your base month (the last month for which a contribution was paid) is April 2021 or later; for EPI, if your last insured month is April 2021 or later.¹²¹² Otherwise the old 36-month cap still applies (as of October 2026).¹

Months above the cap are erased but not paid. Someone with 72 months of EPI coverage ending after April 2021 is paid at the 60-month rate, and all 72 months disappear from the record.¹

Repeat stayers may need to claim after each stay. If you expect more than 60 months in total over several stays, JPS notes you may need to claim each time a stay ends to be paid for each period, for example Technical Intern Training followed later by Specified Skilled Worker (i).¹⁶ Each claim still erases everything before it.¹

Pending Change: The 2025 Pension Reform Review of the Lump Sum

The 2025 pension reform law (Act No. 74 of 2025, promulgated 20 June 2025) revises the lump sum, but the revision is not yet in force (as of October 2026).^13141516 It takes effect on a date to be set by cabinet order within four years of promulgation, and no such date had been set as of October 2026.¹³¹⁷¹⁸

Once in force, the Act will bar claims while a re-entry permit is valid, including a deemed (special) re-entry permit, and will change the “address in Japan” test to “staying in Japan”.¹³¹⁴ The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW, 厚生労働省) also states the cap will rise from 5 to 8 years by cabinet order, linked to the new Employment for Skill Development system (Ikusei Shuro 育成就労) followed by Specified Skilled Worker (i).^16171819

Today’s rules apply until that cabinet order is made. The JPS leaflet (September 2026 edition) and the current enforcement orders still show the 60-month cap and no re-entry permit bar, although some commercial blogs wrongly report the change as already in force.¹²¹¹⁷ Check the JPS website before you claim.

Strategic Dilemma: Claiming the Refund vs. Preserving Totalization Credits

What You Give Up: Permanent Cancellation of Insured Periods

A lump-sum claim cancels your Japanese pension record for good

On receipt of the payment, the periods used in the calculation are deemed never to have been insured periods.⁴⁵ JPS states that, under any circumstances, the recipient forfeits all periods of Japanese pension coverage before the claim, including months above the cap, and those periods can no longer be totalized under a Social Security Agreement.¹⁶ There is no way to buy the months back.

Erased months stop counting for every purpose that relies on coverage, including the 120-month qualifying period if you later return to Japan.⁶ By the same statutory logic they would no longer support disability or survivors’ pension eligibility.⁴⁵

Totalization Countries: When Preserving Japanese Months Pays Off

Japan has 24 Social Security Agreements (Shakai Hosho Kyotei 社会保障協定) in force, and 20 of them include totalization (as of October 2026).¹²⁰ The 20 are Germany, the US, Belgium, France, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, Switzerland, Hungary, India, Luxembourg, the Philippines, the Slovak Republic, Finland, Sweden and Austria (in force December 2025).²⁰ The agreements with the UK, Korea, China and Italy cover dual-coverage relief only.²⁰

In a totalization country, preserved Japanese months can help you qualify for a pension, which a lump sum would forfeit. Totalized foreign periods also count toward the 120-month bar and can make you ineligible for the lump sum.¹ The mechanics are in our guide to bilateral social security agreements.

Decision Factors for Permanent Residents and Long-Stay Residents

Permanent residents face the sharpest trade-off. Gassan Taisho Kikan for overseas years before your permanent residence grant may already lift you over 120 months, in which case the lump sum is unavailable and a future pension is payable instead.¹ Leaving on a re-entry permit without a moving-out notification keeps you an NP insured person until the permit expires, so you cannot claim during that time under current law.¹⁶

Weigh the likelihood of returning, the months you already hold, the protection you give up and the payout size.

flowchart TD
    D1{"Do you hold Japanese nationality?"}
    D1 -- "Yes" --> D1Y["Not eligible: consider voluntary National Pension enrollment"]
    D1 -- "No" --> D2{"6 or more NP Category 1 months, or 6 or more EPI months, counted separately?"}
    D2 -- "No" --> D2N["No lump sum payable"]
    D2 -- "Yes" --> D3{"Qualifying period of 120 months or more, including Gassan Taisho Kikan and totalized periods?"}
    D3 -- "Yes" --> D3Y["Cannot claim: an old-age pension is payable later"]
    D3 -- "No" --> D4{"Likely to return, or moving to a totalization country?"}
    D4 -- "Yes" --> D4Y["Compare preserved months with the payout"]
    D4 -- "No" --> D5["Make sure JPS receives the claim within 2 years of losing your address"]
    D4Y -- "Preserve" --> D7["Keep the record and do not claim"]
    D4Y -- "Claim" --> D5
    D5 --> D6["Paid for up to the cap; every earlier month cancelled"]

Calculation Formulas: Kokumin Nenkin vs. Kosei Nenkin Payouts

National Pension Formula and the Fiscal Year 2026 Band Table

The NP lump sum equals the monthly NP premium for the fiscal year of your base month, times 1/2, times the number for your band.¹⁴ The base month is the most recent Category 1 month that was paid (or partially exempt and paid) up to the month before the claim month.¹ The NP lump sum is not subject to income tax withholding.¹

Contribution-paid months	Number used	Amount (base month April 2026 to March 2027)
6 to 11	6	¥53,760
12 to 17	12	¥107,520
18 to 23	18	¥161,280
24 to 29	24	¥215,040
30 to 35	30	¥268,800
36 to 41	36	¥322,560
42 to 47	42	¥376,320
48 to 53	48	¥430,080
54 to 59	54	¥483,840
60 or more	60	¥537,600

These amounts apply only to base months in fiscal year 2026 (as of October 2026).¹² Earlier base months use that year’s premium: the 60-month amount was ¥525,300 for fiscal year 2025 and ¥509,400 for fiscal year 2024, so older blog figures will not match your payment.¹

Employees’ Pension Formula: Average Standard Remuneration × Payment Rate

The EPI lump sum equals your average standard remuneration times a payment rate.⁵ The average is the sum of your standard monthly remuneration and standard bonus amounts over all insured months, divided by the number of months; months before April 2003 use standard monthly remuneration times 1.3, because bonuses were not then in the base.¹²⁵

The payment rate is the contribution rate, times 1/2, times the band number, rounded to one decimal place.⁵ The contribution rate has been fixed at 18.3% since September 2017 (as of October 2026), so the top rate is 0.183 × 1/2 × 60 = 5.49, rounded to 5.5.⁵

Insured months	Payment rate (last month 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

These rates are current as of October 2026.¹² If your last month falls between September 2017 and March 2021, the same rates apply up to the 3.3 ceiling at 36 months or more.¹

Worked Examples (Gross, Withholding, Net)

The figures below are hypothetical illustrations, not a quote.¹

Scenario	Gross	Withheld at 20.42%	Net received
NP only, 24 months, base month in fiscal year 2026	¥215,040	¥0	¥215,040
EPI only, 48 months, average standard remuneration ¥300,000 (rate 4.4)	¥1,320,000	¥269,544	¥1,050,456

In the EPI example, the withheld ¥269,544 could be refundable in full if the tax office treats the 48 months as 4 years of service, giving a retirement income deduction of ¥1,600,000 (¥400,000 times 4), and you had no other retirement income that year.²¹²² The minimum deduction alone is ¥800,000, and the result in any real case depends on the tax office’s calculation.²²

Step 1: Submitting the Claim to the Japan Pension Service Post-Departure

You can send the claim before you leave Japan, provided JPS receives it on or after your (planned) moving-out date, because condition ③ is tested on the day of receipt.¹⁶²³

Before You Leave: Moving-Out Notification, Re-entry Permits and Your Bank Account

File your moving-out notification (Tenshutsu-todoke 転出届) at city hall first, then post the claim so that it arrives on or after the (planned) moving-out date shown on the notification.¹²³ The procedure itself is covered in our moving-out notification guide.

If you leave on a re-entry permit or a Special Re-entry Permit (Minashi Sainyukoku Kyoka みなし再入国許可), you can claim under current rules only if you filed the moving-out notification.¹⁶ Without it, you remain an NP insured person until the permit expires and cannot claim. Once in force, the pending reform will bar claims while any permit is valid, notification or not (as of October 2026).¹³

Plan for the tax refund now: JPS says a tax agent notification is needed to file the refund return and receive the refund, which is paid into a Japanese account.¹²¹ Appointment forms are covered in our tax agent guide.

Documents Checklist and Where to Send the Claim

JPS returns any claim missing one of the four core attachments, so assemble them before you post anything.¹⁹

• Claim form: the bilingual 脱退一時金請求書, from the JPS website, pension offices or municipalities.⁹
• ① Passport copy: pages showing name, date of birth, nationality, signature and status of residence.¹
• ② Proof of no address in Japan: a copy of the deleted residence record, or the passport page with the departure stamp. Not needed if you filed a moving-out notification, unless you have been insured since before July 2012.¹⁹¹⁰
• ③ Bank evidence: a document showing bank name, branch name, branch location, account number and that you are the account holder, such as a bank certificate.¹
• ④ Basic Pension Number document: anything showing your Basic Pension Number (Kiso Nenkin Bango 基礎年金番号).¹
• Power of attorney: only if someone else submits on your behalf.¹

Japan Post Bank and some internet-only banks cannot receive the payment (as of October 2026).¹⁹ Japanese accounts must be registered in katakana; overseas accounts need an 11-character SWIFT/BIC code (pad an 8-character code with “XXX”) and, in Europe and the Middle East, an IBAN.¹

You can submit by post or online through e-Gov. For e-Gov, search for 電子申請用送付書（年金給付用）, select the lump-sum claim and attach the form as a PDF or JPEG.⁹¹⁰ JPS confirms counter submission only for people who came to Japan for non-work purposes such as travel, so pre-departure claimants should plan on post or e-Gov.⁹²³

The postal address is Japan Pension Service (Foreign Business Group), 3-5-24 Takaido-Nishi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo 168-8505, Japan (〒168-8505 東京都杉並区高井戸西3丁目5番24号 日本年金機構（外国業務グループ）) (as of October 2026).¹ The same address applies when posting from inside Japan.¹

Processing Time, the Payment and the Decision Notice

JPS has not published an official processing time, so keep your nominated account open until the money arrives.

When the payment is remitted, JPS sends the Notice of Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment Determination (Dattai Ichijikin Shikyu Kettei Tsuchisho 脱退一時金支給決定通知書).¹ JPS asks you to send the original to your tax agent, because it is needed for the refund return.¹

If the claimant dies before payment, a spouse, child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, sibling or other relative within the third degree who shared the claimant’s livelihood can receive it.¹⁴⁵ This applies only if the claim had already been submitted.¹

Timeline Table (T-3 Months to 2 Years After Departure)

When	Action	Who
T-3 months	Count NP Category 1 and EPI months separately; check the 120-month total, including Gassan Taisho Kikan and totalized periods; decide whether to claim or preserve	You
T-1 month	Choose a tax agent and file the NTA tax agent notification with the tax office for your last address; gather passport copy, bank evidence and Basic Pension Number document	You and agent
Departure	File the moving-out notification; keep or arrange a Japanese account for the tax refund	You
On or after the moving-out date	JPS receives the claim by post or e-Gov	You
Payment	Lump sum to your nominated account and decision notice issued; send the original notice to your agent	JPS, you
From 1 January of the year after the payment decision	Agent files the refund return; refund paid to a Japanese account	Agent
2 years after losing your address	Last day for JPS to receive the claim	You
5 years after the refund could first be claimed	Right to the tax refund lapses	Agent

sequenceDiagram
    participant C as Claimant
    participant J as Japan Pension Service
    participant A as Tax agent in Japan
    participant T as Tax office
    Note over C,J: Stage 1, lump-sum claim
    C->>J: Claim and attachments, received on or after the moving-out date
    J-->>C: Payment, EPI part net of 20.42 percent tax
    J-->>C: Notice of Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment Determination
    Note over C,T: Stage 2, tax refund
    C->>A: Original decision notice
    A->>T: Refund return, from 1 January of the following year
    T-->>A: Refund to a Japanese account

Step 2: The 20.42% Tax Withholding and Appointing Your Tax Agent (Nohzei Kanrinin)

Why 20.42% Is Withheld (and Only From the Employees’ Pension Portion)

The Income Tax Act deems pension lump sums to be retirement allowances. For a non-resident, a retirement allowance for work done while resident in Japan is Japan-source income taxed at 20% by withholding.²⁴³ The Special Income Tax for Reconstruction (Fukko Tokubetsu Shotokuzei 復興特別所得税) adds 2.1% of that tax, giving 20.42% for payments in 2013 to 2037 (as of October 2026).³²⁵

The NP lump sum is not withheld, so there is nothing to reclaim on that portion.¹

Appointing a Tax Agent: Timing and What to Hand Over

JPS asks you to file the tax agent notification (所得税・消費税の納税管理人の届出書) with the tax office for your last address or residence in Japan before you return home.¹ If you did not, the agent can submit it together with the refund return; the only qualification is an address or residence in Japan.¹³

Hand your agent the original decision notice as soon as it arrives, plus a passport copy and the agreed refund account details. Whether a non-resident without a My Number must enter one on this return is not stated in official sources reviewed, so confirm with the tax office.²⁵ The appointment procedure is in our tax agent guide.

Step 3: Reclaiming Withheld Tax at the Tax Office (Kakutei Shinkoku)

This filing is not the ordinary annual final return (Kakutei Shinkoku 確定申告), despite the common label. It is the Tax Return for Refund Due to Taxation on Retirement Income at the Taxpayer’s Option (退職所得の選択課税による還付のための申告書), a refund-only return.¹³²⁶²¹

The Retirement Income Election Return: How It Works

Under Income Tax Act Article 171, a non-resident may elect to be taxed as if a resident on the total retirement allowances received in the year for the relevant retirement.²⁴²⁶ Article 173 then lets you file a return to recover the difference between the tax withheld and the tax computed under the election.²⁴ NTA’s example shows it filed on the final return form with 退職所得の選択課税 written at the top.²¹

Retirement income is (receipts minus the retirement income deduction) × 1/2. The deduction for 20 years of service or less is ¥400,000 per year, with a minimum of ¥800,000 and part-years rounded up; for 5 years or less, the halving does not apply above ¥3,000,000 after the deduction.²¹²² Because the deduction often exceeds the lump sum, much or all of the withholding can come back.

A full refund is possible but not guaranteed. NTA’s own example shows an EPI lump sum of ¥291,478 with ¥59,519 withheld, an ¥800,000 deduction, zero tax and a full ¥59,519 refund.²¹ The outcome depends on the amount, your years of service and any other retirement income.

Other retirement income can reduce the refund. NTA tells filers to enter all retirement allowances received in the year for the relevant retirement, and overlapping service periods change the deduction.²⁶²¹²² How a final allowance from your employer interacts with the lump sum is not spelled out officially, so confirm with the tax office or a Zeirishi.

When and Where to File

The tax year is the year of the payment decision date (支給決定年月日) on your notice.²¹ The return can be filed on or after 1 January of the following year, or earlier once that year’s total retirement allowances are determined.²⁴²⁷

There is no fixed filing deadline, but the refund right lapses after 5 years. Under Act on General Rules for National Taxes Article 74, the claim expires 5 years from the date it could first be exercised, in practice 5 years from that 1 January.²⁸

File with the tax office for your last address or residence in Japan, which NTA describes as the office for your place of tax payment.¹³

Attachments and Receiving the Refund

Attach the original Notice of Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment Determination to the return, together with the tax agent notification if it was not filed earlier.¹³

The refund is paid into a Japanese account, which is the agent’s account in NTA’s example.²¹ Agencies offer refund services for a fee, but any appointed agent can file this return.

Japanese Citizens vs. Foreign Residents: Critical Distinctions

The lump sum is for foreign nationals only. Japanese citizens, including dual nationals who hold Japanese nationality, fail condition ① and cannot claim.⁴⁵

Topic	Japanese citizens	Foreign residents
Lump-sum eligibility	Not eligible4	Eligible if conditions ① to ④ and the 120-month bar are met1
Keeping coverage while abroad	Voluntary NP enrollment	Lump sum, preserved record or totalization
Totalization	Available in partner countries20	Available, but forfeited by a lump-sum claim1
Tax withholding	Not applicable to the lump sum	20.42% on the EPI portion only (as of October 2026)13

Japanese citizens keep their record and can add to it through voluntary enrollment, covered in our guide to voluntary National Pension enrollment for Japanese citizens abroad. For naturalised claimants, the statutory wording tests nationality at the time of the claim, but no JPS guidance was found, so confirm with JPS.⁴⁵

Foreign permanent residents should weigh the refund against Gassan Taisho Kikan and their re-entry plans; permanent residence issues are covered in our departure rules guide for citizens and foreign residents.

Common Mistakes: Filing While Still Registered in Japan or Missing the Deadline

• Claim reaches JPS before the moving-out date: you still have an address in Japan. Fix: time the posting so it arrives on or after that date.¹²³
• Leaving on a re-entry permit without a moving-out notification: you stay NP-insured until the permit expires. Fix: file the notification if you intend to claim.¹⁶
• Missing the 2-year window: late claims are not paid. Fix: diarise the date counted from losing your address.⁴
• Adding NP and EPI months together: 4 plus 4 does not make 6. Fix: test each system separately.⁶
• Claiming without checking the 120-month total or totalization: the claim may be refused, or the record erased for good. Fix: count Gassan Taisho Kikan and totalized periods, and decide before posting.¹²⁰
• Nominating Japan Post Bank or an internet-only bank: the payment cannot be made. Fix: use another bank or an overseas account with a SWIFT code.¹⁹
• Skipping proof of no address when insured before July 2012: the notification alone is not enough. Fix: attach it anyway.⁹
• Believing blogs that the 8-year cap is already in force: it is not (as of October 2026). Fix: check JPS before claiming.¹²

See also

Pension and social security

• Japan Social Security Agreements: Totalization & Dual Coverage: how preserved Japanese months combine with a partner country’s record, the main alternative to a lump-sum claim.
• Receiving Your Japanese Pension Overseas: Expat & Retiree Guide: the route for anyone at or over the 120-month bar, who receives a pension instead of a lump sum.

Japan exit procedures

• How to Appoint a Japanese Tax Representative (Nohzei Kanrinin): the forms and office routing for the agent who files your 20.42% refund return.

Cross-border tax and finance

• Japan Tax Residency: Resident vs Non-Resident (Hi-kyojusha) Rules: the non-resident status that triggers the 20.42% withholding on the Employees’ Pension portion.
• Keeping Japanese Bank & Brokerage Accounts After Moving Abroad: keeping a Japanese account open to receive the later tax refund.
• Sending Money Out of Japan: SWIFT, Wise, Tax Reports & CRS: moving the payout or refund from Japan to your new country.

References & Official Sources

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Important Cross-Border Mobility & Compliance Notice

All information presented in this reference publication is compiled from official government authorities, bilateral treaties, and statutory regulations. Cross-border tax obligations, visa eligibilities, pension disbursements, and residency classifications vary significantly based on individual citizenship, financial circumstances, and length of stay. Always seek professional advice from certified tax accountants (Zeirishi), licensed immigration specialists, or competent administrative authorities before taking irrevocable administrative or financial actions.

Footnotes

1. Japan Pension Service, 「脱退一時金請求書 / Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment Claim Form」 leaflet and form (English/Japanese, form dated September 2026, PDF modified 29 September 2026), accessed October 2026, https://www.nenkin.go.jp/international/english/japanese-system/benefit/payment.files/A.pdf ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹ ↩⁵⁰ ↩⁵¹ ↩⁵² ↩⁵³ ↩⁵⁴ ↩⁵⁵ ↩⁵⁶ ↩⁵⁷ ↩⁵⁸ ↩⁵⁹ ↩⁶⁰ ↩⁶¹ ↩⁶² ↩⁶³ ↩⁶⁴ ↩⁶⁵ ↩⁶⁶ ↩⁶⁷

2. Japan Pension Service, 「脱退一時金の制度」, updated 1 April 2026, https://www.nenkin.go.jp/service/jukyu/seido/sonota-kyufu/dattai-ichiji/20150406.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

3. National Tax Agency, “Income tax on lump-sum withdrawal payments” (code 12005), accessed October 2026, https://www.nta.go.jp/english/taxes/individual/12005.htm ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

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13. e-Gov, 国民年金法 unenforced revision by Act No. 74 of 2025 (enforcement: “公布の日から起算して四年を超えない範囲内において政令で定める日”), Suppl. Art. 9-3-2, revision ID 334AC0000000141_20290619_507AC0000000074, https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/334AC0000000141/20290619_507AC0000000074 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

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27. Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau, 文書回答事例 「既に退職所得の選択課税の申告書を提出している非居住者が退職手当等の追加支給を受けた場合の手続について」, accessed October 2026, https://www.nta.go.jp/about/organization/tokyo/bunshokaito/shotoku/141106/01.htm ↩

28. e-Gov, 国税通則法 (Act No. 66 of 1962), Art. 74 (還付金等の消滅時効), https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/337AC0000000066 ↩