Following the Lifelines special on the Japan pension system, some more questions have come in from readers. It also turns out that there was an error in my article and in the accompanying piece by Calvin Tong on considerations for U.S. citizens. We will address those here, as well as some new queries.
There is an error the pension piece that states: "Dependent spouses of salaried workers enrolled in kōsei nenkin and whose annual income is under ¥1.3 million may enroll as 'dependent spouses of Category II insured persons' (Category III). In this case, their pension payments are borne equally by the working spouse and the spouse's company."
In fact, the pension payments for dependent spouses are waived. Neither the employer not sponsoring spouse pays any extra. The other premium payers subsidize this cost. This is the main reason the kōsei nenkin system is unsustainable.