As reported in a previous Lifelines column, eligibility rules for old-age pensions were changed in August last year. You now need only to have been in the system for 10 years, rather than 25, in order to be eligible for payment after retirement (bit.ly/jtllpension).
Among those set to benefit from the change are foreign nationals who worked in Japan in the past but left without hitting the magic 25-year mark. This group may now be eligible for payback if they did not take the "lump-sum withdrawal payment option" when they left Japan, which was hitherto the only way to recoup some of your investment if you planned not to return. The lump-sum option, which remains in effect, is for anyone who paid in for at least six months, allowing them to claim up to 36 months of past pension contributions as a one-off payment. Once this option is taken, however, any payment over and beyond 36 months becomes void.
While the easing of eligibility rules is welcome news, reading about it is one thing and actually tapping into the system is another, as emails from two readers reveal: