The Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, New Komeito, have agreed to seek legislation that would divide employee pension benefits between salaried workers and their dependent spouses at the time of their divorce, lawmakers said Wednesday.
Details have yet to be ironed out, including at what point in a salaried worker's age or career that such a split could be applied.
The parties plan to incorporate the idea in a joint pension system reform bill to be submitted to the Diet, they said.
The accord was reached despite strong criticism by some LDP members, who claim the plan would push the divorce rate even higher.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry made the proposal in May when it briefed members of an LDP panel on pension systems on the plan to give a portion of employee pension benefits to dependent spouses. The plan is intended to improve security for older women who were homemakers when they divorced.
The ministry officially put forth the plan in July during a meeting of the Social Security Council, an advisory panel to welfare minister Chikara Sakaguchi.
Salaried workers' dependent spouses, mostly women, are currently required to pay no contributions to the national pension system but are able to receive basic pension benefits in their old age.
Employee pension benefits, paid in addition to the basic benefits, are currently paid to salaried workers themselves, but their spouses can also benefit from the system as long as they stay married.