Starting this month, workers who make at least ¥1.06 million a year will be enrolled in the kōsei nenkin pension plan, which means they and their employers will split the monthly contributions on a 50-50 basis.
Previously the ceiling for eligibility was ¥1.3 million a year, which means people who made less than that amount didn't have to enroll in the program, though they were required to pay into the basic pension (kokumin nenkin) plan on their own. The exception is homemakers — almost always housewives — whose spouses are enrolled in the kōsei nenkin plan at their own workplaces. They were still automatically part of the basic pension system and would receive payments when they reached a certain age, but they didn't have to contribute to it at all.
Though the decrease from ¥1.3 million to ¥1.06 million doesn't sound like much, the change is causing consternation among employers and nonregular workers, especially housewives who qualify for the basic pension exemption, because if those housewives' pay exceeds the ceiling, they are automatically enrolled in the kōsei nenkin system and thus lose their special status, which means their husbands cannot claim them as dependents.