The government has sent a bill to unify different pension systems for public servants and private school teachers, on one hand, and corporate workers, on the other. The Diet should thoroughly discuss the bill since it will lay a long-term foundation for the nation's pension system.

At present, the premium rate for the kosei nenkin pension system for corporate workers is 16.412 percent of their monthly wages. It is to be raised to 18.3 percent from September 2017. The rate for the kyosai nenkin pension systems for national and local public servants is now 15.862 percent. It is to be raised to the same 18.3 percent one year later. The rate for the kyosai nenkin system for private school teachers is now 13.292 percent. It is to be increased to the same 18.3 percent from April 2027.

Under the bill, the names of the different systems will be unified as the kosei nenkin system in October 2015. The eventual purpose is to create a system in which public servants, private school teachers and corporate workers pay the same amount of premiums and receive the same amount of pension benefits.