Notes on Individual Rules under the Japan-Netherlands Social Security Agreement

If you work as an employee on board a sea-going vessel flying the flag of either Japan or the Netherlands, you will be subject only to the social security systems of the country in which your employer is located.

If you are sent to work in the Netherlands again, the detachment must begin at least one year after the completion of your last temporary detachment, to be exempt from the social security system of the Netherlands. The rule also applies to workers who are sent by their employer in the Netherlands to work in Japan.

Dutch Old Age Pension and Survivor's Benefit are determined based on your resident periods in the Netherlands. If you are detached from the Netherlands to Japan temporarily or if you work as a self-employed person in Japan temporarily (when the period is expected to be not more than 5 years), you will continue to be covered by the Dutch social security system. Furthermore, you will be regarded to be residing or working in the Netherlands during the period. To establish exemption from Japanese system and continuous coverage of Dutch system as well as resident periods, you need to submit your Certificate of Coverage issued by Dutch social security authority to your employer or municipal office in Japan and the fact of your exemption must be confirmed.

If you continue to work as a detached worker (or a self-employed person) in the other country for more than 5 years because of unforeseeable reasons or specific circumstances that may cause significant damage to your company or you, you may be granted extension of the period of exemption for up to 1 year if Japan and the Netherlands agree based on an individual examination. In this case, you continue to remain subject only to the system in your original country where you are detached from. Please note, however, the examination with the Netherlands on the application for extension must start before the initial 5-year period expires. Please file your application for extension to the JPS Branch Office no later than one month before the expiration date. If your application for the exemption is not granted, you will be covered only by the system of the country in which you work during the period exceeding the initial 5 years.

Under the Japan-Netherlands Agreement, there is no special rule for accompanying spouse and children. The Japanese laws and regulations (Japanese pension and health insurance systems) are applied to your accompanying spouse and children if you are detached temporarily from the Netherlands to Japan or if you work as self-employed person in Japan, even if your family members do not work in Japan.

As to the Dutch Old Age Pension system, there is no minimum coverage period requirement to qualify for the benefits. Please note that if you lived either in Japan or in the Netherlands for 6 years or longer in total after you reach age 59, your coverage period before 1957, if any, is considered in the calculation of your benefits. Eligible coverage periods before 1957 include your work period with pay after age 15 or your residence period.
Dutch Disablement Benefit or Survivor's Benefit are paid if the worker have been employed and lived in the Netherlands for at least 12 months and the worker becomes disabled or dies while the worker is covered by the Japanese pension system.

Dutch Old Age Pension will be basically retroactively payable for up to one year. You can claim for Dutch Old Age Pension benefits 6 months before you satisfy eligibility requirements for the benefits.

Even if your Japanese period does not satisfy the eligibility requirements for the Japanese benefits, you can consider your contributed work period in the Netherlands as your Japanese period, as long as the Dutch period is not also covered by the Japanese system. Please note that Dutch coverage periods based only on your residence in the Netherlands cannot be included in your Japanese periods.

Based on the Agreement, Dutch pension beneficiaries in Japan can receive the benefits without partial or total suspension.
If you had been Dutch pension beneficiary and part or all of the benefits had been suspended before the Agreement took effect, the suspension will be removed and the suspended benefits in the past will be paid
retroactively.

Dutch benefits are paid to you every month in Euro by direct deposit into your bank account.
When the Sosiale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) or Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen (UWV) sends you, a Dutch pension beneficiary in Japan, an eligibility status report form and asks you to return it together with the evidence document in order for you to continuously receive benefits, you need to bring/send it with the evidence documents as listed below to a local JPS branch office or a Mutual Aid Associatiom.

Your applications with the evidence documents are transmitted from these offices to the JPS Headquarters, which will then transmit them to the SVB or UWV for you.

If you receive Japanese pension benefits in the Netherlands, your Japanese benefits are subject to income tax in the Netherlands and exempt from Japanese income tax.
To be exempt from Japanese income tax under this rule, you must submit two completed "Application form for Income Tax Convention (Form 9)" to the Social Insurance Operation Center. You can download the form from the Japanese National Tax Agency website.（外部リンク）