Old-age Basic Pension

You can receive Old-age Basic Pension at age 65 if you have been covered under National Pension and Employees' Pension Insurance for 10 years or more*.
* Your total coverage periods include your contribution-paid periods as well as your contribution-exempted periods as a Category Ⅰ, Category Ⅱ or Category Ⅲ insured person.

\831,700* (annual benefits amount; if you have paid contributions for 40 years)
If you have periods for which you failed to pay or your contribution was exempted, the amount is;

\831,700* x ( (1) + (2) + (3) + (4) + (5) ) / 40 years ** × 12 months

(1) Number of contribution-paid months (no exemption)

(2) Number of full contribution-exempted months*** × 1/2

(3) Number of three-quarter contribution-exempted months*** × 5/8

(4) Number of half contribution-exempted months*** × 3/4

(5) Number of one-quarter contribution-exempted months*** × 7/8

* \829,300 for a beneficiary born on or before April 1, 1956

** Shorter for some people, depending on date of birth

*** Depending on your income or according to National Pension Act, you may be granted an exemption of full- or partial- amount of contribution payment.

For items (2) to (5) above, apply the formula below if your contribution was exempted for March 2009 and earlier:

(2) Number of full contribution-exempted months × 1/3

(3) Number of three-quarter contribution-exempted months × 1/2

(4) Number of half contribution-exempted months × 2/3

(5) Number of one-quarter contribution-exempted months × 5/6

The pensionable age for the Old-age Basic Pension is 65 in principle. However, you may opt to receive pension at any age after 60. The pension amount is adjusted depending on the age you start to receive your pension.

You may opt to start benefits before age 65 with lower benefits amount, or you may opt to start benefits at age 66 or later with higher benefits amount. Specifically, your early pension amount receivable at age 60 is 76 % of that at age 65 and your delayed pension amount receivable from the age 75 or older is 184 %.

Once you start receiving your payment, however, the receivable rate will not change for the rest of your life. Also you cannot apply for the Disability Basic Pension if you have onset of disability after the entitlement date of the early payment of Old-age Basic Pension. (Date of "onset of disability" means the date of your first medical examination of sickness or injury causing the disability.)

Furthermore, reform of 2025 enabled those born on April 2, 1963 or later to opt for delayed Old-age Employees’ Pension if they have right to Survivors’ Employees’ Pension as of March 31, 2028 but not claimed yet. If they claim and continue to receive Survivors’ Employees’ Pension over age 65, they cannot opt to delay Old-age Employees’ Pension. Irrelevant with Survivors’ Employees’ Pension, Old-age Basic Pension can be delayed.

There is an extra voluntary plan for Category Ⅰ insured person to pay small additional benefits to Old-age Basic Pension. If you opt for this plan and pay additional contribution of \400 / month, you can receive additional benefits, to which the same receivable rates as early / delayed payment apply. However, this contribution is not subject to Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments.

Annual amount = \200 × Number of months you paid the additional contribution

You need to file "Application for Pension: Old-age Benefits under National Pension / Employees’ Pension Insurance."

We will send the application form to residents in Japan, who become eligible for old-age pension benefits, three months before each pensionable age.

Your pension records are pre-printed on the application form. If you find any missing or errors in the records, contact JPS branch office before claiming the benefits.

Documents to be attached are as follows;

• Certified copy of your Family Registry, extract of Family Registry, or Resident Registry, as proof of your date of birth*
• Copy of statements, passbook, or certificate of your bank account, as evidence of your bank account for benefits deposit**
• Certified copy of address history in your Family Registry to prove the periods of your residence in Japan, if the total of contribution-paid periods and contribution-exempted periods is less than 25 years
• Document to prove relationship to spouse and proof of your income, if you were born on April 1, 1966 or earlier, and are eligible for transmittal add-on benefits to your Old-age Basic Pension (Contact JPS branch office to find your eligibility.)

* Documents should be issued after the date of your eligibility. If you are Japanese residing outside Japan, you need a certificate of residence, issued by the Japanese consulate.

** If you reside outside Japan and wish to have your benefits deposited to your bank account outside Japan, you also need to submit “Notification of Registration (Change) of Address/Pension-receiving Financial Institution of Pension Recipient Residing Outside Japan.”

If you reside in Japan, submit the application and documents to your nearest JPS branch office or pension consultation center. If you reside outside Japan, send it by post to the JPS branch office in charge of your latest place of residence in Japan or to the JPS Headquarters. See list of JPS branch offices.

When you opt for the early / delayed payment of your Old-age Basic Pension, you need to file the appropriate application as below, to your nearest JPS branch office or pension consultation center.

Submit "Application for Pension: Old-age Benefits under National Pension / Employees' Pension Insurance" and "Application for Early Payment of Old-age Employees' Pension / Old-age Basic Pension.“
If you are currently receiving specially-provided Old-age Employees' Pension, submit “Application for Early Payment of Old-Age Basic Pension for Beneficiary of Specially-provided Old-age Employees' Pension.“

Submit "Application for Pension: Old-age Benefits under National Pension / Employees’ Pension Insurance" and "Application for Delayed Payment of Old-age Employees' Pension / Old-age Basic Pension."
If you had received specially-provided Old-age Employees’ Pension in the past, submit "Application for Delayed Payment of Old-age Basic Pension / Old-age Employees’ Pension."