Exemption, Payment Deferral, Special Payment System for Students

If it is difficult to pay the National Pension insurance premiums due to financial circumstances, there is a system to exempt or defer the payment of premiums.

Legal Exemption

If you are receiving Public Assistance under the Public Assistance Law or receiving Disability Pension (Grade 1 or 2), you can have the full amount of insurance premiums waived retroactively to the date you received the benefits by making a Notification. For more details, please check the Japan Pension Service Website.

• Japan Pension Service Website(External Link)

Application Exemptions (Full Exemption, 75% Exemption, 50% Exemption, 25% Exemption)

If it is difficult to pay insurance premiums due to a decrease in income or unemployment, you can apply for approval to have all or part of the premiums waived. Applications are required every year, and the approval period is from July to June of the following year.
Note: If full exemption is approved and you wish to continue to request full exemption in the following years, you can omit the submission of the application form for the following years. However, this does not apply when applying for special cases due to unemployment.
Those who have been approved for partial exemption will have their approval invalidated and will be considered delinquent if they do not make partial payments.
As an exception, a special measure will be applied to individuals who have retired from the company, treating their income as nonexistent.
If you are receiving special provisions, a copy of the employment insurance beneficiary separation notice or a copy of the employment insurance eligibility notification is required.
For more details, please check the Japan Pension Service website.

• Japan Pension Service Website(External Link)

Student Payment Special Exception System

For students, if their income is below a certain amount (this amount is increased according to the number of dependents), they can apply and, upon approval, the payment of insurance premiums will be deferred from April to March of the following year.
Note: Applications are required every year. Please bring your student ID.
If approved, and if you plan to continue your studies in the following year, the Japan Pension Service will send the "National Pension Student Payment Exemption Application Form" (postcard) in late March. If you wish to continue applying for the student payment exemption system, you can fill out the necessary information on the sent application form and return it to the Japan Pension Service, thereby omitting the procedures at City Hall.
For more details, please check the Japan Pension Service website.

• Japan Pension Service Website(External Link)

Payment Deferral System

If the income of the individual and their spouse, excluding students, is below the full exemption criteria for those under 50 years old (under 30 years old until June 2016), there is a system that allows for the deferral of insurance premium payments regardless of the household head's income.
This system applies to insurance premiums up to June of the 12th year of Reiwa.
Note: Applications are required every year, and the approval period is from July to June of the following year.
If the payment deferral is approved and you wish to continue to request a payment deferral or full exemption in the following fiscal year, you can omit the submission of the Application Form. However, this does not apply when applying for special cases due to unemployment.
For more details, please check the Japan Pension Service website.

• Japan Pension Service Website(External Link)