Leaving Japan: Claim Your Pension Refund (脱退一時金)

Reviewed by Jordy Meow & Emi (accountant) · Updated 22 Jun 2026 · About

When you leave Japan for good, the pension contributions you've been paying don't simply vanish. Foreign residents can claim a Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment¹ (脱退一時金), a partial refund of what you paid in. And there's a second, less-known refund on top: the tax withheld from that payment, which most people never reclaim.

Are you eligible? #

You can claim the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment if you:

• are not a Japanese national,
• paid into the National Pension² (国民年金) or Employees' Pension³ (厚生年金) for 6 months or more,
• no longer have an address registered in Japan, and
• have not yet qualified to receive a Japanese pension.

You must apply within 2 years of losing your insured status (essentially, within 2 years of leaving Japan). Miss that window and the money is gone.

How much you get #

The payment is based on how many months you contributed and at what rate. Importantly, it counts a maximum of 60 months (5 years) of contributions, a cap that was raised from 36 months in April 2021. So if you've paid in for many years, a lump-sum withdrawal may not be your best option (see the warning below).

File the move-out notification⁴ (転出届) at your city office before you go, and apply to the Japan Pension Service after your residence record ends. Keep your pension book / number, a copy of your passport, and your overseas bank details.

The part everyone forgets: the 20.42% tax refund #

Here's the trick worth real money. The Employees' Pension (厚生年金) portion of your lump-sum has income tax of 20.42% withheld at source before it reaches you (20% income tax plus the 2.1% reconstruction surtax).

That 20.42% is refundable, because once you've left, you're no longer subject to Japanese income tax on it. But the refund doesn't happen automatically. To get it you must:

1. Before you leave Japan, appoint a tax representative⁵ (納税管理人), a person still resident in Japan, with a Japanese bank account, who acts for you. File the notification at your local tax office.
2. Leave Japan and claim and receive your lump-sum withdrawal.
3. Your tax representative then files a tax return at the tax office for the address where you last lived, and the ~20% comes back to their Japanese bank account, to forward on to you.

On a large Employees' Pension lump-sum this can be hundreds of thousands of yen. The catch is purely logistical: you must line up your tax representative before you fly out, so sort it early.

Think twice before you claim #

Taking the lump sum erases the pension periods it covers, those years no longer count toward any future Japanese pension. Before claiming, consider:

• Totalization agreements, if your home country has a social-security agreement with Japan (many do, including the US, UK, Germany, Canada and others), your Japanese contribution years may count toward your home pension. Claiming the lump sum throws that away.
• Coming back, if you might return to Japan long-term, keeping the record may be worth more than the refund.

If you're leaving for good and have only contributed a few years, the lump sum (plus the tax refund) is usually the clear win. If you've been here a long time, do the math first.

Official references: Japan Pension Service, Lump-sum Withdrawal Payments · National Tax Agency, income tax on lump-sum withdrawal payments

This might help #

¹ Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment : 脱退一時金 dattai ichijikin
² National Pension : 国民年金 kokumin nenkin
³ Employees' Pension : 厚生年金 kōsei nenkin
⁴ Move-out notification : 転出届 tenshutsu todoke
⁵ Tax representative : 納税管理人 nōzei kanrinin