Complicated (Dumb?) Canada Japan Pension Question

[Self]

Hello.

I'm a Canadian. I live in Japan.

When I was younger, in Canada, when I worked, my employers took out a Canada Pension Plan deduction from my monthly pay. I worked part-time before and throughtout university. I had a year of full-time work before university too. After that I moved to Japan and lived in Japan for seven years, and just let others take care of my tax and pension things. (I was on the JET Programme for 2 years, then worked full and part-time jobs after that.) Technically this period was split in two. After 2 years of JET, I applied for the pension refund and got it. I briefly visited Canada after JET, then returned to live in Japan again.

I went back to Canada for a few years, and worked part-time for a long time at the same place while a student again. My employers must've taken out the required CPP deductions.

I went back to Japan for a year and worked full-time. I don't remember if I paid into the pension plan or not.

I returned to Canada for two years, working part-time and full-time. Employers made the necessary CPP deductions.

Now, I've been back in Japan for about eight years, and have worked full-time all but a 3-month period when I left the country. I've been paying into my pension all this time.

Anyway, my questions are: 1. Do I get anything from Canada if I remain in Japan pension-wise? If so, how do I get that money? 2. What happened to the Japanese pension payments I made before my current 8 years in Japan? They don't seem to appear on any documentation from the pension office in Japan.

[adamu]

2. What happened to the Japanese pension payments I made before my current 8 years in Japan? They don't seem to appear on any documentation from the pension office in Japan.

I don't know about Canada, but for Japan, since you took the refund, any payments before that will have been cancelled.

However, suppose you receive a Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment. In that case, all periods before your
Claim for the Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment will no longer be considered to be the pension enrollment periods

The same PDF also says that Japan and Canada have a totalization agreement, so it looks like you should be able to get you Canada and (post-refund) Japan contributions combined. But I'm just reading the docs, hopefully someone with experience will be able to provide more info.

[Self]

Thanks for the reply. I've only take the pension refund once, after my first two years in Japan. I had five more years in Japan after that, and then I came back to Japan for just one year once. I guess I'm wondering how to find out about those periods in Japan where I didn't ask for the refund.

Regarding money taken in Canada, I also noticed that there's some sort of agreement. I guess when the time comes I'll find out the details.

[adamu]

I guess I'm wondering how to find out about those periods in Japan where I didn't ask for the refund.

You can sign up for Nenkin Net and check your record. Check out this wiki article kindly put together by Moneymatters:

https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/Nenkin_Net

[RetireJapan]

As long as you have your pension number (ten digits, with a hyphen between the first four and the final six) you should be able to make an account here and check your balance: https://www.nenkin.go.jp/n_net/

Alternatively you can call the pension hotline or go into a pension office and have them check for you.

[JimNasium]

I’m curious about this too. I worked part time in Canada from 16 until 22 (and full time hours during the summer) and as far as I know I was making my pension payments. I would love to put those years into my Japanese pension. If anyone has any information about this I’d love to know.

[TJKansai]

I went back to Japan for a year and worked full-time. I don't remember if I paid into the pension plan or not.

Best to check you old pay slips or sign up for the Nenkin website.
I know I did not pay as a full-time Eikaiwa teacher (wasn't required under that contract).

[kansaifolk]

It's actually pretty straightforward when it comes to collecting pensions from Canada and Japan upon retirement.
When you turn 65, you would apply to both systems to get a pension. However, the amount you get is only based on your actual contributions. So it sounds like you will get a little bit from Canada, and then a little bit more from Japan. The Japan-Canada agreement for pension is just for qualifying amount. In the case of Japan, you need 10 years to qualify, so if you worked less than 10 years in Japan, you would show proof of Canada's contributions (only to qualify - Canada does not "give" any money to Japan, and Japan does not pay you money for those years in Canada). In the case of Canada (except Quebec - not part of agreement), there is no qualifying period for CPP. So you just get a small pension based on what you paid into CPP. Next time you are in Canada, you can call Revenue Canada to find out approximately how much. As a Canadian Citizen, you can also get OAS (basic minimum pension for all Canadians) if you are a resident when you retire. If you are an overseas Canadian citizen, you have to have filed tax returns in Canada as a resident for a total of 20 years after your 18th birthday in order to get the OAS overseas. But CPP and the Japanese pension that you paid into for your employment, you can apply from anywhere to get those after age 65. I hope that is clear how it all works.

[Tkydon]

Also, under the Japan Canada Tax Treaty, you only pay tax in the country you are resident on pension income from the other country.

If you are resident in Canada, you would submit Form 9

https://www.nta.go.jp/english/taxes/wit ... ention.htm
APPLICATION FORM FOR INCOME TAX CONVENTION (Form 9) (PDF/207KB)
(Relief from Japanese Income Tax and Special Income Tax for Reconstruction on Pensions, Annuities, etc.)

https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/tetsuzuki/s ... f2/258.pdf

to receive you Japanese Pension gross, exempt from Withholding Taxes.

There would be a similar form for Canada if you are resident in Japan.