This article is written by a Japanese local.
When a foreign employee enrolls in Japan’s public pension system (Employees’ Pension or National Pension), they are assigned a 10-digit number to identify them. This is the “Basic Pension Number (Kiso Nenkin Bango).” Currently, many companies are experiencing administrative troubles with foreign employees regarding the handling of the document that certifies this number.
For foreigners who do not fully understand the Japanese pension system, public documents written in Japanese often look like “mere scraps of paper,” and they easily discard or lose them, especially when moving. However, if this number is lost, the process of claiming the “Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment (Dattai Ichijikin)” upon returning to their home country will be fatally delayed. This article explains the objective importance of the Basic Pension Number and the secure storage procedures HR must implement to protect the employee’s rights.
1. The Abolished “Blue Handbook” and the Current “Paper Notice”
[Summary] Due to a legal revision in April 2022, the booklet-style Pension Handbook was abolished. Currently, a simple paper “Basic Pension Number Notice” is issued, which is the primary cause of frequent loss.
In the past, the Japanese pension system issued a blue (or orange) booklet called the “Pension Handbook (Nenkin Techo)” to all enrollees. Because a booklet has the visual weight of an “important identification document,” foreign employees tended to store it carefully alongside their passports.
However, alongside the government’s digitalization efforts, the issuance of new Pension Handbooks was abolished in April 2022. Today, what is mailed to the home of a newly enrolled foreign employee is a flimsy, postcard-sized piece of paper called the “Basic Pension Number Notice (Kiso Nenkin Bango Tsuchisho).” Employees who cannot read Japanese frequently mistake this for municipal junk mail or flyers and throw it away without even opening it. HR managers must clearly warn employees immediately upon hiring that “the paper notice arriving soon is equivalent to highly valuable securities.”
2. The Absolute Value of the “Basic Pension Number” for Foreigners
[Summary] The Basic Pension Number is the mandatory key for claiming the “Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment” to recover paid pension premiums when leaving Japan permanently.
Japanese pension premiums are extremely expensive, costing tens of thousands of yen every month. Many foreign employees assume, “I won’t retire in Japan, so paying into the pension is a waste of money.” However, the Japanese system provides a relief measure known as the “Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment.”
This is a system where foreigners who have paid into the pension for 6 months or more can, upon returning to their home country and completing the required procedures, receive a refund of a portion of their past premiums (up to 60 months’ worth, ranging from hundreds of thousands to over a million yen).
When applying to the Japan Pension Service for this substantial refund, it is legally required to write the “accurate Basic Pension Number” on the application and attach “the original or a copy of the Basic Pension Number Notice (or Pension Handbook).” If the number is unknown, the refund process stalls completely, causing the employee a massive financial loss.
3. Strict “Digital Storage” by HR Managers
[Summary] The original belongs to the employee and should be kept by them. As a risk hedge, HR should keep a “clear scanned data file (PDF)” upon hiring.
In the past, it was common for Japanese companies to “confiscate and centrally manage” employees’ Pension Handbooks in the company safe. This practice is no longer recommended. To prevent troubles regarding unreturned documents upon resignation and from the perspective of personal data protection, the modern compliance optimum is to “have the employee keep the original at their own responsibility.”
However, considering the high risk of foreigners losing the document, leaving it entirely up to them is dangerous. HR managers should establish the following process:
- Step 1: When the “Basic Pension Number Notice” (or the old blue handbook) arrives at the employee’s home, instruct them to bring it to the office the very next day.
- Step 2: HR clearly scans the document and securely stores the PDF data semi-permanently on the internal HR cloud or server.
- Step 3: Return the original to the employee with strict instructions: “Keep this in the exact same safe place as your passport and Residence Card, and never throw it away until the day you leave Japan.”
As long as the company retains this data, even if the employee loses the original document and returns to their home country, HR can still support their Lump-sum Withdrawal Payment application using the PDF copy.
4. Practical Q&A (Troubleshooting HR Should Guide)
[Summary] Answers questions regarding duplicate number issuance troubles for mid-career hires and the time constraints for reissuing lost documents.
Q. A foreign employee who changed jobs and joined our company says, “I don’t know my Basic Pension Number.” What should we do?
A. If they have work experience in Japan, they definitely possess one Basic Pension Number. If they have lost it, the employee must generally go to their local Pension Office (or municipal pension counter) and apply for a “Reissuance of the Basic Pension Number Notice.” It takes about 1 to 2 weeks for it to be reissued and mailed to their home. If the company processes a new enrollment without identifying the old number, it leads to a severe data integration trouble where “one person is issued two numbers.” Ensure the old number is identified before proceeding.
Q. The employee discovered they lost the Notice right before returning to their home country. Can it be reissued immediately?
A. Reissuance can be applied for as long as their Certificate of Residence in Japan is active, but as mentioned, it takes weeks to arrive. If their return flight is imminent, they will not be able to receive the document, severely hindering their Lump-sum Withdrawal application. This is exactly why the front-loading measure of HR securing “PDF data” upon hiring becomes the final fortress protecting the employee’s assets.