9:25 pm, January 14, 2016
Jiji Press
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will launch a probe to identify companies neglecting their obligation to have employees join the appropriate public pension scheme, officials have said.
A ministry survey has found that an estimated 2 million people have not joined the “kosei nenkin” scheme for corporate employees even though they are legally required to do so. These people stay in the “kokumin nenkin” program for other people, including the self-employed, instead.
In Japan, incorporated businesses and sole proprietors who employ five or more people are obliged to have their workers join the corporate pension program.
Under the kosei nenkin scheme, employers cover half of the employees’ pension premiums. The workers participating in the program will be entitled to extra benefits that add to the basic pension provided under the kokumin nenkin program.