Time spent as a spouse's dependant does not count towards the lump-sum withdrawal payment — how to calculate with Category 3 periods, and the "10-year" line

In short: periods spent as a spouse's dependant (National Pension Category 3 insured person periods, 第3号被保険者期間) are not included in the amount of the lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金). No premiums were paid for these periods, so there is no money to come back. On the other hand, these periods do count towards the "10 years" for an old-age pension. If employee periods and dependant periods together come to 10 years or more, the lump-sum withdrawal payment itself can no longer be claimed, and instead a future old-age pension remains. If you have dependant periods, count "the calculation of the amount" and "the 10-year test" separately.

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This is the story of a wife from the United Kingdom (a fictional case based on several consultations, the same as in Can you claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment after leaving Japan?). She worked for a Japanese company for six years and, after leaving the job, spent two years as a dependant of her husband from Canada. The husband is closing his company, and the two of them are leaving Japan. Her question was: "Do my two years as a dependant count towards the lump-sum withdrawal payment too?"

The answer is "no". But those two years are not without meaning. Let us take it step by step.

How are "the amount" and "the 10 years" counted for each type of period?

The lump-sum withdrawal payment is calculated separately for the National Pension and Employees' Pension Insurance, and the two kinds of period are not combined (Employees' Pension Insurance Act, Supplementary Provisions, Article 29; National Pension Act, Supplementary Provisions, Article 9-3-2). And the National Pension lump-sum withdrawal payment covers only periods in which premiums were paid as a Category 1 insured person.

Period in Japan	Included in the lump-sum withdrawal amount?	Counted towards the "10 years" for an old-age pension?
Employee (Employees' Pension Insurance)	Yes (Employees' Pension Insurance lump-sum withdrawal payment)	Yes
Self-employed or not working, National Pension premiums paid (Category 1)	Yes (National Pension lump-sum withdrawal payment)	Yes
Spouse's dependant (Category 3)	No	Yes
National Pension premiums exempted (Category 1)	Partly, depending on the type of exemption	Yes
National Pension premiums unpaid	No	No

In the wife's case, only her six years (72 months) as an employee can be used to calculate the amount. For the "10-year" test, the eight years of six years as an employee plus two years as a dependant are used.

How much does the wife receive? Six years of Employees' Pension Insurance is calculated with the 60-month cap

The Employees' Pension Insurance lump-sum withdrawal payment is calculated as the average standard remuneration over the insured period × the payment rate. For people whose final month (the month before the month containing the day of loss of insured status) is April 2021 or later, the payment rate is 5.5 if coverage is 60 months or more (according to the payment-rate table in the Japan Pension Service's "The lump-sum withdrawal payment system").

The wife has 72 months of coverage, but the number of months used in the calculation is capped at 60, so the 12 months beyond 60 are not reflected in the amount.

As an example, if her average standard remuneration while employed was 300,000 yen:

• 300,000 yen × 5.5 = 1,650,000 yen

is the approximate payment. Income tax (20.42%, including the special reconstruction income tax) is withheld from this, so roughly 1,310,000 yen is actually paid (part of the withheld amount may come back through filing under the "elective taxation of retirement income" (退職所得の選択課税); tax is the domain of a tax accountant).

The standard monthly remuneration depends on your pay while employed, so recalculate the actual amount from the record obtained at a pension office. The payment rate also changes depending on when your final month falls.

How are the two dependant years treated? No money comes back, but they count towards the "10 years"

For Category 3 periods, neither the person nor the spouse paid National Pension premiums (they are borne by the Employees' Pension Insurance scheme as a whole, to which the spouse belongs). That is why no money comes back in the form of a lump-sum withdrawal payment.

On the other hand, these periods are treated as National Pension "periods of paid premiums" (保険料納付済期間) and counted towards the qualifying period (10 years) for the old-age basic pension. This is the point that is easily overlooked.

The wife has six years as an employee plus two as a dependant = eight years, short of 10, so she can claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment. If she had four years as a dependant, the total would be 10 years and she could not claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment. Instead, from age 65 she would receive an old-age employees' pension for her six employee years and an old-age basic pension for 10 years (these can be received while living abroad).

In other words, people with dependant periods end up at one of two exits:

• Under 10 years　Can claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment (nothing is paid for dependant periods)
• 10 years or more　Cannot claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment; a future old-age pension remains

Because the answer changes depending on whether you cross the 10-year line, check your coverage record at a pension office, including whether your Category 3 periods are recorded correctly, and decide only after the number of months is fixed.

"I have been in Japan for more than 10 years, so I can no longer claim" — is that true?

The "10 years" is counted not in years of living in Japan but in months recorded in the pension record. Periods of unpaid National Pension premiums are not counted. So even if your period of stay exceeds 10 years, the months on record may fall short of 120.

This actually happened in a consultation (some details have been changed so the person cannot be identified). Nearly 10 years had passed since the person came to Japan, and with employee periods and National Pension periods together exceeding 10 years, the person believed the lump-sum withdrawal payment could no longer be claimed. But when the coverage record was checked at a pension office and the periods were recounted month by month, the months counted towards the qualifying period were below 120. It then appeared that the lump-sum withdrawal payment could be claimed, and preparations began for claims for the person and the spouse together.

There is also the opposite misunderstanding: someone who counted only employee periods and thought "I do not reach 10 years", but who passed 10 years once dependant periods were added.

Both come from thinking in "years" without checking in "months". If you are near the 10-year line, check your coverage record at a pension office before leaving Japan and fix the number of months. If you are unsure which periods on the record count, consulting a shakai hoken roumushi is one option. It helps avoid the setback of giving up a lump sum you could have claimed, or preparing a claim you cannot make.

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What about people with a short Category 1 period?

Some people had a gap of a few months between leaving a job and becoming a dependant, and paid National Pension premiums as a Category 1 insured person during that time. This period is covered by the National Pension lump-sum withdrawal payment, but nothing is paid unless it is 6 months or more. With five months, the National Pension portion is zero, and you cannot add Employees' Pension Insurance periods to make six months. If you have a short Category 1 period, you need to count the months accurately.

What must be prepared separately from your spouse?

Claims are made one person at a time, on separate claim forms. The "things hard to obtain after returning home" listed in the introductory article (Can you claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment after leaving Japan?) are also needed separately for the wife.

• The wife's own basic pension number (you cannot claim with your spouse's number)
• Proof of a receiving account in the wife's own name (an account in the spouse's name cannot be used)
• The wife's own moving-out notification (people who were dependants also lose National Pension status through the moving-out notification)
• If using an agent, a power of attorney signed by the wife herself

Dependant periods are records that the spouse's employer notified as a "dependent spouse" (被扶養配偶者). If the wife checks her own record at a pension office before leaving to make sure no Category 3 periods are missing, she will not run into trouble after returning home.

Whether to claim depends on the number of months and on the home country's agreement. This article organises the material for that decision; which is more advantageous is confirmed individually by a qualified professional after a meeting.

What can 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 do?

四葉社会保険労務士事務所 in Kohinata, Bunkyo-ku, takes on checking each spouse's pension record, fixing the number of months including Category 3 periods, and preparing and filing lump-sum withdrawal payment claims (under a power of attorney). Consultation is free. The service is described on Lump-sum withdrawal payment claims, fees in the fee schedule, deadlines and the steps after returning home in Can you claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment after leaving Japan?, and the company-side procedures in What happens to the pension of an employee returning home?.

Whom to consult

The withholding tax on the lump-sum withdrawal payment and the refund filing are the work of a tax accountant. Procedures concerning residence status and re-entry are handled by 四葉行政書士事務所 (an independent business from this office, engaged under a separate contract), and matters in dispute are for an attorney. In every case, no referral fees change hands.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Does the time I spent as a dependant come back in some form?
A. No. For Category 3 periods the person did not pay premiums, so they are outside the lump-sum withdrawal payment. They are, however, counted towards the qualifying period (10 years) for an old-age pension, so they affect whether employee periods plus dependant periods exceed 10 years.

Q. Employee periods plus dependant periods exceed 10 years. What happens?
A. Because the qualifying period is met, the lump-sum withdrawal payment cannot be claimed. From age 65 you receive an old-age employees' pension for your employee periods and an old-age basic pension for all periods. These can be received while living abroad. The claim documents are sent to the Japan Pension Service when the time comes.

Q. Before becoming a dependant, I paid National Pension premiums myself for just five months. What about that?
A. The National Pension lump-sum withdrawal payment is not paid unless periods of paid premiums are 6 months or more. With five months, no National Pension portion is paid, and you cannot combine them with Employees' Pension Insurance periods to make six months. Only the Employees' Pension Insurance portion is payable.

Q. I have lived in Japan for 11 years. Can I no longer claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment?
A. It is decided not by years of residence but by months on the pension record. Unpaid premium periods and the like are not counted, so even if your period of stay exceeds 10 years, your qualifying period may not reach 120 months. Check your coverage record at a pension office.

Q. My spouse and I are leaving together. Is one claim form enough?
A. Each person needs a separate claim form. The basic pension number, proof of the receiving account and power of attorney must each be the person's own. You cannot receive payment in an account in your spouse's name.

Sources for this article

• Employees' Pension Insurance Act (厚生年金保険法, Act No. 115 of 1954), Supplementary Provisions, Article 29 (lump-sum withdrawal payment; paragraph 1 = requirements; paragraphs 3 and 4 = calculation of the amount; paragraph 5 = deemed not to have been insured) — current text confirmed on e-Gov on 21 October 2026
• National Pension Act (国民年金法, Act No. 141 of 1959), Supplementary Provisions, Article 9-3-2 (National Pension lump-sum withdrawal payment), and Article 5 of the same Act (the definition of periods of paid premiums includes insured periods as a Category 3 insured person) — same as above
• That the National Pension lump-sum withdrawal payment is paid only for periods as a Category 1 insured person, and that National Pension and Employees' Pension Insurance periods are not combined — Japan Pension Service, pension Q&A "What should I note when claiming the lump-sum withdrawal payment?" (viewed 20 October 2026)
• The formula for the Employees' Pension Insurance lump-sum withdrawal payment (average standard remuneration × payment rate), the payment rate of 5.5 for a final month in April 2021 or later and 60 months or more, the 60-month cap, and how exemption periods are counted — Japan Pension Service, "The lump-sum withdrawal payment system" (updated 1 April 2026, viewed 20 October 2026)
• That Category 3 periods are counted towards the qualifying period (10 years) as periods of paid premiums — Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, materials on "How the pension system works and the thinking behind it" (list of periods of paid premiums) (viewed 20 October 2026)
• The 20.42% withholding tax on the Employees' Pension Insurance lump-sum withdrawal payment and the "elective taxation of retirement income" — National Tax Agency, "Example entries for the elective taxation of retirement income" (viewed 20 October 2026)

This article is general information. Whether a claim can be made and whether it is advantageous depend on individual circumstances. Judgments that fit your particular circumstances are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant), Gyoseishoshi (Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist), Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).