The Older Worker Continued Employment Benefit was reduced in 2025 — how should you review wage design?

In short: From 1 April 2025 (Reiwa 7), the maximum rate of the Older Worker Continued Employment Benefit was cut from 15% to 10%. It applies to those who newly reach age 60 on or after 1 April 2025; those who reached 60 by 31 March 2025 keep the former maximum of 15%. Workplaces that set post-60 wages low on the assumption of the benefit need to review re-employment wages to absorb the thinner benefit. Calculating the rate and filing claims is the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi; the final decision on whether the system applies is made by Hello Work (the public employment security office).

"We set the re-employed person's wage assuming the Older Worker Continued Employment Benefit would be paid. If the benefit shrinks, what happens to take-home pay?" — prompted by the April 2025 reduction, consultations to review post-60 wage design are increasing. This article, for the owners and HR staff of small and medium-sized companies with re-employed workers aged 60 and over, sets out what changed, who is subject to the 10% rate, and how to arrange wages and procedures.

What changed in the Older Worker Continued Employment Benefit from 2025?

The maximum benefit rate was cut from 15% to 10%.

The Older Worker Continued Employment Benefit is an employment-insurance benefit that pays a set rate on each month's wage when a person aged 60 and over keeps working at a wage lower than at the point they reached 60. There are two kinds: the basic continued-employment benefit under Article 61 of the Employment Insurance Act, and the re-employment benefit under Article 61-2. From 1 April 2025, the upper limit of this rate was lowered.

Category	Before (reached 60 by 31 March 2025)	After (reached 60 on/after 1 April 2025)
Maximum benefit rate	15% of each month's wage	10% of each month's wage
Wage drop for the maximum rate	Down to 61% or less of the age-60 wage	Down to 64% or less of the age-60 wage
Tapering range	Over 61% and under 75%	Over 64% and under 75%
Wage level with no benefit	75% or more of the age-60 wage	Same

This cut was set by the Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act, etc. (Act No. 14 of 2020), which points toward a phased reduction and eventual abolition of the benefit. It is a review reflecting that securing employment up to age 65 has become established and mandatory under the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons. The framework supporting post-60 employment itself is set out in how to secure work opportunities up to age 70.

From which birth date is the 10% rate applied?

From those who newly reach age 60 on or after 1 April 2025 (Reiwa 7).

The dividing line is "when you reached 60." Those who reached 60 by 31 March 2025 keep the former maximum of 15% thereafter. Those who reach 60 on or after 1 April 2025 have the maximum of 10% applied.

When age 60 was reached	Maximum benefit rate applied
By 31 March 2025	Maximum 15% (as before)
On/after 1 April 2025	Maximum 10% (after the cut)

Even for people working the same way in the same workplace, the rate differs by the timing of the 60th birthday. Check "when each re-employed worker reached 60," and the more a wage was designed around the benefit, the earlier you should assess the effect on take-home pay.

How should re-employment wages be reviewed after the cut?

Rework conditions that had been built "including the benefit" on the assumption that "the benefit is now thinner."

Until now, it was common to deliberately set post-60 wages low and make up the rest with the Older Worker Continued Employment Benefit. When the rate falls to 10%, this top-up thins, and the person's take-home pay may fall below before. The points to review are as follows.

Point to review	Content
Resetting the wage level	To keep take-home pay including the benefit, consider raising base pay and allowances themselves
Checking benefit-dependent design	If wages were set near 61%–64% of the age-60 wage, the rate step affects them easily
Aligning rules of employment / wage rules	Put how re-employment wages are decided into the rules; do not leave it to verbal practice
Using subsidies	For employers making up the cut with wage improvement, the Subsidy for Promoting Better Treatment of Older Workers is provided

Lowering wages also affects the pension while working (zaishoku rorei) and social-insurance premiums. Do not decide wages by looking only at the benefit; judge by take-home pay combining pension, social insurance, and the benefit.

How does it relate to the pension while working and other benefits?

Receiving the Older Worker Continued Employment Benefit causes part of the employees' pension to be suspended, but that suspension was also reduced.

When you receive the benefit while also receiving a specially provided old-age employees' pension or an early-drawn old-age employees' pension, there is a coordination that suspends part of the pension. The upper limit of this suspension was also reduced in line with the rate cut.

Category	Upper limit of pension suspension
Before (reached 60 by 31 March 2025)	Up to 6% of the standard monthly remuneration
After (reached 60 on/after 1 April 2025)	Up to 4% of the standard monthly remuneration

The benefit falls, but the upper limit of what is deducted from the pension also falls. Take-home pay must be seen as "wage + benefit − pension suspension − social-insurance premiums"; judging gain or loss by taking only the benefit cut out of context misreads reality.

What to watch in procedures and benefit claims?

Claims are filed with Hello Work every two months, and the first starts from submitting the "wage certificate at the point of reaching 60."

The benefit is, in principle, claimed every two months. First, you report the wage at the point of reaching 60 (the wage certificate), and thereafter whether each month's wage has fallen below 75% of it determines whether the benefit is paid and how much. The practical points are as follows.

1. Report the age-60 wage correctly: as this amount is the baseline, the content of the first certificate governs later benefit amounts.
2. Keep to the claim deadline: the end of the second month after each target month is one guide. Neglecting deadline management leaves months with no benefit.
3. Reflect wage changes: if a raise or a cut brings the wage back to 75% or more, no benefit is paid. Match the wage ledger with the claim content.

The eligibility requirement is being a general insured person of employment insurance aged 60 to under 65, with an insured period totaling five years or more. Confirming this and filing the claim is the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi. Whether the system applies and individual benefit decisions are made by Hello Work.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Did everyone's rate fall to 10%?
A. No. Those who reached 60 by 31 March 2025 keep the former maximum of 15% thereafter. The maximum of 10% applies to those who newly reach 60 on or after 1 April 2025.

Q. How far must I lower the wage for the benefit to be at its maximum?
A. After the amendment, the maximum of 10% is paid when the wage falls to 64% or less of the age-60 wage. Over 64% and under 75% tapers, and at 75% or more no benefit is paid. Before the amendment this dividing line was 61%.

Q. If I work while drawing a pension, is the pension reduced by the benefit amount?
A. If you receive a specially provided old-age employees' pension, etc., receiving the benefit suspends part of the pension. The upper limit of the suspension is, after the amendment, up to 4% of the standard monthly remuneration (6% before).

Q. Is there a subsidy to make up the reduced benefit?
A. For employers making up the cut with wage increases, the Subsidy for Promoting Better Treatment of Older Workers is provided. As the requirements and amounts change with reforms, confirm the latest content before applying.

Sources

• Employment Insurance Act, Articles 61 and 61-2 (basic continued-employment benefit and re-employment benefit). They provide a benefit for a general insured person aged 60 to under 65 with an insured period totaling five years or more, when each month's wage falls below 75% of the wage at the point of reaching 60 (e-Gov Law Search, Employment Insurance Act, Act No. 116 of 1974; accessed 29 August 2026).
• The rate cut. For those who newly reach 60 on or after 1 April 2025 (Reiwa 7), the maximum rate was cut from 15% to 10%. The wage drop for the maximum rate changed from 61% or less to 64% or less of the age-60 wage. It is a phased reduction under the Act Partially Amending the Employment Insurance Act, etc. (Act No. 14 of 2020) (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare guidance on the rate change of the Older Worker Continued Employment Benefit; accessed 29 August 2026).
• Coordination with the pension while working. Receiving the benefit suspends part of a specially provided old-age employees' pension, etc. The upper limit of the suspension is up to 6% of the standard monthly remuneration before and up to 4% after (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and Japan Pension Service guidance on the coordination of the benefit and the pension; accessed 29 August 2026).
• Relation to the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons. The background to the cut is that securing employment up to age 65 has become established and mandatory (e-Gov Law Search, Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons; accessed 29 August 2026).
• Eligibility and individual benefit decisions are made by Hello Work (the public employment security office). Please confirm the specific claim forms and deadlines in the guidance of your governing Hello Work.

This article does not decide whom to consult. Filing the benefit claim and reviewing wage design are the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi. For fees when consulting 四葉社会保険労務士事務所, see the fee schedule; for frequently asked questions, see the FAQ.

This article is general information. Whether the system applies and whether a benefit is payable are handled by a qualified professional after a consultation, in light of the latest primary sources (the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Hello Work, the Japan Pension Service, etc.) and individual circumstances. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).