Defined Contribution Pension Act

A corporate-type pension plan terminates when it comes to fall under any of the following items:

when the approval referred to in paragraph (1) of the following Article is given;

when the approval for the corporate-type pension plan rules ceases to be effective pursuant to the provisions of Article 47; or

when the approval for the corporate-type pension plan rules is rescinded pursuant to the provisions of Article 52, paragraph (2).

When an employer intends to terminate a corporate-type pension plan, the employer must obtain approval of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare by obtaining the consent of a labor union consisting of the majority of the category I or IV EPI insured persons employed at the place of business implementing the plan, if there is any such labor union, or the consent of the person representative of the majority of the category I or IV EPI insured persons, if there is no labor union consisting of the majority of the category I or IV EPI insured persons.

In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, if there are two or more places of business implementing the plan, the consent referred to in that paragraph must be obtained for each place of business implementing the plan.

The provisions of Article 4, paragraphs (2) and (3) apply mutatis mutandis to the case where an application for the approval for termination referred to in paragraph (1) has been filed.

When an employer (if employers jointly implement a corporate-type pension plan, all of the employers implementing the corporate-type pension plan) comes to fall under any of the following items, the approval for the corporate-type pension plan rules of the corporate-type pension plan the employer implements ceases to be effective. In this case, the persons respectively specified in those items must make notification to that effect to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare within thirty days from the day on which the employer came to fall under those respective items (in the case of item (i), from the day of coming to know that fact):

when the employer dies:the heir of the employer;

when a corporation is extinguished by a merger:the person who was an officer representing that corporation;

when a corporation is dissolved due to an order commencing bankruptcy proceedings:the bankruptcy trustee;

when a corporation is dissolved due to a reason other than a merger or an order commencing bankruptcy proceedings:the liquidator; or

when the employer ceases to be an employer with an EPI-applicable place of business (excluding the cases set forth in the preceding items):the individual who was the employer with an EPI-applicable place of business or an officer representing the corporation which was the employer with an EPI-applicable place of business.

Beyond what is provided for in this Section, Cabinet Order prescribes the necessary particulars in connection with termination of a corporate-type pension plan.

An employer may entrust all or part of the services to collect, organize, or analyze the information on participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan which is necessary for paying benefits (excluding operational management services; hereinafter referred to as "information-collecting services") and the services to take necessary measures, such as providing basic materials on investment of assets, in order to contribute to the instructions on investment by participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan (hereinafter referred to as "material-providing services") to the Pension Fund Association (meaning the Pension Fund Association prescribed in Article 91-2, paragraph (1) of the Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Act; the same applies hereinafter).

In addition to services under the provisions of the Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Act the Pension Fund Association may provide information-collecting services and material-providing services as entrusted under the provisions of the preceding Article (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 73).

The Pension Fund Association must separate the accounting for information-collecting services and material-providing services from other accounting.

When information-collecting services or material-providing services of the Pension Fund Association are provided pursuant to the provisions of Article 48-3, the term "this Act" in Article 121 of the Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Act is deemed to be replaced with "this Act or Article 48-3 of the Defined Contribution Pension Act", and Cabinet Order prescribes other necessary particulars in connection with application of the provisions of the Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Act.

An employer (limited to one that provides operational management services) must prepare and keep books and documents concerning operational management services, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

An employer must submit reports on the services relating to the corporate-type pension plan to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

To the extent necessary for the enforcement of this Act the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may collect reports on the status of implementation of a corporate-type pension plan from an employer or have the relevant officials enter the place of business, ask persons concerned questions, or conduct on-site inspection on the status of implementation.

The officials who ask questions and conduct inspections pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph must carry identification cards showing their official status, and present them when requested by persons concerned.

The authority under the provisions of paragraph (1) must not be construed as being granted for criminal investigation purposes.

If the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare collects reports, asks questions, or conducts inspections pursuant to the provisions of the preceding Article, and finds that the employer violates laws or regulations, the corporate-type pension plan rules, or a disposition made by the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare with regard to a corporate-type pension plan the employer implements, or finds that the employer's operation of a corporate-type pension plan is extremely inappropriate, the minister may order the employer to take necessary measures for rectifying the violation or making improvement within a specified period.

If an employer violates the order referred to in the preceding paragraph or if it is found difficult to continue the implementation of a corporate-type pension plan in light of the status of its implementation, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may rescind the approval for the corporate-type pension plan rules of that employer.

A corporate pension fund may provide services relating to an asset management contract pursuant to the provisions of its rules.

A corporate pension fund must separate the accounting for services relating to an asset management contract from other accounting.

When services of a corporate pension fund are provided pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the term "this Act" in Article 121 of the Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Act is deemed to be replaced with "this Act or Article 53, paragraph (1) of the Defined Contribution Pension Act", and Cabinet Order prescribes the necessary particulars in connection with application of the provisions of the Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Act.

Pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order an asset management institution of a corporate-type pension plan may receive transfer of all or part of assets relating to a defined benefit corporate pension plan, the retirement allowance mutual aid under the provisions of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Retirement Allowance Cooperative Act (Act No. 160 of 1959), or the retirement allowance system, implemented at the place of business implementing the plan with regard to the relevant corporate-type pension plan.

When an asset management institution receives transfer of assets pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the period during which each participant of a corporate-type pension plan was employed by the employer of the place of business implementing the plan (limited to the period in or before the month containing the day preceding the day on which the participant of a corporate-type pension plan reached the age of 60) or other period equivalent thereto specified by Cabinet Order is to be included in the total enrollment period referred to in Article 33, paragraph (1) relating to that participant of a corporate-type pension plan.

When an asset management institution receives transfer of an amount equivalent to a lump-sum withdrawal payment, etc. pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the period during which each participant of a corporate-type pension plan was employed by the employer of the place of business implementing the plan with regard to the relevant defined benefit corporate pension plan (limited to the period in or before the month containing the day preceding the day on which the participant of a corporate-type pension plan reached the age of 60) or other period equivalent thereto specified by Cabinet Order is to be included in the total enrollment period referred to in Article 33, paragraph (1) relating to that participant of a corporate-type pension plan.

With regard to the application of Article 25-2 when there are assets or an amount equivalent to a lump-sum withdrawal payment, etc. transferred pursuant to the provisions of Article 54, paragraph (1) or paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, the phrase "and those for which ... after that day" in paragraph (3) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with ", those for which ... after that day," and the phrase "means ... that day" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "means ... that day, and those for which no instructions on investment have been given with regard to the assets or the amount equivalent to lump-sum withdrawal payment, etc. transferred pursuant to the provisions of Article 54, paragraph (1) or Article 54-2, paragraph (1) after that day".

If a person who was a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of a corporate-type pension plan (limited to a person who has assets managed per individual under the corporate-type pension plan) acquires the status as a participant of a defined benefit corporate pension plan, and the rules concerning the defined benefit corporate pension plan provides in advance that the assets managed per individual may be transferred from the asset management institution of the corporate-type pension plan, that person may request the asset management institution of the corporate-type pension plan to transfer that person's assets managed per individual.

If a request under the provisions of the preceding paragraph has been made, the asset management institution of the corporate-type pension plan is to transfer the assets managed per individual relating to the person who made the request to the asset management and investment institution, etc. (meaning the asset management and investment institution, etc. prescribed in Article 30 of the Defined Benefit Corporate Pension Act; the same applies hereinafter) of the defined benefit corporate pension plan.

If the rules of the Pension Fund Association provide in advance that the assets managed per individual may be transferred from the asset management institution of the corporate-type pension plan, a person who was a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of the corporate-type pension plan (limited to a person who has assets managed per individual under the corporate-type pension plan, and excluding the instructor of a corporate-type pension plan prescribed in Article 15, paragraph (1), item (i)) may request the asset management institution of the corporate-type pension plan to transfer that person's assets managed per individual.

If a request under the provisions of the preceding paragraph has been made, the asset management institution of the corporate-type pension plan is to transfer the assets managed per individual relating to the person who made the request to the Pension Fund Association.

If an employer with a place of business implementing the plan has conducted a merger, a company split, or an act specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as any other act under the provisions of laws such as the Companies Act (Act No. 86 of 2005) (hereinafter referred to as a "merger, etc." in this Article), and the employer involved in the merger, etc. concludes a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (3) of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Retirement Allowance Cooperative Act under which the persons who have, as a result of the merger, etc., lost the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan in a corporate-type pension plan are as the persons covered by mutual aid prescribed in paragraph (7) of that Article, with the consent of the persons who have been a participant of a corporate-type pension plan, the employer may request the asset management institution of the corporate-type pension plan to transfer the assets managed per individual relating to the persons who have been participants of corporate-type pension plans and have given the consent, to the Organization for Workers' Retirement Allowance Mutual Aid (referred to as the "Organization" in the following Article).

Beyond what is provided for in Article 54 through the preceding Article, Cabinet Order prescribes the necessary particulars in connection with the transfer of assets and an amount equivalent to a lump-sum withdrawal payment, etc. to the asset management institution of a corporate-type pension plan and transfer of assets managed per individual to the asset management and investment institution, etc. of a defined benefit corporate pension plan, the Pension Fund Association, and the Organization.