Defined Contribution Pension Act

a trust contract specifying the investment method concluded with a trust company (limited to one licensed as referred to in Article 3 or Article 53, paragraph (1) of the Trust Business Act (Act No. 154 of 2004); the same applies hereinafter), a financial institution engaged in trust business, or a corporate pension fund;

a life insurance contract concluded with a life insurance company (meaning the life insurance company prescribed in Article 2 of the Insurance Business Act (Act No. 105 of 1995) and the foreign life insurance company, etc. prescribed in paragraph (8) of that Article; the same applies hereinafter);

a mutual aid life insurance contract concluded with a federation of agricultural cooperatives (limited to one whose district is the entire nation and which conducts mutual aid life insurance business under the category of business referred to in Article 10, paragraph (1), item (x) of the Agricultural Cooperatives Act (Act No. 132 of 1947)); or

a non-life insurance contract concluded with a non-life insurance company (meaning the non-life insurance company prescribed in Article 2, paragraph (4) of the Insurance Business Act and the foreign non-life insurance company, etc. prescribed in paragraph (9) of that Article; the same applies hereinafter).

The persons prescribed in the items of the preceding paragraph must not refuse to conclude the contracts set forth respectively in those items (hereinafter referred to as "asset management contracts"), unless there are legitimate grounds therefor.

If an asset management institution cases to be available, the employer must decide on another person that is to be the counterparty of an asset management contract, and conclude an asset management contract with that person.

When an asset management contract has been canceled, the asset management institution pertaining to the canceled asset management contract must promptly transfer the reserve fund pertaining to the asset management contract to the asset management institution specified by the employer.

Beyond what is provided for in the preceding paragraphs, Cabinet Order prescribes the necessary matters in connection with asset management contracts.

The category I or IV EPI insured person employed at the place of business implementing the plan are to be participant of a corporate-type pension plans.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, a person who falls under any of the following items is not to be a participant of a corporate-type pension plan:

when the corporate-type pension plan rules provide for certain qualifications for the category I or IV EPI insured person employed at the place of business implementing the plan to become a participant of a corporate-type pension plan, a person who does not have the qualifications; or

a person who has or had the right to receive old-age benefits under the corporate-type pension plan.

A participant of a corporate-type pension plan acquires the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan on the day on which the person comes to fall under any of the following items:

when the person becomes employed at the place of business implementing the plan;

when the place of business or office (hereinafter referred to as the "place of business") or the ship where the person is employed becomes a place of business implementing the plan;

when a person employed at a place of business implementing the plan becomes a category I or IV EPI insured person; or

when a person employed at a place of business implementing the plan acquires the qualifications specified by the corporate-type pension plan rules.

A participant of a corporate-type pension plan loses the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan on the day following the day on which the person comes to fall under any of the following items (if, on the day when that fact occurs, the person further comes to fall under any of the items of the preceding Article, or if the person comes to fall under item (v) (limited to the case specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) or item (vi), on the day of falling under that item):

when the person dies;

when the person ceases to be employed at the place of business implementing the plan;

when the place of business or the ship where the person is employed ceases to be a place of business implementing the plan;

when the person ceases to be a category I or IV EPI insured person;

when the person loses the qualifications specified by the corporate-type pension plan rules; or

when the person becomes a person who has the right to receive old-age benefits under the corporate-type pension plan.

If a person loses the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan during the month when the person acquired that status, the person is retroactively deemed not to have been a participant of a corporate-type pension plan from the day on which the person acquired the status.

If a qualified participant of a corporate-type pension plan of two or more corporate-type pension plans at the same time, the person is not to be a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of the corporate-type pension plans other than the one corporate-type pension plan to be selected by the person, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 9.

The selection referred to in the preceding paragraph must be made within ten days from the day on which the person qualifies as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of two or more corporate-type pension plans.

If the person prescribed in paragraph (1) makes the selection referred to in that paragraph, the person is retroactively deemed not to have been a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of the corporate-type pension plans other than the one corporate-type pension plan selected by the person from the day on which the person became eligible to qualify as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of two or more corporate-type pension plans.

If the person prescribed in paragraph (1) does not make the selection referred to in that paragraph, the person is deemed to have selected one of the two or more corporate-type pension plans, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.

If a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of the first corporate-type pension plan becomes eligible to qualify as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of a second corporate-type pension plan at the same time, and the person selects the second corporate-type pension plan pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the person becomes ineligible to qualify as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of the first corporate-type pension plan on the day when the person became a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of the second corporate-type pension plan.

If the person prescribed in paragraph (1) ceases to be a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of the corporate-type pension plan selected pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph, the person acquires the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of a corporate-type pension plan other than that corporate-type pension plan on that day.

When calculating the period during which a person is a participant of a corporate-type pension plan (hereinafter referred to as the "participant of a corporate-type pension plan period"), the period is to be calculated on a monthly basis, and the period from the month in which the person acquired the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan to the month preceding the month in which the person lost the status is included in that period.

With regard to a person who has lost the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan, but has subsequently acquired the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of that same corporate-type pension plan again, the former and latter participant of a corporate-type pension plan periods under that corporate-type pension plan are to be totaled.

Any of the following persons is to be an instructor of a corporate-type pension plan:

a participant of a corporate-type pension plan aged 60 or over, who has lost the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan due to coming to fall under any of the items of Article 11 (excluding items (i) and (iii)) (limited to a person who has assets managed per individual under the corporate-type pension plan); or

a person who was a participant of a corporate-type pension plan of a corporate-type pension plan and who has the right to receive disability benefits as a pension under that corporate-type pension plan.

An instructor of a corporate-type pension plan acquires the status as an instructor of a corporate-type pension plan on the day on which the person comes to fall within the category of the person set forth in any of the items of the preceding paragraph.

An instructor of a corporate-type pension plan loses the status as an instructor of a corporate-type pension plan on the day following the day on which the person comes to fall under any of the following items (if the person comes to fall under item (iii), on the day of falling under that item):

when the person dies;

when the person no longer has assets managed per individual under the corporate-type pension plan; or

when the person becomes a participant of a corporate-type pension plan under the corporate-type pension plan.

The provisions of Article 12 apply mutatis mutandis to the status as an instructor of a corporate-type pension plan, and the provisions of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the case of calculating the period during which a person is an instructor of a corporate-type pension plan (hereinafter referred to as "instructor of a corporate-type pension plan period").

Pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare an employer must give notice of the names and addresses and other matters of the participant of a corporate-type pension plan to the defined contribution pension plan operational management institution which provides records-related services relating to the participants or instructors of the corporate-type pension plan (hereinafter referred to as the "corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution"); provided, however, that this does not apply to a case where the employer provides all of the records-related services.

Pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare a participant of a corporate-type pension plan must report the corporate-type pension plan and other matters selected pursuant to the provisions of Article 13, paragraph (1) to the employer or the corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution.

Pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare an instructor of a corporate-type pension plan must report the name and address and other matters thereof to the corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution (including the employer that provides records-related services; hereinafter referred to as the "corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc.").

Pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, a corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. must prepare a register of participants or instructors of the corporate-type pension plan, record therein the names and addresses, the dates of acquisition and loss of the status, the amounts of assets managed per individual, and other particulars specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare with regard to participants or instructors of the corporate-type pension plan, and keep it.

A person who is or was a participant of a corporate-type pension plan (including a person who is eligible to receive a lump-sum death benefit) may make a request for inspection of the register referred to in the preceding paragraph or make an inquiry on the particulars recorded in that register to the corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. In this case, the corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. must not refuse the request for inspection or refuse to answer the inquiry, unless there are legitimate grounds therefor.

An employer periodically makes contributions at least once a year, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.

The amount of the employer's contribution is to be specified by the corporate-type pension plan rules.

A participant of a corporate-type pension plan may periodically make own contributions pursuant to the provisions of the corporate-type pension plan rules that are in accordance with the standards specified by Cabinet Order.

The amount of the participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution is decided or changed by the participant of a corporate-type pension plan pursuant to the provisions of the corporate-type pension plan rules.

The total annual amount of the employer's contributions to be made for each participant of a corporate-type pension plan (if the participant of a corporate-type pension plan contributes to a participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution, the sum of the amount of the employer's contributions and the amount of the participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution; hereinafter the same applies in this Article) must not exceed the amount of the contribution limit (meaning the amount specified by Cabinet Order as the maximum total amount of the employer's contributions that may be made per year, taking into account whether the participant of a corporate-type pension plan has the eligibility as a participant of a defined benefit corporate pension plan and other factors).

An employer is to pay the employer's contribution to the asset management institution by the day specified by the corporate-type pension plan rules.

When an employer pays the employer's contributions, , pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare the employer must give notice of the amount of the employer's contribution for each participant of a corporate-type pension plan to the corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution; provided, however, that this does not apply to a case where the employer provides all of the records-related services.