Defined Contribution Pension Act

The Association must prepare rules concerning an individual-type pension plan and obtain approval of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare for those rules.

The rules concerning the individual-type pension plan must provide for the following particulars:

the name and address of the Association;

the names, addresses, and the services to be provided by the defined contribution pension plan operational management institutions that have been entrusted pursuant to the provisions of Article 60, paragraph (1) (including defined contribution pension plan operational management institutions that have been re-entrusted pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (3) of that Article);

particulars concerning the designation of a defined contribution pension plan operational management institution by a participant of an individual-type pension plan or an instructor of an individual-type pension plan investment (hereinafter referred to as a "participant or instructor of an individual-type pension plan");

the method for deciding or changing the amount of the contribution to be made by a participant of an individual-type pension plan (hereinafter referred to as the "participant of an individual-type pension plan's contribution") and other particulars concerning the making of the contributions;

in the case of providing that a small and medium-sized employer (meaning an employer with an EPI-applicable place of business that does not implement a corporate-type pension plan or a defined benefit corporate pension plan, where the number of category I EPI insured person employed by the employer is 300 or less; hereinafter the same applies in this Chapter) may make contributions pursuant to the provisions of Article 68-2, paragraph (1), the method for deciding or changing the amount of the contribution and other matters concerning the making of the contributions;

matters concerning the presentation of the investment method and instructions on investment;

in the case of presenting a default investment method pursuant to the provisions of Article 23-2, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 73, matters concerning presentation of the default investment method;

in the case of excluding an investment method pursuant to the provisions of Article 26, paragraph (1) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 73, matters concerning the procedure for the exclusion;

matters concerning the amount of benefits of the individual-type pension plan (including benefits relating to a person whose assets managed per individual have been transferred to the Association pursuant to the provisions of Article 83, paragraph (1) (excluding a person who acquired the status as a participant of a corporate-type pension plan on or after the day of the transfer, a participant of an individual-type pension plan, or an instructor of an individual-type pension plan investment; referred to as a "person whose assets were transferred to the Association" in Article 73-2 and Article 113, paragraph (1)); the same applies in paragraph (1), item (iv) of the following Article) and the method of payment thereof;

matters concerning the bearing of administrative expenses required for implementing the individual-type pension plan; and

other matters specified by Cabinet Order.

When an application for the approval referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article is filed, and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that the rules pertaining to the application satisfy the following requirements, the minister is to give the approval referred to in that paragraph:

the rules provide for the matters set forth in the items of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article;

the number and types of the investment methods to be presented do not run counter to the provisions of Article 23, paragraphs (1) and (2) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 73;

the rules allow a participant or instructor of an individual-type pension plan to give instructions on investment at least once every three months;

the method for calculating the amount of benefits of the individual-type pension plan conforms to the standards specified by Cabinet Order;

any other requirements specified by Cabinet Order.

When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare gives the approval referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, the minister must promptly give notice to that effect to the Association.

When the Association obtains the approval referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, it must give public notice of the rules for which the approval referred to in that paragraph has been obtained (hereinafter referred to as the "individual-type pension plan rules"), pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.

When the Association intends to make a change to the individual-type pension plan rules (excluding the minor change specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), it must obtain approval of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare for that change.

The provisions of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the case where an application for the approval or a change referred to in the preceding paragraph has been filed.

When the Association makes a change to the individual-type pension plan rules (limited to the change specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as referred to in paragraph (1) of the preceding Article), it must give notification of that change to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare without delay.

The provisions of Article 56, paragraph (3) apply mutatis mutandis to the change referred to in the preceding paragraph.

The Association must review the contents of the individual-type pension plan rules in consideration of factors such as the trends in the number of participants of an individual-type pension plans, the status of implementation of the corporate-type pension plan, the trends in the lives of the citizenry, at least once every five years, and if found to be necessary, must make changes to the individual-type pension plan rules.

The Association must entrust the operational management services to defined contribution pension plan operational management institutions, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.

A defined contribution pension plan operational management institution must not refuse to conclude a contract on the entrustment under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, unless there are legitimate grounds for doing so.

Pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order a defined contribution pension plan operational management institution may re-entrust a part of the operational management services which it has been entrusted with under the provisions of paragraph (1) to another defined contribution pension plan operational management institution.

Beyond what is provided for in the preceding three paragraphs, Cabinet Order prescribes the necessary particulars in connection with entrustment of operational management services.

The Association may entrust the following administrative affairs to another person, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order:

administrative affairs concerning acceptance of the request referred to in paragraph (1) of the following Article;

administrative affairs concerning acceptance of the notification referred to in Article 66, paragraph (1) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (2) of that Article);

administrative affairs concerning management of the reserve fund;

administrative affairs concerning the keeping of the deposit passbooks, securities, and other items equivalent thereto relating to investment of the reserve fund; and

other administrative affairs specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (excluding administrative affairs concerning confirmation of the status as a participant of an individual-type pension plan and confirmation of the fact that the amount of the participant of an individual-type pension plan's contribution is within the maximum contribution amount prescribed in Article 69).

A financial institution specified by Cabinet Order, such as a bank, may be entrusted with the administrative affairs set forth in items (i), (ii), and (v) of the preceding paragraph (limited to the administrative affairs specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), notwithstanding the provisions of other laws.

The following persons may become a participant of an individual-type pension plan by making a request to the Association, pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare:

the category I insured prescribed in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (i) of the National Pension Act (Act No. 141 of 1959) (excluding a person who is not required to pay the premiums referred to in that Act pursuant to the provisions of Article 89, paragraph (1) (limited to the part pertaining to item (ii)), Article 90, paragraph (1), or Article 90-3, paragraph (1) of that Act and a person who is not required to pay a part of the amount of the premiums referred to in that Act pursuant to the provisions of Article 90-2, paragraphs (1) through (3) of that Act (these persons are hereinafter referred to as "persons exempted from premium payments"));

the category III insured prescribed in Article 7, paragraph (1), item (iii) of the National Pension Act; and

an insured person under the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions of the National Pension Act (excluding the person set forth in item (i) of that paragraph).

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

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

A participant of an individual-type pension plan acquires the status as a participant of an individual-type pension plan on the day on which the person makes the request referred to in paragraph (1).

when the person dies;