Defined Contribution Pension Act

A participant of a corporate-type pension plan who makes a participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution is to pay the participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution to the asset management institution through the employer by the day specified by the corporate-type pension plan rules.

The provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the case where the employer pays the contributions of a participant of a corporate-type pension plan.

If an employer that pays the participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article also pays the salary of the participant of a corporate-type pension plan in currency, the employer may deduct the participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution from their salary.

When an employer has deducted a participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the employer must prepare a calculation sheet concerning the deduction of the participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution, and give notice of the amount deducted to the participant of a corporate-type pension plan.

An employer must endeavor to continuously take necessary measures, such as providing basic materials on investment of assets, for the participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan of the corporate-type pension plan the employer implements, in order to contribute to their instructions on investment referred to in Article 25, paragraph (1).

When an employer takes the measures referred to in the preceding paragraph, the employer is to give consideration so that the measures improve the knowledge of the participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan concerning investment of assets, and enable them to effectively utilize the knowledge in their instructions on investment referred to in Article 25, paragraph (1).

A defined contribution pension plan operational management institution that provides investment-related services relating to participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan (including an employer that provides investment-related services; hereinafter referred to as a "corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc.") must, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order, select the following investment methods which are specified by Cabinet Order (referred to as the "subject investment methods" in paragraph (1) of the following Article) in a number not more than the number specified by Cabinet Order as the maximum number for contributing to appropriate selection of an investment method by participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan and not less than three, and present them to the participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan pursuant to the provisions of the corporate-type pension plan rules:

making deposits or savings in a financial institution, such as a bank;

creating trusts in trust companies or financial institutions engaged in trust business;

purchasing and selling securities;

paying insurance premiums of life insurance or mutual aid premiums of mutual aid life insurance to life insurance companies or to agricultural cooperatives (limited to those that conduct mutual aid life insurance business under the category of business referred to in Article 10, paragraph (1), item (x) of the Agricultural Cooperatives Act) or other persons that conduct mutual aid life insurance business which are specified by Cabinet Order;

paying insurance premiums of non-life insurance to non-life insurance companies; and

beyond what is set forth in the preceding items, concluding contracts that satisfy the requirements specified by Cabinet Order, such as that the protection of investors is ensured.

The selection of investment methods under the provisions of the preceding paragraph must be made in a manner that the characteristics of the expected returns on the investment, such as the expected rate of returns and the possibility of volatility in returns, are not similar, and in accordance with other standards specified by Cabinet Order.

When a corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc. selects investment methods pursuant to the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, it must make the selection based on expert knowledge on investment of assets.

Pursuant to the provisions of the corporate-type pension plan rules a corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc. may select one investment method from among the subject investment methods and present it to a participant of a corporate-type pension plan, in addition to the investment methods presented pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article.

The investment method selected pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph (hereinafter referred to as the "default investment method") must be one that complies with the standards specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as those for securing profits from a long-term perspective to provide against losses that may be caused due to changes in prices and other economic situations.

The provisions of paragraph (3) of the preceding Article apply mutatis mutandis to the case of selecting a default investment method pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1).

Pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare a corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc. must provide participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan with information that is necessary for them to give instructions on investment referred to in Article 25, paragraph (1), such as the expected return and the risk of loss, with regard to the investment methods presented pursuant to the provisions of Article 23, paragraph (1).

If a corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc. has selected and presented a default investment method pursuant to the provisions of Article 23-2, paragraph (1), pursuant to the provisions of Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, it must provide a participant of a corporate-type pension plan with information on the following particulars:

the expected return and the risk of loss with regard to the default investment method;

the reason for selecting the default investment method;

the particulars referred to in Article 25-2, paragraph (2); and

other particulars specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan are to give instructions on investment with regard to their assets managed per individual of the reserve fund, pursuant to the provisions of the corporate-type pension plan rules.

The instructions on investment referred to in the preceding paragraph (hereinafter simply referred to as the "instructions on investment" in this Chapter) are to be given by selecting one investment method or two or more investment methods from among the investment methods presented pursuant to the provisions of Article 23, paragraph (1) (if a default investment method has been presented pursuant to the provisions of Article 23-2, paragraph (1), including that default investment method; hereinafter the same applies in this Article) (referred to as the "presented investment methods" in Article 26, paragraph (1)), deciding on the amount to be allocated to each investment method, and indicating these particulars to the corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc.

When a corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. receives instructions on investment, it is to assemble the instructions on investment given at the same time for each investment method presented pursuant to the provisions of Article 23, paragraph (1), and give notice of their contents to the asset management institution, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order.

When an asset management institution receives the notice referred to in the preceding paragraph, it must promptly take necessary measures, such as concluding, changing, or canceling contracts, with regard to the respective investment methods, according to the notice referred to in that paragraph.

If a corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. has not received instructions on investment from a participant of a corporate-type pension plan even after the passage of a period specified by the corporate-type pension plan rules (referred to as the "specified period" in the following paragraph) that is three months or more from the days specified in the following items for the respective categories of cases set forth in those items, the corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. must give notice of the particulars referred to in the following paragraph and the default investment method to the participant of a corporate-type pension plan:

when a default investment method has been presented pursuant to the provisions of Article 23-2, paragraph (1), if a participant of a corporate-type pension plan acquires the status as such:the day on which the employer's contribution or the participant of a corporate-type pension plan's contribution (referred to as the "employer's contribution, etc." in the following item and paragraph (3)) was paid for the first time after that; and

when a participant of a corporate-type pension plan has acquired the status as such, if a default investment method is presented pursuant to the provisions of Article 23-2, paragraph (1):the day on which the employer's contribution, etc. was paid for the first time after that.

If a participant of a corporate-type pension plan who has received a notice under the provisions of the preceding paragraph does not give instructions on investment even after the passage of a period specified by the corporate-type pension plan rules (referred to as the "grace period" in the following paragraph) that is two weeks or more from the day of passage of the specified period, the participant of a corporate-type pension plan is deemed to have selected the default investment method pertaining to that notice, and to have given an instruction on investment to allot the entire amount of that person's uninstructed assets managed per individual to the default investment method.

The "uninstructed assets managed per individual" referred to in the preceding paragraph means assets managed per individual for which no instructions on investment have been given by the day on which the grace period pertaining to the notice under the provisions of paragraph (1) ends and those for which no instructions on investment have been given with regard to the employer's contribution, etc. paid after that day.

When a corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc. intends to exclude an investment method from the presented investment methods, pursuant to the provisions of the corporate-type pension plan rules, it must obtain consent of two-thirds or more of the participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan that have given instructions on investment by selecting the investment method to be excluded (hereinafter referred to as the "instructors using the investment method to be excluded" in this Article) (excluding those whose whereabouts are unknown); provided, however, that this does not apply if the institution, etc. intends to exclude the investment method due to the counterparty to the contract for that investment method ceasing to be available or due to any other grounds specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

If the instructors using the investment method to be excluded have not manifested their intention of consent or non-consent even after the passage of a period specified by the corporate-type pension plan rules that is three weeks or more from the day of giving notice for obtaining the consent referred to in the preceding paragraph to the instructors using the investment method to be excluded, the corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc. may deem that the instructors using the investment method to be excluded have given the consent referred to in that paragraph, pursuant to the provisions of the corporate-type pension plan rules. In this case, a statement to that effect must have been included in that notice.

When a corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc. has excluded an investment method pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), it must give notice to that effect to the instructors using the investment method to be excluded.

If a corporate-type pension plan investment-related operational management institution, etc. is unable to give the notice referred to in the preceding paragraph due to the whereabouts of the instructors using the investment method to be excluded being unknown, it must give public notice to the effect that the investment method has been excluded, in lieu of the notice referred to in that paragraph.

A corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. must give notice to participants or instructors of a corporate-type pension plan about the amount of assets managed per individual and other particulars specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare with regard to that participant or instructor of a corporate-type pension plan at least once every year.

A corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. must make information on the particulars specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, such as the status of contributions, with regard to a participant or instructor of a corporate-type pension plan available for inspection by that participant or instructor of a corporate-type pension plan through a means of using information and communications technology, such as a means of using an electronic data processing system, which is specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

The benefits of a corporate-type pension plan (hereinafter referred to as "benefits" in this Subsection and Article 48-2) are to be as follows:

old-age benefits;

disability benefits; and

a lump-sum death benefit.

A corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. issues a ruling confirming a person's right to receive benefits at the request of the person who has that right (hereinafter referred to as the "beneficiary" in this Section).

When a corporate-type pension plan records-related operational management institution, etc. has issued a ruling pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it must give notice of the contents thereof to the asset management institution without delay.

The amount of benefits is the amount calculated pursuant to the provisions of the corporate-type pension plan rules.