Employees' Pension Insurance Act

The purpose of this Act is to provide insurance benefits for workers' old-age, disability, and death, so as to contribute to stabilizing the livelihoods and improving the welfare of workers and their surviving family.

Employees' pension insurance is administered by the government.

If a significant change occurs in the national standard of living, wages, or other such circumstances, measures must be taken promptly to revise the amounts of pension insurance benefits under this Act so that they fit with the circumstances after the change.

The budget for employees' pension insurance services must allow balance to be maintained over the long term, and if a significant imbalance is projected, the necessary measures must be promptly taken.

At least every five years, the government must compile a report on the current status of income and expenditures in connection with the budget for employees' pension insurance services, including the amounts of insurance premiums and state subsidies and the amount of expenses needed to provide insurance benefits under this Act and projections for the period subject to budget balancing (hereinafter referred to as a "current budget status and projections report"), at least every 5 years.

The period subject to budget balancing referred to in the preceding paragraph (referred to as the "period subject to budget balancing" in Article 34, paragraph (1) and Article 84-6, paragraph (3), item (ii)) is the approximately 100-year period following the year in which the current budget status and projections report is compiled.

Once the government has compiled the current budget status and projections report pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), it must publish this without delay.

The implementing organizations referred to in this Act are the persons that each of the following items prescribes for the category of administrative function set forth in the relevant item:

administrative functions connected with the status of insureds covered by employees' pension insurance other than the insureds specified in the following item through item (iv) (hereinafter each such a person is referred to as a "category I EPI insured"); the standardized remunerations (meaning the standardized remuneration as specified in Article 28; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph), places of business, and insured periods of category I EPI insureds; the provision of insurance benefits under this Act based on the period during which a person was a category I EPI insured (hereinafter referred to as the "category I EPI insured period"); the beneficiaries of those insurance benefits; the bearing of monetary contributions to the Basic Pension under the provisions of Article 94-2, paragraph (1) of the National Pension Act (Act No. 141 of 1959) in connection with category I EPI insureds; insurance premiums associated with category I EPI insured periods and other monies collected under the provisions of this Act; and the investment of insurance premiums of category I EPI insureds:the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

administrative functions connected with the status of insureds covered by employees' pension insurance who are members of the National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Association (hereinafter each such a person is referred to as a "category II EPI insured"); the standardized remunerations, places of business, and insured periods of category II EPI insureds; the provision of insurance benefits under this Act based on the period during which a person was a category II EPI insured (hereinafter referred to as the "category II EPI insured period"); the beneficiaries of those insurance benefits; the payment of monetary contributions to the Basic Pension under the provisions of Article 94-2, paragraph (2) of the National Pension Act and the payment of contributions under the provisions of Article 84-5, paragraph (1), in connection with category II EPI insureds; insurance premiums associated with category II EPI insured periods and other monies collected under the provisions of this Act; and the investment of insurance premiums of category II EPI insureds:national public service personnel mutual aid associations and the Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations.

administrative functions connected with the status of an insured covered by employees' pension insurance who is a member of a mutual aid association of local government officials (hereinafter referred to as a "category III EPI insured"); the standardized remunerations, places of business, and insured periods of category III EPI insureds; the provision of insurance benefits under this Act based on the period during which a person was a category III EPI insured (hereinafter referred to as the "category III EPI insured period"); the beneficiaries of those insurance benefits; the payment of monetary contributions to the Basic Pension under the provisions of Article 94-2, paragraph (2) of the National Pension Act and the payment of contributions under the provisions of Article 84-5, paragraph (1), in connection with category III EPI insureds; insurance premiums associated with category II EPI insured periods and other monies collected under the provisions of this Act; and the investment of insurance premiums of category III EPI insureds:mutual aid associations of local government officials, the National Federation of Mutual Aid Associations for Municipal Personnel, and the Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials.

administrative functions connected with the status of an insured covered by employees' pension insurance who is a member of a mutual aid system for private school personnel under the provisions of the Private School Personnel Mutual Aid Act (Act No. 245 of 1953) (hereinafter referred to as a "category IV EPI insured"); the standardized remunerations, places of business, and insured periods of category IV EPI insureds; the provision of insurance benefits under this Act based on the period during which a person was a category IV EPI insured (hereinafter referred to as the "category IV EPI insured period"); the beneficiaries of those insurance benefits; the payment of monetary contributions to the Basic Pension under the provisions of Article 94-2, paragraph (2) of the National Pension Act and the payment of contributions under the provisions of Article 84-5, paragraph (1), in connection with category IV EPI insureds; insurance premiums associated with category IV EPI insured periods and other monies collected under the provisions of this Act; and the investment of insurance premiums of category IV EPI insureds:the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan.

Those of the administrative functions set forth in item (ii) and item (iii) of the preceding paragraph that are connected with the provisions of Article 84-3, Article 84-5, Article 84-6, Article 84-8, and Article 84-9 are performed by the Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations or the Pension Fund Association for Local Government Officials, and those that are connected with other provisions are performed, pursuant to the provisions of Cabinet Order, by the person specified by Cabinet Order from among the persons prescribed in item (ii) and item (iii) of the preceding paragraph.

In this Act, the meanings of the terms set forth in the following items are as prescribed in those items:

"premium-paid period" means the premium-paid period prescribed in Article 5 paragraph (1) of the National Pension Act;

"premium-exemption period" means the premium-exemption period prescribed in Article 5, paragraph (2) of the National Pension Act;

"remuneration" means wages, pay, salary, allowances, bonuses, and all other earnings, whatever they may be called, received by a worker as compensation for the worker's labor; provided, however, that this does not apply to occasional earnings or those received at intervals that exceed every three months;

"bonus" means, among the wages, pay, salary, allowances, bonuses, and all other earnings, whatever they may be called, received by a worker as compensation for the worker's labor, those that a worker receives at intervals that exceed every three months.