Employees' Pension Insurance Act

If grounds have occurred based on which the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension (excluding the employees' disability pension of a beneficiary who has continuously had a disability of a degree of severity that is not classified as Grade 1 or Grade 2 of the disability grades from the time when the person acquired the right to receive benefits; the same applies hereinafter in this and the following Article, Article 52, paragraph (4), Article 52-2, and the proviso to Article 54, paragraph (2)) is to be paid further employees' disability pension, the employees' disability pension is paid in accordance with the severity of the beneficiary's disabilities stemming from a combination of the beneficiary's previous and subsequent disabilities.

If the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension has, pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, acquired a right to benefits under an employees' disability pension for the severity of the beneficiary's disabilities stemming from a combination of the beneficiary's previous and subsequent disabilities, the beneficiary's previous right to benefits under the employees' disability pension ceases to exist.

If grounds have occurred based on which the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension whose payment has been suspended for a fixed period is to be paid further employees' disability pension, the employees' disability pension that is to be paid pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article in accordance with the severity of the beneficiary's disabilities stemming from a combination of the beneficiary's previous and subsequent disabilities, is to have its payment suspended for the period during which payment of the prior employees' disability pension is to be suspended, and employees' disability pension is paid to the person during that period in accordance with the severity of the beneficiary's disability when not combined with the previous disability.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of the preceding Article, if the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension has acquired a further right to an employees' disability pension and the payment of the newly acquired employees' disability pension is to be suspended pursuant to the provisions of Article 54, paragraph (1), the prior employees' disability pension is paid during the period that the payment is to be suspended.

The amount of an employees' disability pension is an amount calculated pursuant to the provisions of Article 43, paragraph (1). If the number of months in the insured period that constitutes the basis for calculating the amount of the employees' disability pension in such a case is under 300, it is regarded as 300.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the amount of employees' disability pension to be paid to a person who has a disability of a degree of severity that is classified as Grade 1 of the disability grades is an amount equal to 125/100 of the amount provided for in that paragraph.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, if a disability constituting the grounds for benefits under an employees' disability pension is not one for which a basic disability pension under the National Pension Act may be received, and the amount of the employees' disability pension is less than the amount arrived at when the amount of a basic disability pension provided for in Article 33, paragraph (1) of the National Pension Act is multiplied by three-quarters (3/4) (this amount is rounded to the nearest hundred, with amounts less than 50 yen being rounded down, and amounts between 50 yen and 99 yen being rounded up), the relevant amount is the amount provided for in these paragraphs.

Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2), if the amount of an employees' disability pension under the provisions of Article 48, paragraph (1) is lower than the amount of the employees' disability pension that has ceased to exist pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (2) of that Article, the amount of the employees' disability pension is an amount equal to the amount of the prior employees' disability pension.

Cabinet Order provides for the necessary particulars in connection with certifying that a person is receiving financial support from the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension in order to apply the provisions of paragraph (1), and provides for the necessary particulars in connection with certifying that a person has stopped receiving financial support from the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension in order to apply the provisions of Article 44, paragraph (4), item (ii) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to the preceding paragraph.

With respect to the amount of an employees' disability pension provided for in Article 50, paragraph (1), the period during which a person was an insured after the month that includes the day of disability assessment for the disability that constitutes the grounds for payment of the relevant employees' disability pension (or, for the employees' disability pension under the provisions of Article 47-3, paragraph (1), the day of disability assessment for the base injury or illness provided for in that paragraph; or, for the employees' disability pension under the provisions of Article 48, paragraph (1), whichever is the latest day among the days of disability assessment for each of the combined disabilities (or, for a disability provided for in Article 47-3, paragraph (1), the day of disability assessment for the base disability provided for in that paragraph)) is not a basis for its calculation.

If the implementing organization examines the severity of the disability of a beneficiary of the employees' disability pension and finds its degree of severity to be classified as any disability grade other than the previous one, the Minister may revise the amount of the employees' disability pension in accordance with its severity.

A beneficiary of an employees' disability pension may request the implementing organization to revise the amount of employees' disability pension on account that the severity of disability has worsen.

A request under the preceding paragraph may only be made after one year has passed since the day on which the beneficiary acquired a right to benefits under an employees' disability pension or underwent an examination by the implementing organization pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), except in a case specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as one in which it is clear that the severity of disability of the beneficiary of the employees' disability pension has worsen.

If a beneficiary of an employees' disability pension who has contracted an illness or suffered an injury and who was an insured on the day of initial examination for that injury or illness (limited to an injury or illness for which the day of initial examination comes after the day of initial examination for the injury or illness that constitutes the grounds for payment of the relevant employees' disability pension; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph and the proviso to Article 54, paragraph (2)), has a disability (limited to a disability of a degree of severity that is not classified as Grade 1 or Grade 2 of the disability grades; hereinafter referred to as "another disability" in this paragraph and the proviso of paragraph (2) of that Article) due to that injury or illness, and if the severity of the beneficiary's disabilities stemming from a combination of the disability constituting the grounds for payment of the relevant employees' disability pension and the other disability (or all other disabilities, if there are two or more other disabilities) has become worse than that of the disability constituting the grounds for payment of that pension during the period from the day of disability assessment for that injury or illness until the day on which the beneficiary reaches 65 years of age, the beneficiary may request the implementing organization to revise the amount of employees' disability pension within that period.

The provisions under the proviso to Article 47 paragraph (1) apply mutatis mutandis to a case under the preceding paragraph.

If the amount of an employees' disability pension has been revised pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), the payment of the revised amount of employees' disability pension is to commence from the month following the month of the revision.

The provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) and the preceding paragraph do not apply to a person who is 65 years of age or older and also the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension (limited to a person who has no right to receive benefits from a basic disability pension under the National Pension Act based on the same grounds for payment of the relevant employees' disability pension).

If the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension has come to have a right to receive benefits from a basic disability pension (excluding one that is paid based on the same grounds as the employees' disability pension) under the National Pension Act, the amount of the employees' disability pension in question is revised according to the severity of the beneficiary's disabilities stemming from a combination of the disability constituting the grounds for payment of the employees' disability pension and the disability constituting the grounds for payment of the basic disability pension.

If the beneficiary of an employees' disability pension has a right to receive benefits from a basic disability pension under the National Pension Act, and the severity of the disabilities stemming from a combination under the provisions of Article 34, paragraph (4) and the proviso to paragraph (2) of Article 36 of that Act has become worse than that of the disability that constitutes the grounds for payment of the relevant basic disability pension, the amount of the relevant employees' disability pension is revised according to the severity of the disabilities stemming from a combination under these provisions.

In addition to the right to receive benefits from an employees' disability pension ceasing to exist pursuant to the provisions of Article 48, paragraph (2), this right ceases to exist if the beneficiary comes to fall under any of the following items:

the beneficiary has died;

the beneficiary who does not have a disability of a degree of severity that is classified as any disability grade has reached the age of 65; provided, however, that this is excluded if, as of the day on which the beneficiary has reached the age of 65, the beneficiary has not gone three years without having a disability of a degree of severity that is classified as any disability grade, counting from the day on which the person ceased to have a disability of a degree of severity that is classified as any disability grade; or

the beneficiary has gone three years, counting from the day on which the beneficiary ceased to have a disability of a degree of severity that is classified as any disability grade, without having a disability of a degree of severity that is classified as any disability grade; provided, however, that this is excluded if the relevant beneficiary is not yet 65 years of age on the day that marks the passage of three years' time without a disability of that degree of severity.