Article 18Aggregation of the Number of Months of Paid Premiums

Where, within three years after a covered employee's retirement, that person, without claiming a retirement allowance, is again employed by a small and medium-sized enterprise and becomes a covered employee (excluding a covered employee for whom all or part of the amount equivalent to the retirement allowance that would be paid to that person had that claim been made has been transferred, pursuant to the provisions of Article 31, paragraph (1), to the body prescribed in that paragraph), and that person has made an application, if the number of months of paid premiums under the retirement allowance mutual aid contract concluded before the retirement is 12 months or more, or if that number of months is less than 12 months and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that the retirement was not due to a reason attributable to that covered employee or to that covered employee's convenience (excluding that based on unavoidable circumstances specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), the numbers of months of paid premiums under the earlier and later retirement allowance mutual aid contracts may be aggregated, as provided by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. In this case, the matters necessary for calculating the amount of the retirement allowance, etc. are specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.