This Act comes into effect on April 1, 1991; provided, however, that the provisions amending Article 4, paragraph (2) and Article 21-2, paragraph (4) (limited to the part replacing "3,000 yen" with "4,000 yen") and the provisions of paragraphs (1) through (4) of the following Article come into effect on December 1 of the same year.

①With respect to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract whose monthly premium is 3,000 yen at the time the provisions amending Article 4, paragraph (2) (limited to the part replacing "3,000 yen" with "4,000 yen") come into effect (excluding a retirement allowance mutual aid contract concluded on or after the date on which this Act comes into effect (hereinafter referred to as the "Effective Date") that relates to a covered employee who falls under a short-time covered employee prescribed in Article 4, paragraph (2) of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Retirement Allowance Cooperative Act as amended (hereinafter referred to as the "New Act"); hereinafter referred to as a "paragraph (1) contract"), notwithstanding Article 4, paragraph (2) of the New Act, the monthly premium may be 3,000 yen until the day on which two years have elapsed counting from December 1, 1991; provided, however, that this does not apply on or after the day on which the monthly premium is increased to an amount of 4,000 yen or more pursuant to Article 9 of the New Act.

②With respect to a paragraph (1) contract for which the Minister of Labour certifies that it is extremely difficult to increase the monthly premium to 4,000 yen or more after the expiry of the period prescribed in the main clause of the preceding paragraph (hereinafter referred to as a "paragraph (2) certified contract"), notwithstanding Article 4, paragraph (2) of the New Act, the monthly premium may be 3,000 yen even after the expiry of that period, until the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour. In this case, the proviso to the preceding paragraph applies mutatis mutandis.

③With respect to a paragraph (1) contract whose monthly premium is 3,000 yen at the expiry of the period prescribed in the main clause of paragraph (1) (excluding a paragraph (2) certified contract), the monthly premium is deemed to have been increased to 4,000 yen at the time of the expiry of that period.

④With respect to a paragraph (2) certified contract whose monthly premium is 3,000 yen at the expiry of the period up to the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour prescribed in paragraph (2), the monthly premium is deemed to have been increased to 4,000 yen at the time of the expiry of that period.

⑤With respect to the application of Article 4, paragraphs (2) and (3) of the New Act to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract whose monthly premium is less than 3,000 yen at the time this Act comes into effect, during the period from the Effective Date through November 30, 1991, the phrase "3,000 yen (2,000 yen in the case of a covered employee who, on the date of application for the retirement allowance mutual aid contract, falls under a person whose prescribed weekly working hours are shorter than the prescribed weekly working hours of the ordinary employees employed by that mutual aid policyholder and are less than the number of hours specified by the Minister of Labour (referred to as a "short-time covered employee" in Article 21-2, paragraph (4)))" in paragraph (2) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "1,200 yen", and the phrase "2,000 yen" in paragraph (3) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "1,200 yen and less than 2,000 yen, the amount obtained by multiplying 200 yen by an integer; where it is more than 2,000 yen and less than 3,000 yen, the amount obtained by multiplying 500 yen by an integer; where it is more than 3,000 yen".

⑥With respect to an application by a mutual aid policyholder for a decrease in the monthly premium relating to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the Small and Medium Enterprise Retirement Allowance Mutual Aid Corporation must not approve it during the period prescribed in the preceding paragraph, notwithstanding Article 9, paragraph (2) of the New Act, even in the cases set out in the items of Article 8, paragraph (3) of the New Act; provided, however, that this does not apply to an application for a decrease in the monthly premium to an amount of 3,000 yen or more after the monthly premium has been increased to an amount exceeding 3,000 yen pursuant to Article 9 of the New Act.

⑦The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs apply mutatis mutandis to the monthly premium after the expiry of the period prescribed in paragraph (5), with respect to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in paragraph (5) for which the Minister of Labour certifies that it is extremely difficult to increase the monthly premium to 3,000 yen or more after the expiry of that period (hereinafter referred to as a "paragraph (7) certified contract"). In this case, the phrase "from the Effective Date through November 30, 1991" in paragraph (5) is deemed to be replaced with "until the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour", the phrase "3,000 yen (" in that paragraph with "4,000 yen (", and, in the preceding paragraph, the phrase "during the period" with "until the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour" and the phrase "3,000 yen" with "4,000 yen".

⑧With respect to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in paragraph (5) whose monthly premium is less than 3,000 yen at the expiry of the period prescribed in that paragraph (excluding a paragraph (7) certified contract), the monthly premium is deemed to have been increased to 3,000 yen at the time of the expiry of that period.

⑨With respect to a paragraph (7) certified contract whose monthly premium is less than 3,000 yen at the expiry of the period up to the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour prescribed in paragraph (5) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (7), the monthly premium is deemed to have been increased to 3,000 yen at the time of the expiry of that period.

⑩With respect to a paragraph (7) certified contract whose monthly premium is 3,000 yen at the expiry of the period prescribed in the preceding paragraph and a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in that paragraph, notwithstanding Article 4, paragraph (2) of the New Act, the monthly premium may be 3,000 yen for two years after the expiry of that period. In this case, the proviso to paragraph (1) applies mutatis mutandis.

⑪The provisions of paragraph (2) apply mutatis mutandis to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in the preceding paragraph for which the Minister of Labour certifies that it is extremely difficult to increase the monthly premium to 4,000 yen or more after the expiry of the two-year period prescribed in that paragraph (hereinafter referred to as a "paragraph (11) certified contract").

⑫With respect to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in paragraph (10) (excluding a paragraph (11) certified contract) whose monthly premium is 3,000 yen at the expiry of the two-year period prescribed in paragraph (10), the monthly premium is deemed to have been increased to 4,000 yen at the time of the expiry of that period.

⑬With respect to a paragraph (11) certified contract whose monthly premium is 3,000 yen at the expiry of the period up to the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour prescribed in paragraph (2) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (11), the monthly premium is deemed to have been increased to 4,000 yen at the time of the expiry of that period.

⑭With respect to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract whose monthly premium is 3,500 yen or 4,500 yen at the time this Act comes into effect, notwithstanding Article 4, paragraph (3) of the New Act, the monthly premium may be that 3,500 yen or 4,500 yen during the period prescribed in paragraph (5); provided, however, that this does not apply on or after the day on which the monthly premium is changed to an amount other than that 3,500 yen or 4,500 yen pursuant to Article 9 of the New Act.

⑮The provisions of the preceding paragraph apply mutatis mutandis to the monthly premium after the expiry of the period prescribed in paragraph (5), with respect to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in the preceding paragraph for which the Minister of Labour certifies that it is extremely difficult to increase the monthly premium to an amount exceeding that 3,500 yen or 4,500 yen after the expiry of that period and that the mutual aid policyholder wishes to keep the monthly premium at that 3,500 yen or 4,500 yen even after the expiry of that period (hereinafter referred to as a "paragraph (15) certified contract"). In this case, the phrase "Article 4, paragraph (3)" in the preceding paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "Article 4, paragraphs (2) and (3)", and the phrase "during the period prescribed in paragraph (5)" with "until the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour".

⑯With respect to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract prescribed in paragraph (14) whose monthly premium is 3,500 yen or 4,500 yen at the expiry of the period prescribed in paragraph (5) (excluding a paragraph (15) certified contract), the monthly premium is deemed to have been increased to 4,000 yen or 5,000 yen, respectively, at the time of the expiry of that period.

⑰With respect to a paragraph (15) certified contract whose monthly premium is 3,500 yen or 4,500 yen at the expiry of the period up to the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour prescribed in paragraph (14) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (15), the monthly premium is deemed to have been increased to 4,000 yen or 5,000 yen, respectively, at the time of the expiry of that period.

⑱Matters necessary for the certification under paragraphs (2), (7), (11) and (15) are specified by Order of the Ministry of Labour.

⑲With respect to a retirement allowance mutual aid contract relating to a covered employee who is a mariner to whom the Mariners Act (Act No. 100 of 1947) applies, the phrase "Order of the Ministry of Labour" in paragraph (2) (including as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (11)), paragraph (5) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (7), paragraph (14) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to paragraph (15), and the preceding paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "Order of the Ministry of Transport", and the phrase "Minister of Labour" in paragraphs (2), (7), (11) and (15) with "Minister of Transport".

The provisions of Article 21-3, paragraph (1) of the New Act apply to past service premiums relating to covered employees under retirement allowance mutual aid contracts that took effect on or after the Effective Date, and the provisions then in force continue to govern past service premiums relating to covered employees under retirement allowance mutual aid contracts that took effect before the Effective Date.