Supplementary Provisions

This Act comes into effect as of the date specified by Cabinet Order within a period not exceeding 9 months from the date of promulgation.

The provisions then in force continue to govern the amount of a retirement allowance in the case where a covered employee under a retirement allowance mutual aid contract that took effect before the day on which this Act comes into effect (hereinafter referred to as the "Effective Date") (hereinafter referred to as a "pre-effective-date retirement allowance mutual aid contract") retires before the Effective Date.

Necessary transitional measures regarding the amount of a retirement allowance in the case where a covered employee under a pre-effective-date retirement allowance mutual aid contract retires on or after the Effective Date are specified by Cabinet Order.

Necessary transitional measures regarding the payment rate in Article 10, paragraph (2), item (iii), (b) of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Retirement Allowance Cooperative Act as amended (hereinafter referred to as the "New Act") are specified by Cabinet Order.

The provisions of Article 10-3, paragraph (5) of the New Act apply to covered employees other than those who retired before the Effective Date and who, by the date specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, requested payment of the retirement allowance by installment payment (hereinafter referred to as "specified retirees" in this Article), and the provisions then in force continue to govern the installment payment rate under paragraph (5) of that Article for specified retirees.

The provisions then in force continue to govern the amount of a cancellation refund in the case where a pre-effective-date retirement allowance mutual aid contract is cancelled before the Effective Date.

Necessary transitional measures regarding the amount of a cancellation refund in the case where a pre-effective-date retirement allowance mutual aid contract is cancelled on or after the Effective Date are specified by Cabinet Order.

Necessary transitional measures regarding the amount of a retirement allowance when a covered employee, for whom the number of months of paid premiums under a pre-effective-date retirement allowance mutual aid contract (meaning the number of months of paid premiums prescribed in Article 10, paragraph (1) of the New Act) is added up pursuant to Article 14 of the New Act in respect of a retirement allowance mutual aid contract that took effect on or after the Effective Date, retires, and regarding the amount of a cancellation refund when the retirement allowance mutual aid contract pertaining to that covered employee is cancelled, are specified by Cabinet Order.

The provisions of Article 21-3, paragraph (1) of the New Act apply to past service premiums (meaning the past service premiums referred to in that paragraph; the same applies hereinafter in this Article) pertaining 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 pertaining to covered employees under pre-effective-date retirement allowance mutual aid contracts.

Until the collection of the claims pertaining to funds lent pursuant to Article 66, paragraph (1), item (iii) of the Former Act is completed, the Organization is to manage and collect those claims, in addition to the operations prescribed in Article 66 of the New Act.

①With the authorization of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Organization may entrust part of the operations referred to in the preceding Article to a financial institution.

②When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare intends to give the authorization referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Minister must consult with the Minister of Finance.

③Where the authorization of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare has been given pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), a financial institution may, notwithstanding the provisions of other laws, undertake the operations pertaining to that authorization.

④An officer or employee of a financial institution that has been entrusted with operations pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) and who is engaged in the entrusted operations is deemed to be an employee engaged in public service pursuant to laws and regulations for the purpose of the application of the Penal Code (Act No. 45 of 1907) and other penal provisions.

With regard to the entrustment to a financial institution of part of the operations set out in item (v) of Article 69, paragraph (1) of the Former Act that the Organization is actually conducting, at the time this Act comes into effect, with the authorization referred to in that paragraph pursuant to the provisions of that paragraph, it is deemed to be an entrustment that the Organization is conducting to a financial institution pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article.

Where the operations of the Organization are conducted pursuant to the provisions of Article 10 of the Supplementary Provisions, in Article 83, paragraph (2) of the New Act, the phrase "this Act" is deemed to be replaced with "this Act or the Act Partially Amending the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Retirement Allowance Cooperative Act (Act No. 39 of 2002; hereinafter referred to as the "Partial Amendment Act")"; in Article 84, paragraph (1) of the New Act, the phrase "this Act" is deemed to be replaced with "this Act or the Partial Amendment Act", the phrase "to the Organization" with "to the Organization or to a financial institution entrusted with the operations of Article 10 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Partial Amendment Act pursuant to Article 11, paragraph (1) or Article 12 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Partial Amendment Act (hereinafter referred to as the "entrusted financial institution" in this paragraph)", the phrase "of the Organization" with "of the Organization or the entrusted financial institution", and the phrase "have inspected" with "have inspected (in the case of the entrusted financial institution, limited to within the scope of the operations of Article 10 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Partial Amendment Act)"; in Article 95 of the New Act, the phrase "Article 69, paragraph (1)" is deemed to be replaced with "Article 69, paragraph (1), or Article 11, paragraph (1) or Article 12 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Partial Amendment Act", in item (i) of that Article the phrase "this Act" with "this Act or the Partial Amendment Act", in item (iii) of that Article the phrase "Article 66" with "Article 66 or Article 10 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Partial Amendment Act", in item (v) of that Article the phrase "Article 83, paragraph (2)" with "Article 83, paragraph (2) (including the case where it applies with the terms replaced pursuant to Article 13 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Partial Amendment Act)", and in item (vi) of that Article the phrase "Article 84, paragraph (1)" with "Article 84, paragraph (1) (including the case where it applies with the terms replaced pursuant to Article 13 of the Supplementary Provisions of the Partial Amendment Act)".

With regard to the application of penal provisions to acts committed before this Act comes into effect, the provisions then in force continue to govern.

Beyond what is provided for in Article 2 through the preceding Article of the Supplementary Provisions, the transitional measures necessary for the enforcement of this Act are specified by Cabinet Order.

The provisions of Article 28, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions of the Defined-Benefit Corporate Pension Act as amended by the provisions of the preceding Article apply to retirement allowance mutual aid contracts that have taken effect on or after the Effective Date, and with regard to pre-effective-date retirement allowance mutual aid contracts, the provisions then in force continue to govern.