Supplementary Provisions, Article 11Special Provisions on the Liability Reserve Equivalent in the Case Where a Voluntary Dissolution Fund Is Dissolved

①A surviving employees' pension Fund that intends to dissolve for the reason set forth in Article 145, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) of the pre-amendment Employees' Pension Insurance Act, which remains in force pursuant to the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions, and for which the amount of reserves for pension benefits, etc. (meaning the reserves to be allocated to the benefits prescribed in Article 130, paragraphs (1) through (3) of the pre-amendment Employees' Pension Insurance Act, which remains in force pursuant to the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions (hereinafter referred to as "old-age pension benefits, etc."); the same applies hereinafter except in Article 40, paragraph (2), item (iii) and paragraph (3), item (iii), Article 53, Article 55, paragraph (1), Article 60, Article 70, paragraph (2) and Article 71, paragraph (2) of the Supplementary Provisions) (in the case where prepayment has been made pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article (including the case where it applies with replacement of terms pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (9) of this Article, paragraph (10) of the following Article, or Article 19, paragraph (10), Article 20, paragraph (5) or Article 21, paragraph (9) of the Supplementary Provisions), the amount obtained by adding the prepaid amount; the same applies hereinafter) on the day on which it intends to dissolve is expected to fall below the liability reserve equivalent (hereinafter referred to as a "voluntary dissolution Fund") may, as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, apply to the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare for certification that a reduction of the liability reserve equivalent is acceptable.

②An application for certification under the provisions of the preceding paragraph may be made only until the day on which five years elapse from the Effective Date.

③A voluntary dissolution Fund that has applied for certification under the provisions of paragraph (1) must suspend payment of the entire amount of the following benefits, beginning with the month following the month that includes the day on which it made the application:

④A voluntary dissolution Fund that has applied for certification under the provisions of paragraph (1) must, when it has withdrawn the application, or when the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare has made a decision not to give the certification referred to in the following paragraph, lift the suspension of payment under the provisions of the preceding paragraph beginning with the month following the month that includes the day of the withdrawal or the month following the month that includes the day of the decision.

⑤When an application for certification under the provisions of paragraph (1) has been made, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare is to give the certification if the Minister finds that the voluntary dissolution Fund that made the application meets the requirements specified by Cabinet Order as having made reasonable efforts in the operation of its business up to the day of the application.

⑥When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare intends to give the certification referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Minister must in advance hear the opinions of the Social Security Council.

⑦When a voluntary dissolution Fund that has received the certification referred to in paragraph (5) is dissolved pursuant to the provisions of Article 145, paragraph (1), item (i) or (ii) of the pre-amendment Employees' Pension Insurance Act, which remains in force pursuant to the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions (limited to the case where the amount of reserves for pension benefits, etc. on the day of dissolution falls below the liability reserve equivalent), the government is to collect from that voluntary dissolution Fund, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 8 of the Supplementary Provisions, the reduced liability reserve equivalent (meaning the larger of the amount calculated as specified by Cabinet Order as the amount by which the reserve Funds in the employees' pension section of the pension special account would increase if the members and former members of the surviving employees' pension Fund had not been members, and the amount of reserves for pension benefits, etc. of that surviving employees' pension Fund; the same applies hereinafter except in Article 27, paragraph (2) and Article 30, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions), in place of the liability reserve equivalent. In this case, the provisions of Article 34, paragraph (4) of the Supplementary Provisions do not apply, and, with regard to the application of the provisions of Article 138, paragraph (6) of the pre-amendment Employees' Pension Insurance Act, which remains in force pursuant to the provisions of Article 5, paragraph (1) of the Supplementary Provisions, the phrase "the amount specified by Cabinet Order" in that paragraph is deemed to be replaced with "the reduced liability reserve equivalent prescribed in Article 11, paragraph (7) of the Supplementary Provisions of the Act Partially Amending the Employees' Pension Insurance Act, etc. for Ensuring the Soundness and Reliability of the Public Pension System (Act No. 63 of 2013)".

⑧When the government collects the reduced liability reserve equivalent from the voluntary dissolution Fund pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare is to make public the following particulars:

⑨In the case of applying the provisions of the preceding Article to a voluntary dissolution Fund that has applied for certification under the provisions of paragraph (1), in paragraph (1) of that Article, the phrase "surviving employees' pension Fund" is deemed to be replaced with "voluntary dissolution Fund prescribed in paragraph (1) of the following Article that has applied for certification under the provisions of that paragraph", the phrase "specified in the following items" is deemed to be replaced with "of paragraph (7) of the following Article", the phrase "even before the authorization or approval set forth in those items" is deemed to be replaced with "even before the authorization set forth in item (i)", and the phrase "liability reserve equivalent" is deemed to be replaced with "reduced liability reserve equivalent (meaning the reduced liability reserve equivalent prescribed in that paragraph; the same applies in paragraph (3))", and in paragraph (3) of that Article, the phrase "liability reserve equivalent" is deemed to be replaced with "reduced liability reserve equivalent".