TOKYO, Nov 28 (NNN-NHK) – The Japanese government may look to include more part-time workers into the national employee pension system, by mandating companies with relatively small work forces to enrol in the programme, local media reported.
Under the current system, firms employing more than 501 staff are required to participate in the programme. However, the government is mulling lowering the figure, to increase the number of workers enrolled in the employee pension programme.
In a bid to address concerns among workers about having adequate financial means after they retire, government sources said, the idea being floated is to lower the number of employees required to enrol in the programme to 101 in Oct, 2022 and to 51 two years later to provide more comprehensive coverage.
Contributions to the pension system are split equally between employee and employer, with the government, keen to bolster contributions with the addition of 650,000 workers into the system, initially seeking to scrap the lower limit of employees required to join the programme.
Japan’s current employee pension programme, in terms of part-time staff working at firms with more than 501 employees, requires part-timers working a minimum of 20 hours a week and earning more than 88,000 yen (806 U.S. dollars) a month, to be enrolled in the programme.
The insurance premium for the 44.4 million employees enrolled in the pension programme, working in both public and private sector positions, is currently based on an 18.3-percent contribution of monthly earnings.– NNN-NHK
