Tag - pensions

 
Menu
Search
 
December 24, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

PENSIONS

The government's pension reform plan under consideration will make it easier for part-timers to join the kosei nenkin employee pension program.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 8, 2024
Japan to scrap ¥1.06 million employee pension threshold in 2026
The government also plans to abolish a requirement that companies must have at least 51 employees for employees to join the kosei nenkin program.
If the economic situation remains the same as in the past 30 years, the financially fragile basic pensions are projected to continue decreasing until fiscal 2057, with the basic pensions for people aged 65 expected to be 30% lower than the current amount.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 26, 2024
Japan's government proposes raising future basic pensions by 30%
The biggest obstacle will be whether Japan can secure stable financial resources for the measure.
Health minister Takamaro Fukuoka in an interview last week
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2024
Government aims to ease care worker shortages through wage hikes
Staff shortages at care facilities are "very serious," Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Takamaro Fukuoka said.
Government Pension Investment Fund saw a loss of 3.6% in the three months through September, with assets totaling ¥248.2 trillion ($1.6 trillion), it said Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2024
GPIF has worst loss since 2020 as yen strength hits assets
GPIF, one of the world’s largest state pension funds, incurred losses in three of four major asset classes.
Political parties are highlighting measures to reform the health care system for the elderly and the public pension system as the population ages.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2024
Parties highlight measures for working generation
The country's health care and public pension systems are being discussed ahead of the upcoming general election.
Elderly people rest at a park in Beijing on May 22.
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2024
China's retirement reforms not enough to fix pension headache
Lawmakers fast-tracked the policy without public consultation in September
Elderly people rest at a park in Fuyang in eastern China's Anhui province on Friday. China said the same day that it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Sep 14, 2024
China’s first retirement age hike since 1978 triggers discontent
The move could stem a decline in the labor force but risks angering workers already wrestling with a slowing economy.
The government is considering asking more people age 75 or over to pay 30% of their medical costs.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 13, 2024
Japan may require more elderly people to foot 30% of their medical costs
Currently, those age 75 or older pay in principle 10%, while those with preretirement levels of income pay 30%.
Commuters sit at a cafe in Sydney on Feb. 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 11, 2024
Over a third of Australians say they’ll never be able to retire
Australia’s proportion of retirees is expected to surge from 8% today to 19% over the next 40 years.
Michie Hino, 77, works at an elderly care home in Chiba Prefecture. She is one of a growing number of senior Japanese citizens working into their 70s.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Sep 5, 2024
Working till your 70s — Japan's prospective gift to the world
A struggling pension system and the highest inflation in decades have led more Japanese people to delay retirement until their 70s or later to make ends meet.
The current survivor pension benefits system for couples without children has different criteria for payments depending on the recipient's gender.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2024
Ministry proposes changes to pension payments to surviving spouses
Under the welfare ministry plan, payments would be limited to five years for both men and women in the 20s to 50s without children.
NEC employees attend a Japan Asset Management seminar to learn about building up financial assets.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jul 29, 2024
Japanese firms helping employees build up financial assets
Companies are inviting financial experts to guide employees on managing their pension plans and provide insights into the revamped NISA.
Elderly people dance in a park in Beijing on Jan. 16.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jul 22, 2024
China to allow delayed retirement to combat population woes
The country is struggling to relieve soaring pressure on pension budgets, with many provinces already facing deficits.
Data has shown that Western pension funds may inadvertently be helping Russian President Vladimir Putin as Moscow looks to ramp up liquefied natural gas exports to replenish Kremlin coffers and fund its war in Ukraine.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 21, 2024
How U.S. pension funds help Putin’s gas gambit
The case spotlights the opacity of the global finance and how hard it remains to sever Moscow from a key revenue source even two years after the Ukraine invasion.
The proportion of public pension benefit payments to disposable income of working generations in Japan is projected to drop to a little over 50% in 33 years.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 3, 2024
Japan public pension benefit rate seen falling to 50% in fiscal year 2057
The calculations are based on assumptions that the economy will maintain a certain level of growth and that the population will remain the same.
The health ministry says it will conduct its first survey on how much foreign residents are paying in health insurance and pension premiums.
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2024
Health ministry to collect data on insurance premium payments by foreign residents
The ministry currently has no data on how much foreign nationals are paying in terms of health insurance payments and pension premiums.
Cleaning worker Hu Dexi, 67, at a shopping mall in Beijing on April 10
BUSINESS / Economy
May 8, 2024
In rapidly aging China, millions can't afford to retire
With a low retirement age, meager pension benefits and no family to support them, many in China feel they simply can't ever stop working.
The plaintiff argued that age and other specific restrictions for men for survivors' pensions violates the constitution.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 10, 2024
Lawsuit filed over gender gap in survivor's pension conditions
The plaintiff was rejected for the survivor pension due to being 49 years old at the time of his wife's death.
In some cases, it's up to individual foreign residents to understand the unique tax implications of their home countries and Japan in order to avoid a penny-pinching retirement.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / Age Wise
Nov 5, 2023
Retiring in Japan? Be prepared to foot your own bills.
“In an ideal world, everyone should have retirement planning on their radar as soon as possible when working life begins.”
The world's largest pension fund lost 0.31% for the three months from July to September, trimming its overall assets to ¥219.3 trillion.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 2, 2023
Japan's GPIF reports ¥683 billion loss in July-September period
The news comes as a policy tweak by the central bank hits the government bond market.
Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda-Nissan megamerger in the works
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left), Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe (second from left) and Takao Kato, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors, hold a news conference on merger talks on Monday in Tokyo.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?
Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Japan accuses Google of violating antimonopoly law
The Japanese antitrust watchdog said that Google forced smartphone makers to preinstall its search app on their devices, sources say.
Okinawa people stage rally against sexual assaults by U.S. servicemen
Sorane Sakihama, a 22-year-old college student, speaks at a rally in the city of Okinawa on Sunday protesting against sexual assaults by U.S. soldiers.
A brief history of ‘osechi ryōri,' Japan's edible tradition for the new year
Japan's traditional New Year cuisine has a long history, though modern developments have led to slight changes in the way things work.
Japan accuses Google of violating antimonopoly law
The Japanese antitrust watchdog said that Google forced smartphone makers to preinstall its search app on their devices, sources say.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?
By Kathryn Wortley

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’
SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER