Mutual aid association - Kyosaikumiai

A mutual aid system based on the social insurance mechanism for public servants and other occupational groups. It can also refer to a voluntary mutual aid organization of people engaged in the same occupation or business that existed prior to the establishment of social insurance.

Since the early Meiji period, there has been a pension system for civil servants and other occupations that provided pensions or lump sums at public expense to former military personnel and civil servants upon retirement or death. However, criticism of the privileged nature of this system grew, and it was abolished between the late 1950s and early 1960s and integrated into mutual aid associations.

Mutual aid associations originated as mutual aid associations for government workers that were established between the end of the Meiji era and the Taisho era. After the Second World War, they were responsible for three businesses in the public sector: medical care (short-term benefits), pensions (long-term benefits), and welfare. In the past, there were mutual aid associations for national and local government employees, public corporations (Japan National Railways, Japan Tobacco and Salt Public Corporation, and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation), private schools, and agricultural, forestry, and fishery organizations (which did not provide medical care). However, amid the trend towards unification aimed at making the public pension system fairer and more stable, the pension sector underwent a major transformation, with the Japan Railway Mutual Aid Association (JR Mutual Aid Association), Japan Tobacco Mutual Aid Association (JT Mutual Aid Association), and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Mutual Aid Association (NTT Mutual Aid Association) being integrated into the Employees' Pension Insurance in 1997, and the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery Employees' Mutual Aid Association being integrated into the Employees' Pension Insurance in 2002, and in 2015, the Employee Pension Unification Act of 2012 saw all national, local and private school mutual aid pensions being integrated into the Employees' Pension Insurance. In addition to medical and welfare services, the current mutual aid associations also provide a newly established "pension payment retirement benefit" with a view to balancing the old occupational pension portion for the membership period before unification with the retirement benefits of private companies.

[Yasuhiko Yamazaki July 19, 2016]

"The new pension system for civil servants after pension unification - Employee pension benefits and retirement pension benefits applicable to civil servants" by Shigeo Sekine (2015, Mutual Aid Association Federation)" ▽ "Easy-to-understand guidebook to the mutual aid system (medical care and pension) by Shigeo Sekine, various editions (Mutual Aid Association Federation)" ▽ "Local Government Employees Mutual Aid Pension System Study Group, 'Explanation of the Local Government Employees Mutual Aid Pension System', various editions (Gyosei)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

公務員等の職域における社会保険の仕組みによる共済制度。社会保険の前段階で存在した同種の職業または同業の事業などに従事する者の自主的な相互扶助組織をいうこともある。

　公務員等の職域では、明治時代の初期より旧軍人や官吏が退職または死亡した場合に公費によって年金または一時金を支給する恩給制度が存在したが、その特権的性格に対する批判が高まり、1950年代後半から1960年代前半にかけて廃止され、共済組合に統合された。

　共済組合の起源は明治末期から大正期にかけて創設された官業労働者の共済組合である。第二次世界大戦後は公務員等の職域における医療（短期給付）・年金（長期給付）・福祉の三事業を担い、かつては国家公務員、地方公務員、公共企業体（日本国有鉄道・日本専売公社・日本電信電話公社）、私立学校、農林漁業団体（医療の事業は実施せず）のそれぞれにつき共済組合が存在した。しかし、公的年金制度の公平化・安定化を目ざした一元化の流れのなかで、年金部門については大きな変貌(へんぼう)を遂げることになり、日本鉄道共済組合（JR共済）、日本たばこ産業共済組合（JT共済）、日本電信電話共済組合（NTT共済）は1997年（平成9）に、農林漁業団体職員共済組合は2002年（平成14）に厚生年金に統合され、2012年の被用者年金一元化法により2015年には国・地方・私学の共済年金もすべて厚生年金に統合された。現在の共済組合は、医療・福祉の事業のほか、年金については一元化前の加入期間についての旧職域年金部分と民間企業の退職給付との均衡を図る観点から新設された「年金払い退職給付」を行う。

［山崎泰彦　2016年7月19日］

『関根繁雄著『年金一元化後の公務員のあたらしい年金制度――公務員に適用される厚生年金給付・退職等年金給付』（2015・共済組合連盟）』▽『関根繁雄著『よくわかる共済制度（医療・年金）ガイドブック』各年版（共済組合連盟）』▽『地方公務員共済年金制度研究会編『地方公務員共済年金制度の解説』各年版（ぎょうせい）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例