Old age pension - roureinenkin

Japanese: 老齢年金 - ろうれいねんきん

A pension paid to elderly people over a certain age, it is the core benefit of the pension insurance system. There are those that have age as the only requirement and those that have age plus retirement as requirements. In Japan, the basic old-age pension common to all citizens is paid based only on age requirements, while the old-age employees' pension under the Employees' Pension Insurance suspends payment of part or all of the pension amount to employed persons depending on their salary. The standard age for starting payment has been around 65 in most developed countries, including Japan, but in recent years an increasing number of countries are raising it beyond 65.

In Japan, the age at which the National Pension System's old-age pension (now the Basic Old-Age Pension System) begins payment has always been 65. This is because the original National Pension System was aimed primarily at self-employed individuals, and was set at the age at which their physical earning ability declines. On the other hand, for employed workers, the payment age has been raised in relation to trends in the mandatory retirement age and employment policies for the elderly. The old-age pension system under the Employees' Pension Insurance System (now the Employees' Old-Age Pension System) was originally 55 when it was enacted as the Workers' Pension Insurance Act in 1941 (Showa 16), but was raised to 60 for men only in the 1954 (Showa 29) amendment, and to 60 for women in the 1985 amendment. Furthermore, this reform restructured the Employees' Pension Insurance into a two-tiered pension plan that is added to the Basic Pension, unifying the payment age for the Old-Age Employees' Pension Insurance to 65, the same as the Basic Pension Insurance, and establishing a special Old-Age Employees' Pension Insurance (fixed amount portion + salary-proportional portion) as a separate benefit for the Employees' Pension Insurance before the age of 65. The payment age for the Special Old-Age Employees' Pension Insurance was subsequently raised with transitional measures in place, with the 1994 (Heisei 6) reform raising the fixed amount portion to 65, and the 2000 (Heisei 12) reform raising the salary-proportional portion to 65. As of 2020 (Reiwa 2), the transitional measures for the fixed amount portion have already ended, and the salary-proportional portion will end in fiscal year 2025 for men and in fiscal year 2030 for women.

For both the basic old-age pension, which is paid at age 65, and the employees' old-age pension, it is possible to choose to have the payment advanced (reduced) between ages 60 and 65, or to have the payment deferred (increased) between ages 65 and 75. Until 2020, the eligible age for deferred payment was up to age 70, but a revision in the same year expanded this to 75. The rate of early reduction is 0.4% per month, and the rate of deferred increase is 0.7% per month, which are set as rates that are mathematically neutral from the perspective of pension finances (effective from April 1, 2022).

[Yasuhiko Yamazaki November 13, 2020]

Basic old age pension

The old-age pension is paid to all citizens under the National Pension System. In principle, it is paid to those who have 10 or more years of eligibility when they reach the age of 65. The eligibility period is the sum of the period during which insurance premiums were paid, the period during which insurance premiums were exempted, and the period eligible for inclusion. The period during which insurance premiums were paid includes the period during which the insured person was insured under the Employees' Pension Insurance. The period eligible for inclusion is the so-called "blank period" that is included in the eligibility period for the basic old-age pension but is not used as the basis for calculating the pension amount. The starting age of payment can be selected to be paid early (reduced) between the ages of 60 and 65, or to be paid late (increased) between the ages of 65 and 75 (deferral of payment after the age of 70 will come into effect on April 1, 2022). The pension amount (annual amount) is a flat 781,700 yen (2020 fiscal year), but if there are periods of overdue insurance premiums or periods of exemption, it will be reduced according to the period.

[Yasuhiko Yamazaki November 13, 2020]

Old-age employees' pension

It is paid to those who have been insured under the Employee's Pension Insurance and have met the eligibility period for the Basic Old-Age Pension from the age of 65 on top of the Basic Old-Age Pension. As a transitional measure, a special Old-Age Employee's Pension (fixed amount + salary-proportional amount) is provided before the age of 65, but as of 2020, the transitional measure for the fixed amount has already ended, and the salary-proportional amount will end for men in 2025 and for women in 2030. The Old-Age Employee's Pension is paid in full when the insured person retires and loses his/her insured status, but if the person is still employed, part or all of the pension amount is suspended depending on the salary. The amount of the Old-Age Employee's Pension is the salary-proportional amount + the additional pension amount. The amount of the salary-proportional amount is calculated as "average standard salary amount during the insured period x multiplying factor x number of months of the insured period". The average standard salary amount is calculated by replacing the salary during the insured period with the current wage level. The additional pension amount is paid at a fixed amount to beneficiaries who have been insured for 20 years or more, or 15 to 19 years after age 40 (35 for women), and who have a spouse (under age 65) or unmarried child (a child up to the end of the year in which they reach the age of 18, or a child under age 20 with a first or second degree disability) who is dependent on them for support.

[Yasuhiko Yamazaki November 13, 2020]

current situation

The standard pension for an employed household, in which the husband has been enrolled in the Employees' Pension Insurance for 40 years and receives both a basic old-age pension and an old-age employees' pension, and the wife has been enrolled in the National Pension Insurance for 40 years and receives only a basic old-age pension, is approximately 220,724 yen per month in 2020. In addition, as of 2018, public pensions accounted for 63.6% of the income of elderly households, and among elderly households receiving public pensions, 48.4% received all of their income from public pensions, while 12.5% received 80% to less than 100% (Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, "Overview of the 2019 Basic Survey on National Living Conditions").

[Yasuhiko Yamazaki November 13, 2020]

"Trends in Insurance and Pensions, compiled and published by the Health, Labor and Welfare Statistics Association, annual editions " "Pension Guide" and "Visual Pensions, annual editions (Social Insurance Research Institute)"

[Reference items] | Basic pension | Employees' pension insurance | National pension | Pension insurance system

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

一定年齢以上の高齢者に支給される年金で、年金保険制度の中心になる給付。年齢のみを要件とするものと、年齢に加えて退職などを要件とするものがある。日本では、全国民共通の老齢基礎年金は年齢要件のみで支給し、厚生年金保険の老齢厚生年金は、在職者については報酬に応じて年金額の一部または全部を支給停止している。支給開始年齢は、日本も含めて先進諸国の多くがおおむね65歳を標準年齢としてきたが、近年では65歳以降に引き上げる国が増えてきている。

　日本では、国民年金の老齢年金（現在の老齢基礎年金）の支給開始年齢は当初から65歳である。これは、当初の国民年金が自営業者をおもな対象としていたため、身体的な稼得能力が低下する年齢にあわせた結果である。一方、雇用労働者については、定年退職年齢の動向や高齢者雇用政策などとの関連のもとで、支給開始年齢が引き上げられてきた。厚生年金保険の老齢年金（現在の老齢厚生年金）については、1941年（昭和16）に労働者年金保険法として制定された当初は55歳であったが、1954年（昭和29）改正で男性のみが60歳へ、1985年改正で女性も60歳へ引き上げられた。またこの改正で、厚生年金は基礎年金に上乗せする二階建て年金に再編されたことにより、老齢厚生年金の支給開始年齢も老齢基礎年金と同じ65歳に統一され、65歳前に厚生年金独自の給付として特別支給の老齢厚生年金（定額部分＋報酬比例部分）が設けられた。その後、特別支給の老齢厚生年金の支給開始年齢についても、1994年（平成6）改正で定額部分が65歳へ、2000年（平成12）改正で報酬比例部分が65歳へと、いずれも経過措置を講じて引き上げられた。2020年（令和2）の時点で、すでに定額部分の経過措置は終了しており、報酬比例部分についても、男性は2025年度、女性は2030年度で終了する。

　65歳支給の老齢基礎年金および老齢厚生年金ともに、60歳以上65歳前での繰上げ（減額）支給、65歳以後75歳までの間で繰下げ（増額）支給を選択することができる。繰下げ受給の対象年齢は2020年までは70歳までであったが、同年の改正により75歳までに拡大された。繰上げ減額率は1月あたり0.4％、繰下げ増額率は1月あたり0.7％であり、数理的に年金財政上中立的な率として設定されている（2022年4月1日施行）。

［山崎泰彦　2020年11月13日］

老齢基礎年金

国民年金制度により支給される全国民共通の老齢年金。原則として、受給資格期間が10年以上ある者が65歳に達したときに支給される。受給資格期間は、保険料納付済期間、保険料免除期間、合算対象期間を合計した期間である。保険料納付済期間には厚生年金保険の被保険者期間を含む。合算対象期間とは、老齢基礎年金の受給資格期間には算入するが年金額の計算の基礎にはしない、いわゆる「カラ期間」である。支給開始年齢については、60歳以上65歳前での繰上げ（減額）支給、65歳以後75歳までの間での繰下げ（増額）支給を選択することもできる（70歳以後の繰下げは2022年4月1日施行）。年金額（年額）は、一律に78万1700円（2020年度）であるが、保険料の滞納期間や免除期間があれば、その期間に応じて減額される。

［山崎泰彦　2020年11月13日］

老齢厚生年金

厚生年金の被保険者期間のある者で、老齢基礎年金の受給資格期間を満たした者に65歳から老齢基礎年金に上乗せして支給される。経過措置として65歳前に特別支給の老齢厚生年金（定額部分＋報酬比例部分）が設けられているが、2020年の時点で、すでに定額部分の経過措置は終了しており、報酬比例部分についても、男性は2025年度、女性は2030年度で終了する。老齢厚生年金は、退職して被保険者資格を喪失した場合には全額が支給されるが、在職している場合には報酬によって年金額の一部または全部が支給停止される。老齢厚生年金の年金額は、報酬比例部分＋加給年金額である。報酬比例部分の年金額は、「被保険者期間中の平均標準報酬額×乗率×被保険者期間の月数」である。平均標準報酬額は、被保険者期間中の報酬を現在の賃金水準に置き換えて算出する。加給年金額は、被保険者期間が20年以上または40歳（女性は35歳）以降15～19年ある受給権者に生計維持されている配偶者（65歳未満）や婚姻をしていない子（18歳到達年度の末日までの子、または1、2級障害の20歳未満の子）がいる場合に、定額で支給される。

［山崎泰彦　2020年11月13日］

現状

被用者世帯の標準年金は、夫が厚生年金に40年加入し老齢基礎年金と老齢厚生年金を受給、妻が国民年金に40年加入し老齢基礎年金のみを受給する場合、2020年度で月額約22万0724円である。また、2018年の時点で高齢者世帯の所得に占める公的年金の割合は63.6％、公的年金を受給している高齢者世帯のなかで公的年金が収入のすべてを占める世帯は48.4％、80～100％未満の世帯は12.5％となっている（厚生労働省「2019年国民生活基礎調査の概況」）。

［山崎泰彦　2020年11月13日］

『厚生労働統計協会編・刊『保険と年金の動向』各年版』▽『『年金のてびき』『目で見る年金』各年版（社会保険研究所）』

[参照項目] | 基礎年金 | 厚生年金保険 | 国民年金 | 年金保険制度

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

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