Man busted for receiving dead mother's pension

The Japanese pension system makes more sense the the US Social Security system. A full time home keeper isn't "working" and paying into the system so the benefits are related to the husbands pension. They can only get a 100% of his pension unlike the US where a husband and wife can get 150%. A financial adviser once advised that a wife start collection he husband SS at 62 but the husband shouldn't claim anything until 70 so the money would grow. Once the wife gets to be full pension age 67, she should claim hers instead. Japan prevents this kind of thing but it doesn't seem to know when people died. The wife died in 2003 and the husband died in 2011, then the son claimed the pension on behalf of his mother ( who he being such a good son, didn't know if she was dead or alive). The fact that he collected the money for 2 years seems to should that the Japanese pension system does not have an independent way of verifying if a pensioner is dead or alive. There must be much more abuse of this system if the son could collect so easily.

The poor guy is most likely broke, no job, or if he has one it could be in Japan's great part time working system brought in by Koizumi. A great system for employers to get labour on the cheap and not have to fork out any benefits or pay any company pension payments.

At 850 yen an hour, or less, who the hell can afford to pay in to the National pension scheme. People have enough trouble trying to pay normal living costs. The lucky ones are those who work for a company with a salary. The company will contribute to a pension scheme. There are now many cases of workers who have had a good job or were self employed and have now hit hard times through loss of income. They can no longer afford to make the payments and stand to lose all they paid in the past.

All those pension payments that have not accrued the required so many months payments will be taken by the government if they are unable to carry on the payments to the end. They lose the lot and get no pension. Straight out theft ! The government will tell you that your payments are not for yourself but for older people ahead of you. Go figure that out. Collecting pension money from an individual should be for their own eventual pay outs. I know for a fact that many people refuse to pay in to the government pension system because the know that they could lose all if the can not keep up payments due to hardship. I also know that many mothers are paying pension payments out of their own pensions for their grown up children who have lost their jobs. Does that sound right ?

Japan is heading down the gurgler.

JeffLee; No one, but that is not my point, if you put 50,000 in a month you should get back (with interest) what you have put in minus what they have already paid you.

If I pay say 20 million yen over my life into a bank, I would at least get some interest on that, if I had invested it in blue chip stocks or some investment plans I would get perhaps 5% return on that, but in Japan you pay 20 million to pension and should you die BEFORE you retire or just after, that money is gone, your parents don't get it, your children don't get it... it is purpose to be YOUR retirement money.

If foreigners leave Japan forever they can apply to receive their pension back and get the money, why is it any different for Japanese people?

They should just rename it to "paying for other old people's tax"

Japan's system is so out of date but because everyone 50 years ago has paid into it they can't change it. 10 years ago there was talk about changing to a 401K system but it has disappeared.

@Vic, not so sure though. Some fraudulent companies deduct pension premiums from workers without forwarding it to the concerned agency. So I just think it's more of the companies' fault rather than the govt.

gogogoMay. 11, 2013 - 06:31PM JST I dont get the system, you pay into it all your life but if you die your family gets none of it? ......................................................

Totally agree with you. The public are getting ripped off in Japan. In other countries, pension scheme is run out of the taxation system from everyone's income. However. here it is like putting your money in to a bank savings account and then have the bank keep it when you die. Person I know of started a private savings pension scheme and did not want to pay in to the national one. Last I heard, the authorities are going to take it from her.

Don't forget how the government in the past lost a huge amount of people's pension savings and even now there are people who have made payments and the government claims to have no records of their payments.

When the Jpensioner lives abroad, they're required to submit a paper to the Social Security Agency in Tokyo which is certified by the local embassy done yearly. This isn't true if the pensioner is in Japan hence so many fraudulent acts are committed. And besides we women contributor to the social security are at a disadvantaged. If we die leaving minor children, from my understanding, izoku nenkin is received. But if the children are beyond 18, all the contributions goes in the air. Which is entirely different if the husband goes before the wife. Not so sure if my understanding of the explanation in Japanese is what the staff says it is.

Let the guy go, he is unemployed. The big shot Government DoDos spend more than that amount on Sunday Night cocktails.

Chiba is becoming the new Saitama..

He only "found out" recently that his mother was dead?? Even though she died 10 years ago and presumably he was living in the family home being unemployed?? You've gotta love it

wow, some really provocative and intriguing news here...

At least he wasnt living with his mum's skeleton in the closet. That's gotta be a first!

@gogogo

How many people do you know who are receiving (legally) regular pension payments from their deceased parents? Would be nice, but it ain't gonna happen. Maybe you're thinking about life insurance?

@Serrano: No I am not, you pay your 50,000 yen a month into your pension fund and yet if you die it dies with you!

I understand this guy was defrauding the system but you should at least get back what you put in!

Oh well. At least he has a couple more years or so of free meals coming his way.

Man without 'GROWTH' in the future.

@cleo

Thanks for the explanation. So it could have been based on her husband's pension? Would be nice if the article mentioned this. Not all pensions are created equal.

Why would someone's pension be paid AFTER they died? And so what if the father is still alive? You hit 65, and then you qualify to receive your pension (assuming you're paid-up). Why does the existence of one's spouse matter?

It's the Widow's Pension. She reached pensionable age but (presumably because she was a full-time housewife and had no pension of her own and her husband wasn't a sarariman??) she was not eligible to receive a pension until he died.

you pay into it all your life but if you die your family gets none of it?

It's likely she didn't pay in anything.

@gogo

I think you need to either be a minor, or a spouse of the deceased to claim their pension. An adult child is not eligible.

gogogo - You're confusing pension payments with inheritance.

I dont get the system, you pay into it all your life but if you die your family gets none of it?

That has to go down in the book of 'weakest excuses' as one of the weakest. He didn't know his mother was dead, but he filled out the pension forms and took the money anyway? So, if his 'excuse' is true he was ripping his mother off. Either way he is a scumbag!

Why would someone's pension be paid AFTER they died?

It's called "izoku nenkin" I believe.

Kato’s mother died in 2003 at the age of 62, but no pension was paid because his father was still alive.

I don't understand the use of "but." Why would someone's pension be paid AFTER they died? And so what if the father is still alive? You hit 65, and then you qualify to receive your pension (assuming you're paid-up). Why does the existence of one's spouse matter?

Yeah right.....like people are going to believe you.

he only needs to make prosecutors believe :)

all this for 12,000 Yen bucks over two years? Is that lower than unemployment benefits or what would have been those in this case? He's been arrested but no indication of the sanction he's facing. It would be great to get some idea of the context of this case

“Although the family registration and pension departments are supposed to work together, in this case there was a failure in communication.”

Nothing new here, happened with BOTH my mother-in-law AND father-in-law. Fortunately we followed up and stopped the pension payments within the required timeframes.

Kato was quoted as saying that he only recently found out that his mother was dead and that he wasn’t trying to cheat anybody.

Yeah right.....like people are going to believe you.