What do you think about Japan's pension system?

II plan to "retire" as soon as legally possible, in order to take full advantage after making so many payments

It's unsustainable.

I think it is great except for divorced people. The law now says the X-dependent will get 50% of the pension for all the years they were married. So, if the money maker gets married again, and divorced again...ouch. It is mostly men that pay in by the way.

Ripe for the picking

Will there be anything left once I get to retiring age in 40 years or so?

Is Japan's pension system a supplement to separate retirement plans that private companies offer the employees? From what I've read online, the average monthly benefit payment amount is extremely low. It seems like a separate company pension or a well-funded 401K-type income source would be needed to live comfortably in retirement.

As a Kiwi it sucks as there is no reciprocal agreement & can only get back a few years of Pension if I decide to leave Japan or are stuck here for 25 years if I want to receive anything. i don't think it is fair that I should pay this money especially when I receive a large Bonus as it may never come back to me which makes me feel like the Pension is no different than getting rolled in Roppongi!

I hope it is still in tact when I retire in about 25 years. Or should I save all my money for old age and not contribute to boosting the economy?

The govt is currently changing policy on how much is paid( and yes its always been LOW!) because the system is in huge trouble NOW. Anyone who has been here a while has seen how the govt has lost MILLIONS, many many millions of peoples records

Here is a blurb from 2013 stating about 22million records are problematic

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/05/29/national/recovering-lost-pension-records-faces-difficult-road/#.WD_4f7n_pwE

I seem to recall reading the number peaked at around 50million............

Bottom line is its in dire straights, now!

If you have paid off your house by the time you retire, even a small pension will go much further. Part-time work for retirees is pretty easy to come by in Japan. Ultimately, I look upon it as "forced savings"; better than retiring with diddly-squat.

WHAT pension system??

The monthly rate sucks if you're on kokumin alone (a category I person). It's a bit more manageable if your employer is matching your contribution.

People in their thirties and forties won't be getting one or very little as Japan will be bankrupt-simple maths......

As long as the missus and I get ours, I' ll think it's fantastic. Retiring asap. T-minus five.

The pension system was supposed to be progressive when it was created, decades and decades ago. But it was based on the assumption that the tax-paying population would keep growing at the same rate. It has not been seriously overhauled in years and is now in critical condition. In its current form it is, as Moonraker said, unsustainable. My husband and I (age 32 and 28 years) are not counting on it at all and expect to keep working fully somehow until we die.

Japan's pension system is sound, because the Japanese govt is able to print as much yen as it wants, until inflation becomes a risk....which it won't be for a very, very long time. Deflation works in favor for fixed-income folks.

State pensions are a good idea, because a private pension schemes are structured so the financial industry pockets a huge portion of your contributions and returns as "commission." The commissions are compounded but the returns are not, according to most of the major products. A raw deal for consumers.

It's a good system if the government can keep the plates spinning.

I'm pretty sure the "start at 65" idea was thought up when people lived to 75 or so on average. Now that they live much longer, and we've had a low birthrate for forty years, the system is not looking sustainable. Allowing the dankai sedai to retire with no trust fund in place was very irresponsible.

It does not add up - once the baby boomers retire it is going to be unsustainable.