National Pension payment slips and reminders

Last checked: 6 October 2026

These letters come from the Japan Pension Service. If you are 20 to 59 and not in your company’s pension (kosei nenkin), you pay National Pension yourself: ¥17,920 a month in fiscal 2026. If months go unpaid, reminder letters follow.

What to do now

If you can pay, use the slips before their dates. If you cannot afford it, apply for an exemption or a deferral. Do not just leave it.

What it is: Payment slips for National Pension (国民年金), or a reminder that some months are unpaid. Everyone aged 20 to 59 who lives in Japan must join, whatever their nationality, unless they are in kosei nenkin or are the dependent spouse of someone who is.
Who sends it: Japan Pension Service (日本年金機構).
When it arrives: A set of slips for the year arrives in early April. Reminders arrive when payments are missing.
Deadline: The end of the following month. For example, April is due by the end of May.

How to read it

Tap a number to see what it means. Yellow marks the amount and the deadline.

Reminder letters have titles such as 催告状 (reminder), 特別催告状 (special reminder), 最終催告状 (final reminder) and 督促状 (formal demand). People often talk about the envelope colour, but we could not find the colours in official sources, so go by the title.

Simplified drawing. The exact layout differs by city.

Step by step

Check which months are listed as unpaid (未納).
Decide: pay them, or apply for an exemption or deferral if your income is low.
To pay, use a convenience store, bank, payment app, direct debit or credit card. You cannot pay at the city office or the pension office counter.
To apply for an exemption, use Mynaportal online, send the form by post, or go to your city office or pension office.
If you are leaving Japan for good, you can claim a lump-sum withdrawal payment (脱退一時金) within 2 years after you leave. Up to 60 months count.

Ways to pay

Convenience storeUse the barcode on the slip.
Bank or post office
Smartphone payment appsScan the barcode on the slip.
Pay-easy (ペイジー)Through online banking, or from ねんきんネット.
Direct debit (口座振替)Apply in advance. Paying ahead for several months is cheaper.
Credit cardApply in advance.

You cannot pay at city offices or pension offices.

If you do not pay

The steps are: reminder (催告状), final reminder (最終催告状), formal demand (督促状), then seizure of property.
Seizure can also reach the head of your household or your spouse, because they are jointly responsible for the payment.
If you pay after the date in the formal demand, late fees are charged, counted from the day after the original deadline: 2.8% a year for the first 3 months, then 9.1% a year (2026 rates).
Unpaid public pension already counts against permanent residence applications, and the rules become stricter for applications made from April 2027.

If you cannot pay

If money is tight or your situation has changed, ask your office first.

Exemption (免除): full, three quarters, half or one quarter, depending on income.
Deferral (納付猶予) for people aged 20 to 49 with low income, and student deferral (学生納付特例) for students.
You can apply for periods going back up to 2 years and 1 month.
Months that were exempted or deferred can be paid later (追納) within 10 years.

Common questions

I am in my company’s pension. Why did I get this?

Check for a gap, for example between leaving one job and starting the next. Months when you were not in kosei nenkin fall under National Pension.

The envelope is yellow. Is it serious?

Read the title, not the colour. 催告状 is a reminder. 督促状 is a formal demand with a deadline, after which late fees and seizure can follow.

Can I get the money back when I leave Japan?

If you are not Japanese, paid for at least 6 months and no longer live in Japan, you can claim the lump-sum withdrawal payment within 2 years of leaving. Since April 2021, up to 60 months count.

Show this at the counter

Show this to the staff if you go to the office in person.

国民年金の手紙について相談したいです。日本語があまり分かりません。払うのが難しいので、免除か納付猶予を申請したいです。

In EnglishI would like to ask about a letter from National Pension. I do not understand much Japanese. It is difficult for me to pay, so I would like to apply for an exemption or a deferral.

Official sources