Pension Refunds 2008

Submitted by Asura on Wed, 2008/10/08 - 15:18.

Hi all, after coming back I filed my pension refund form; sent it away about 6 weeks ago. How long does the refund usually take? Will I receive any info on it before the refund? Or will the money just appear one day in my account?

Has anyone else who left this year received theirs yet?

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It takes a while

Submitted by yllwsmrf on Wed, 2008/10/08 - 16:01.

Pension refunds can take more than 6 months to process and be posted to your account. You will be sent a confirmation letter that tells you that the money has been deposited but you'll probably notice it before you receive the letter.

After receiving the refund, make a copy of the confirmation letter and take it with you to apply for your tax refund at any tax office in Japan. If you have left Japan then you will need to designate a tax representative to do this BEFORE leaving Japan (I'm not sure how you would proceed if you didn't do this). This person will apply for the tax refund on your behalf, collect the money, and (hopefully) forward it to you. The tax refund takes about 1-2 months to process.

More info can be found here:
http://www.gunmajet.net/node/614

Thanks. I did actually

Submitted by Asura on Wed, 2008/10/08 - 16:42.

Thanks. I did actually register with a tax rep before leaving Japan, so that ought to be ok - just for the initial payment of the pension refund, I know some people receive it within two months. I guess I was really just wanting to know if anyone had got theirs yet.

Pension Refund Further Question

Submitted by Asura on Sat, 2008/10/18 - 18:22.

Just need to check something - I was under the impression that I would receive my main tax refund, then have to get in touch with my tax rep (who I designated beofre leaving) to get the rest. Is this right? Or do they get the whole thing and have to wire it to me?