After you leave your employer

You must return any valid documents issued by the Health Insurance Society (e.g., health insurance card [until December 1, 2025], Certificate of Eligibility) within five days of your loss of eligibility as an insured person after leaving your employer. Thereafter, you must join the appropriate medical care insurance program based on your individual circumstances.

If you have registered to use a Myna health insurance card, you do not need to register once again upon changing jobs or retirement. However, you must still notify the insurer (health insurance society, mutual aid association, etc.; notify your municipality if you join National Health Insurance).

Medical care insurance available after leaving your employer

Remaining a member of the Society

While you will lose your eligibility as an insured person under the health insurance system the day after you leave your employer, a system is available whereby you can remain an insured person under the Health Insurance Association if you meet certain conditions. This is known as the system for Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Persons.

Who can become a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person

To become a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person, you must meet all of the following conditions:

• You must have lost your eligibility as an insured person under the health insurance system for specific reasons: for example, you left your employer.
• You must have been an insured person for at least two consecutive months prior to the date you lost your eligibility.
• You must apply to become a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person within 20 days after the date on which you lost your eligibility.

How long you can be a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person?

You can be a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person for up to two years.
* Since you must join the Medical Care System for the Advanced Elderly when you reach the age of 75, you will lose your eligibility as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person at that point, even if two years have yet to pass.

Insurance premiums you are required to pay

You must pay the full amount of the applicable insurance premiums yourself, including the amount paid by the insured person and the amount previously paid by your employer. The employer will not pay any portion of your premiums after you become a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person. Remember to pay the premiums by the 10th of each month.

You can pay insurance premiums monthly or in advance for a fixed period of time. Those paying in advance will receive statutory discounts on their premiums.
You can pay premiums in advance for one half-year (April through September or October through March) or one full year (April through March).
Contact the Health Insurance Society for more information.

Standard monthly remuneration

The standard remuneration used as the basis for calculating your insurance premiums will be either your standard monthly remuneration when you lost your eligibility or the average standard monthly remuneration of all insured persons in the Health Insurance Association at the end of September of the previous year, whichever is lower.

Procedure after submitting the application form

• After the application form is submitted, About Eligibility to Become an Insured Person with Voluntary and Continuous Coverage is sent, which provides insurance premium information.
  
• Please transfer the insurance premium amount indicated in About Eligibility to Become an Insured Person with Voluntary and Continuous Coverage by the payment deadline.
  • * We will not send a payment statement, so please use a bank ATM, etc. to transfer the payment.
  • * If you plan to find employment, please make the payments monthly.
• After resigning from a position, please return your Health Insurance Eligibility Certificate to the company where you worked within five days.
• Once your insurance qualifications are no longer registered with the company where you worked, a new insurance card will be sent to your home address as soon as the deposit is confirmed.
  • * If the first insurance premium is not paid by the payment deadline, you will not be able to obtain insurance because you did not legally make a request for voluntary and continuous coverage. (Article 37 of the law)
  • * If monthly payment of the insurance premium is selected, after the first insurance premium is paid, please transfer the second and all subsequent insurance-premium payments by the 10th of each month.

Details of insurance benefits

Although you will not receive Maternity Allowance or Injury and Sickness Allowance, you will receive all other statutory benefits and additional benefits in the same way as you did when you were with your employer.
* If you are eligible to receive benefits even after loss of eligibility, you will be paid Maternity Allowance or Injury and Sickness Allowance as well.

Loss of eligibility as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person

You will lose your eligibility as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person on the following day (the same day in cases 4 and 5) in any of the following cases:

• Two years have passed since the date you became an insured person.
• Upon your death
• You do not pay your insurance premiums by the date due.
• You begin employment and become an insured person under another health insurance or similar program.
• You join the Medical Care System for the Advanced Elderly as an insured person, etc.
• If you applied to have your status as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person cleared, the last day of the month including the date on which the application was received

Comprehensive medical examinations and using recreational facilities

Similarly to while the enrollee is employed, the enrollee, their dependent spouse, and other dependents of age 40 or older can have comprehensive medical examinations done.

Recreational facilities can similarly be used, although there are some restrictions on the date of use and available facilities.

If remaining a member of our society (special retired insured persons)

Persons eligible to become special retired insured persons

Such persons must satisfy the three requirements below.

• Persons meeting either item A or B below
  A.Persons who had 20 years or more of insured period with this association
  B.Persons who had 10 years or more of insured period with this association from age 40 or older
• Persons who are 74 years old or younger and are qualified to receive welfare pension insurance old-age pension (including totals)
  • ※Because men who were born on or after April 2, 1953, and women who were born on or after April 2, 1958, are generally eligible to receive their old-age welfare pension starting at the age of 61, it is not possible for them to obtain special retiree insurance after mandatory retirement. However, if the starting age for receiving the old-age welfare pension is moved up to age 60, special retiree insurance can be obtained starting at this age.
  Details are available here.
• Persons in Japan who have residence cards

• ※Because obtaining insurance is completely voluntary, carefully consider this before continuing with the procedure.

Insurance premium

The standard monthly remuneration of special retired insured persons is 360,000 yen, and this is multiplied by the insurance premium rate to calculate the insurance premium.
Therefore, the insurance premium is always the same regardless of the enrollee’s annual income.

Details of insurance benefits

Although you will not receive Maternity Allowance or Injury and Sickness Allowance, you will receive all other statutory benefits and additional benefits in the same way as you did when you were with your employer.
* If you are eligible to receive benefits even after loss of eligibility, you will be paid Maternity Allowance or Injury and Sickness Allowance as well.

Loss of eligibility as a special retired insured person

You will lose your eligibility as a special retired insured person on the following day (the same day in cases 4 and 5) in any of the following cases:

• Two years have passed since the date you became an insured person.
• Upon your death
• You do not pay your insurance premiums by the date due.
• You begin employment and become an insured person under another health insurance or similar program.
• You join the Medical Care System for the Advanced Elderly as an insured person, etc.
• If you applied to have your status as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person cleared, the last day of the month including the date on which the application was received

Comprehensive medical examinations and using recreational facilities

Similarly to while the enrollee is employed, the enrollee, their dependent spouse of age 30 or older, and other dependents of age 40 or older can receive comprehensive medical examinations

Recreational facilities can similarly be used, although there are some restrictions on the date of use and available facilities.

You can receive benefits even after leaving your employer.

In some cases, persons who have been insured persons continuously for at least one year prior to leaving employment may be eligible to receive Injury and Sickness Allowance, the Childbirth and Childcare Lump-Sum Grant, Maternity Allowance, and funeral expenses, even after losing their eligibility.

However, in such cases, additional benefits will not be paid.

Benefits paid after leaving employment (benefits paid to the insured person only, not to dependents)

Injury and Sickness Allowance

Reference link:

• If you take time off from work due to sickness

Maternity Allowance

Reference link:

• If you take time off from work for childbirth

Childbirth and Childcare Lump-Sum Grant

Reference link:

• Childbirth

Funeral Expenses/Funeral Costs

Reference link:

• Death