年金ねんきん制度せいど改革かいかく法案ほうあん 衆議院しゅうぎいん本ほん会議かいぎで審議しんぎ入いり

The related bills for pension system reform began deliberation at the plenary session of the House of Representatives on the 20th.

Regarding the measure to raise the basic pension, which was not included in the bill, Prime Minister Ishiba indicated that he would consider a response based on the results of the fiscal review to be conducted in four years.

The pension system reform bill clearly states measures such as abolishing the so-called 1.06 million yen annual income barrier wage requirement to make it easier for part-time workers and others to join the Employees Pension Insurance, as well as gradually relaxing and ultimately eliminating within ten years the requirement that companies must have at least 51 employees.

However, the measure to use Employees Pension Insurance reserves to raise the basic pension, which was considered as one of the main pillars of the bill, was not included due to concerns within the Liberal Democratic Party that the benefit level of the Employees Pension Insurance would temporarily decrease.

The bill was deliberated in the plenary session of the House of Representatives on the 20th, where a Q&A session followed an explanation of its purpose.

In this, Nobuhiko Isaka of the Constitutional Democratic Party said, Amazingly, the most important measure—raising pensions for the working generation—was deleted from the long-awaited bill that was finally submitted.

The watered-down bill is absolutely unacceptable—nobody wants anpan without any filling.

Why did you delete it? I asked.

In response, Prime Minister Ishiba said, I believe that maintaining the benefit level is an important issue.

On the other hand, since this can also change depending on the economic situation, the government aims for a “growth-oriented economy driven by wage increases and investment,” and will strive to ensure that benefit levels can be maintained in the future.

On top of that, regarding measures to raise the basic pension, he stated, Based on the results of the next fiscal review to be conducted in 2029, we will appropriately consider and take necessary measures if required, indicating that they will consider their response based on the results of the fiscal review four years from now.