AOW, pension and tax in Japan: the treaty that changes everything

Whoever knows the Dubai pages of this site knows what is at stake: outside treaty countries the AOW (the Dutch state pension) of a single person drops to the married person's rate of 50%, irreversibly. For Japan that does not apply — and that is no coincidence but a treaty from 2009. This article sets out what that treaty arranges, where you still have to choose yourself, and where the tax authorities of two countries touch each other.

The AOW goes with you in full

Japan is on the SVB's list of treaty countries. That means: the AOW you've built up is paid out in full in Japan, including the single person's rate of 70% — the fall to 50% under Article 9a of the AOW Act applies only to countries without a treaty. What does simply carry on: every year outside the Netherlands you build up 2% less AOW. That gap can be repaired with voluntary insurance: apply within a year of leaving, for a maximum of ten years, at 17.9% of your income with a minimum of € 569 and a maximum of € 5,693 a year (2026). Whoever can take part at the minimum contribution buys back accrual cheaply that way.

Japanese contributions aren't money thrown away — thanks to totalisation

In Japan you contribute compulsorily to the pension system: as an employee via the kōsei nenkin (a percentage of your salary, the employer pays half), otherwise the kokumin nenkin of ¥ 17,920 a month (2026). The treaty makes those contributions valuable: Dutch and Japanese insurance years are added together for the qualifying periods, and even a few Japanese years later yield a small, lifelong Japanese pension alongside your AOW. The Japan Pension Service confirms that the Dutch agreement belongs to the agreements with totalisation — unlike the British one, for example.

The lump-sum: money back straight away, but you wipe your periods

If you ever leave Japan again, the lump-sum withdrawal beckons: a refund of at most sixty months of contributions, to be applied for within two years of leaving. The downside is stated in so many words by the Japan Pension Service: the periods used lapse for good. The rule of thumb: whoever worked in Japan briefly and is almost certain not to return takes the refund; whoever stays longer or wants to let the treaty do its work leaves the periods in place — the refund never covers more than five years anyway, a lifelong pro-rata pension does.

The tax treaty: the clause that hangs on your transfers

The 2010 tax treaty allocates pensions and AOW to the country of residence — without the amount threshold that the German treaty has, but with a reservation of its own: if the income in Japan is "not adequately subject to tax", the Netherlands as the source country may levy tax. And that's exactly where it touches the Japanese side: whoever has lived in Japan for five years or less in total within the past ten years (and isn't Japanese) is a non-permanent resident there and pays Japanese tax only on foreign income that is remitted to Japan. Dutch pension that you leave in your Dutch account then stays outside the Japanese levy — and thereby inside the Dutch one. This interplay is too important to decide on a website: take it to a tax adviser who knows both countries. What you should remember from this site is only that it exists.

And the departure side: you apply for deferral here yourself

On your accrued pension and annuity the Netherlands imposes a protective assessment on emigration. Within the EU you get deferral automatically; for Japan you apply for it yourself and the Belastingdienst sets security as a condition — a bank guarantee, a mortgage right or a pledge. If you keep to the rules for ten years (no surrender), remission follows. And the mortgage interest deduction on a Dutch home you keep lapses: Japan falls outside the circle of countries for qualifying non-resident taxpayer status.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Japan.