Private pensions and health insurance

[bobby12 0]

Does anyone pay for private health insurance or have a pension fund (I mean an optional ones, not the shakai hokken-type ones you are forced to take by law)?

 

My wife is wanting to sort this out but theres so much to choose from. I always thought this stuff was a big scam but it actually seems to be quite worthwhile doing if you are here long term. Especially with the 0.0001% interest you get on money in the bank, might as well make it work for you.

 

Theres one pension fund we are looking at where you pay 10,000yen a month. If you leave the fund before 12 years you get less back than you paid in. If you leave after exactly 12 years you get back what you paid. If you stay on after 12 years you start to make much more than you paid in. It seems like if I did that for the rest of my working life (I'm 29) I would get a really good return on retirement.

 

My wife already has one her family pays for her, but I have to take it over soon. They pay 6500yen a month. When you leave the fund you get back everything you paid (no more no less). BUT, its also health insurance so if she goes to hospital or stays overnight in there she gets a decent amount of money (we got about 7man for a 10 night stay a few months back). There is also decent life insurance on that scheme.

 

Both of the above I felt were quite good value.

 

Another one is a cheapie 2000yen health insurance deal from COOP. You never get your payments back, but if you go to hospital you get about 5000yen a night. For an injury or something you get 1000yen per visit (I think this explains why doctors always ask you to come back for treatment 10 times instead of just fixing you right away). Also your family get a minimal amount of cash if you die.

 

I'm sure there are other good deals/schemes out there. Any personal experiences and info would be warmly welcomed.

[indosnm 0]

I don't trust the pension funds here. They are pooled usually and if you work out how much you paid, you might get your money back but after inflation ( even a small amount) over the long term I wouldn't advise it.

 

Why don't you look at other options as far as pension goes ie. self funding it thru other investments. I know you'd get a better return for yor retirement than you would if you paid into that scheme.

[bobby12 0]

Hmm, not sure how I would go about doing that. Are you talking about offshore stuff or doing that within Japan?

 

Surprised no-one on here has anything to say about pensions or health insurance, perhaps start of the snow season is not the best time to ask

[Curt 1]

Don't know much bobby but I can't say I'm looking. I send money back home twice a year and put some in fixed interest bonds and some in slightly riskier

[Woollyman 0]

I would be looking back in your home country Bobby, some safe retirement fund that collects an easy 5 - 6%PA. Wouldn't trust much in Japan, with 1 in 5 of the Japanese being over 65 now, somethings gotta go when they and the upcomers all want a handout in the future....

I've been paying into a small fund at home and it's nice to see it growing and get all the info in English. IMO only! Good luck.

[indosnm 0]

If you don't know much Bobby, like Woollyman said above get into some managed funds that you can contribute to monthly. Spread them out over different asset classes eg. international shares, local shares, property etc etc. Read up an learn about doing it yourself, if you're not comfy with that seek professional advise.

I haven't seen any really good outfits here that I'd trust but you can always got for the big international companies (Ing etc) if you want to do it here, but then they might have to be in your wifes name.

[bobby12 0]

One problem is that if I put the funds overseas then I got to pay the exchange rate to convert from yen, so there goes a few % straight away. And then if, as seems likely, one day I bring that money back to Japan then I have to convert it back again - bang goes another few %. For this reason I'd prefer to do it within Japan, its just a case of finding out about it with my limited time and Japanese skills. In the UK I had a FTSE100 tracker (did me quite well, went up about 14% in the year I had it) - I guess this kind of savings account must surely exist in Japan so Ill look into that and cross my fingers for the economy.

[indosnm 0]

Good luck finding high interest earning accounts in Japan!

As I said, try the International Investment co's and see if they can hook something up for you. They employ english speaking staff

I think that trading on the TSE you need a permanent visa so you might have to do it in your wife's name..

 

Let us know how you go!

[oo 1]

I tried that search last year bobby12, and did not really find anything. It was all pathetic rates. I decided that for me in the long run it was better to send home and invest there - even if I end up here and want it back in Japan in the future (though that is unlikely).

 

If you do find something great out there, do let us know!

[bobby12 0]

I cant understand why there aren't decent interest rates here. I know inflation is almost zero, but surely fund managers can use the cash to invest in businesses/stock and provide a return. I guess they (banks) are happy with the current situation of just getting everyones cash without having to pay a penny for it. And then having the cheek to charge you to withdraw it again from an ATM.

 

I might just throw it all (away) into IPOs

[merryJim 1]

I always chuckle when I see my bank statement here that has something like 10 yen interest on the cash I have in my normal account - an account where there is usually anywhere between 200,000 and 800,000 yen at any one time. Pathetic.

[SirJibAlot 0]

If you look at the rate of return of the US stock market (NYSE) or other markets, you are much better investing overseas. Even if you take an exchange hit going out and coming in, you will probably do better in the long run. I have my cash overseas in MM accounts (get better interest than a checking account but is still liquid). I have a range of investments in the US that I manage via the web (etrade, Vanguard, etc.) Japan's interest and investment situation sucks. Probably the only thing worth investing in is realestate as it seems to be making a slow comeback.

 

-SJA

[joshnii 2]

I don't chuckle when I see that merryJim, it makes me want to draw out the money there and then and head to the post office to send home. Just ridiculous it is.

[KRUSTY 2]

If investing in Japan then possibly "uridashi" Bonds are possibly the best way to go. I dont know alot about them but they are basically bonds purchased in another countries currency the most popular being N.Z and Australian currency and they make interest as they would in that countries bank. eg if in N.Z $ about 7.5%. I dont know what kind of fees are charged and there will also be a loss/gain depending on the exchange rate but will still be better than any term deposit in a bank in Japan.

If your sending money home you might want to look at hifx.com They dont charge commision and the rate is usually at least 2% better than the banks rate.

If your from Aust, N.Z or possibly England you could be better off buying a car and sending it back and getting a family member/friend to sell it for you. Its not hard to send a vehicle back but you have to do your homework first and know what is going to sell for the best money and taxes/regulations etc.

But probably the best thing as others have suggested is to invest overseas and even if you play it safe and make about 6% per annum its better than making nothing in Japan.