This section explains the health and welfare insurance programs eligible for members of Kyushu University staff to join.

○Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Mutual Society of Health Insurance

The following members of staff are eligible for Mutual Society membership (mutual insurance/national pension scheme).Premiums are withheld from salary, and payments are available within Mutual Society guidelines.

• Scope of cover:
• Staff members (faculty members, administrative staff, technical staff, etc.), re-employed staff, designated fixed-term administrative (technical) staff, specific project faculty, specific project support staff, workplace- specific staff

○Health insurance (Japan Health Insurance Association) and employees' pension insurance (Japan Pension Service)

The following employees at the University are required to enroll in health insurance and employees’ pension insurance. Insurance premiums are withheld from salaries, and members can receive payments of various types under the terms of the Association’s insurance scheme.

• Scope of coverage:
• (1) Fixed-term contract employees
• (2) Part-time employees, SRA, re-employed staff, designated fixed-term administrative (technical) staff (on shorter working hours), workplace specified staff (on shorter working hours) who work at the University most of the time (whose (1) working hours and (2) days at work are equal to or more than 3/4 of that of a general staff member).
  Staff members who fulfill the following conditions will be insured.
  • (1) Work for thirty hours or more per week
  • (2) Work for 15 days or more per month
  • (3) Are employed for two months or longer
    If none of the above are applicable, those who fulfill all of the following conditions (4)-(6) will be classed as part-time workers and will therefore be insured.(However, this does not apply to students)
  • (4) Work for at least 20 but less than 30 hours per week
  • (5) Are expected to be employed for at least one year
  • (6) Receive a salary of at least 88,000 yen per month

○Other

Staff who are not covered by one of the programs outlined above should either enter a scheme to which one of their family members is party as a dependent, or should enter the state health insurance and pensions scheme.

Once staff members reach the age of 70, they are no longer insured under the pension schemes. After the age of 75, they are subject to the medical care system for the elderly.

○Non-working dependents

The spouse, children, parents, or any person in principle living off the income of the insured person, up to the age of 75, can be classed as a “non-working dependent.” Depending on the family member’s income, they may not be accepted as a non-working dependent, regardless of their age or the fact that they live with the insured, however. (If any payment is made under the assumption of the person being a non-working dependent when in fact he/she is not, a repayment demand will be issued at a later date.)

Approval as a non-working dependent, or withdrawal of that approval, is based on notification by the insured person.

Please contact the person responsible for mutual insurance in your department for further details.

○Health insurance (medical insurance) payments

In addition to payment for treatment when an insured person is ill or injured, the insurance system pays for high-value treatment costs, meal costs, labor and delivery costs, funeral costs, transportation costs, etc., as well as benefits for injury, birth and other costs associated with being off work.

The Mutual Association makes additional payments to subsidize the legal minimum payments.

Payments other than those for medical treatment (the remainder of the costs of treatment, part of which is paid for by the patient directly to the medical institution) are, in principle, made only on the request of the insured party.

○Long-term payment projects

Japan’s pension system (public pension system) includes a state pension, to which all people are entitled, and an employees pension system (using mutual pension/private pension funds).The state pension basic payment is topped up by additional payments from an employee pension system, in accordance with the insured’s former salary.

Since January 2010, the Japan Pension Service has been responsible for operating all public pension schemes.

In addition, members of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Mutual Society are also members of the Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations. The procedures for this are handled by the Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations and University staff responsible for pensions.