After you leave your employer

After leaving your employer, you will lose your eligibility for membership in the Health Insurance Association and must join the appropriate medical care insurance program based on your individual circumstances.

Description

Procedures

Point

You can remain a member of the Health Insurance Association if you meet certain conditions.
In some cases, you may continue to receive benefits even after losing your eligibility as an insured person.

You must return any valid certificates issued by the Health Insurance Association (e.g., Health Insurance Eligibility Certificate) 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 your My Number Card as your Health Insurance Certificate, you do not need to register once again upon changing jobs or retirement. However, you must still notify the insurer (health insurance association, mutual aid association, etc.; notify your municipality if you join National Health Insurance).

* Check with your current insurer if the latest eligibility information is not shown when your My Number Card registered as your Health Insurance Certificate is scanned.

Medical care insurance available after leaving your employer

After leaving your employer

Employed elsewhere

1　Become an insured person under the medical care insurance system of which your new employer is a member.

Not be employed elsewhere

2　Become a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person under the Health Insurance Society.

3　Join the National Health Insurance system.

4　Become a dependent of your spouse or child.

All persons aged 75 or older must join the Medical Care System fir the Advanced Elderly.

Remaining a member of the Association

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.
See here for details of the system for Voluntary and Continuously Insured Persons.

*Japanese version only

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

Conditions for payment:

You must have been receiving, or satisfied the requirements to receive, Injury and Sickness Allowance at the time you left employment and remain unable to work due to treatment of the sickness or injury

Payment period:

For a total of 18 months counted from the payment start date of Injury and Sickness Allowance through the payment period

* While you are not eligible to receive Injury and Sickness Allowance if you are receiving Old-Age Employees' Pension or similar benefits, you will be paid the difference if the amount of Old-Age Employees' Pension or similar benefits is less than the amount of the Injury and Sickness Allowance.
* Payment of the Injury and Sickness Allowance will end if you become able to work after you leave your employer. In that case, aggregation of the payment period will not resume regardless of whether or not you have recovered and even if you again become unable to work due to the same injury or illness.

Reference link

If you take time off from work due to sickness

Maternity Allowance

Conditions for payment:

You must have been receiving, or satisfied the requirements to receive, Maternity Allowance at the time you left employment

Payment period:

Until the end of the period for receipt of Maternity Allowance

Reference link

If you take time off from work for childbirth

Childbirth and Childcare Lump-Sum Grant

Conditions for payment:

The childbirth must have taken place within six months after loss of eligibility

Reference link

Childbirth

Funeral Expenses/Funeral Costs

Conditions for payment:

Within three months after loss of eligibility (there is no requirement to have been an insured person for a period of one year or longer)
While receiving Injury and Sickness Allowance or Maternity Allowance
In the event of death taking place within three months after receipt of these benefits ended

Reference link

Death