This is a translation of the Japanese original. The Japanese version is authoritative; figures follow Japanese tax law.
The "letter confirming your intention on registering your pension account as a public benefit receipt account" (意向確認書) that the Japan Pension Service sends by simple registered mail is not a scam. It asks whether your pension payment account may also be registered as your "public benefit receipt account" (公金受取口座), used for benefits and tax refunds. If you do nothing, the account is registered; only people who return the "statement of non-consent" (不同意申出書) within 45 days of receipt are left out. The letters go to pension recipients aged 65 or over, in order of date of birth, from August 2026 to February 2027. Around October it is the turn of people born between July 1946 and February 1950[Japan Pension Service (in Japanese)].
Registration does not change where your pension is paid. The government does not see your balance or transactions either. Only people who do not want to register, or who want to use a different account, need to act. Start by checking the return deadline (a guide date) printed on the letter.
The short answer: no reply means registration, a reply means none
| What you do | Result | Notice |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing (consent) | Your pension account is registered as your public benefit receipt account | A postcard from the Digital Agency, or a Mynaportal message, 3 to 4 months after receipt |
| Return the non-consent form within 45 days | Not registered | None |
| Could not collect the registered letter | Not registered | None |
| Already registered an account | No letter is sent (current registration stays) | None |
Source: Japan Pension Service Q&A on the letter and the non-consent form, Q13 and Q16[Japan Pension Service Q&A (in Japanese)].
Treating silence as consent is written into Article 5-2 of the Public Benefit Receipt Account Registration Act (公金受取口座登録法). The letter goes by registered mail, and no answer within a period of at least 30 days from delivery counts as consent[Act, Article 5-2 (in Japanese)]. This time the period is 45 days, longer than the legal minimum.
When it arrives: your date of birth sets the month
Letters go out youngest first. Match your own or your parent's date of birth to the table below.
| Date of birth (Japanese era) | Western calendar | Planned sending |
|---|---|---|
| Showa 36 Apr to Showa 30 Oct | Apr 1961 to Oct 1955 | Around Aug 2026 |
| Showa 30 Sep to Showa 25 Mar | Sep 1955 to Mar 1950 | Around Sep 2026 |
| Showa 25 Feb to Showa 21 Jul | Feb 1950 to Jul 1946 | Around Oct 2026 |
| Showa 21 Jun to Showa 16 Mar | Jun 1946 to Mar 1941 | Around Nov 2026 |
| Showa 16 Feb to Showa 13 Feb | Feb 1941 to Feb 1938 | Around Dec 2026 |
| Showa 13 Jan to Showa 6 Apr | Jan 1938 to Apr 1931 | Around Jan 2027 |
| Showa 6 Mar or earlier | Mar 1931 or earlier | Around Feb 2027 |
Source: sending schedule on the Japan Pension Service special page[Japan Pension Service (in Japanese)]. The youngest group runs to people born on or before 16 April 1961. Timing is planned and may shift.
People in the August and September groups have already reached, or are close to, the 45-day limit. If you missed it and did not want to register, the cancellation steps below put things back.
The letter goes to pension recipients aged 65 or over on 15 April 2026 who have not yet registered a public benefit receipt account. It does not go to:
- People who have already registered an account
- People who were not paid a pension in April 2026 (full suspension or failed transfer)
- People living abroad, and people who receive only mutual aid association pensions
- People who asked for registration in a pension claim filed from June 2025
- People whose bank is not eligible, and victims of domestic violence or abuse who have notified the Service
Source: Japan Pension Service special page; Digital Agency FAQ Q5[Digital Agency FAQ (in Japanese)].
Even with several pensions, such as an old-age and a survivors' pension, only one letter arrives. If the planned month passes without a letter, you are not covered and nothing is registered.
What registration does, and what it does not
The only change is less paperwork when you receive benefits. Nothing happens to your pension or the money in your account.
What happens
- Your account details, name, address, date of birth and My Number pass from the Service to the Digital Agency
- Benefit claims no longer need you to write an account number or attach a copy of your passbook
- The account can be used for more than 160 kinds of payment, including national benefits and income tax refunds
- A postcard with the result arrives 3 to 4 months after receipt
What does not happen
- Your pension payment account does not change
- Your balance and pension amount are not passed to the government
- The government does not withdraw money from your account
- It is not a system for collecting tax
Source: Digital Agency, "Receive benefits in your pension account"[Digital Agency (in Japanese)]; same FAQ Q21.
The biggest difference will come with new benefits. Under the plan for the worker burden relief payment (就業者負担軽減支援金), due to start in April 2027, municipalities will recognise registered account holders on their own authority and pay without a claim. Others will have to apply. If you work while drawing a pension, check the conditions in how to receive the worker burden relief payment.
One account per person is allowed, and it must be in your own name. A family member's account cannot be registered[Digital Agency, account registration (in Japanese)].
The 45 days count from the day you received it; the date is printed on the form
The deadline runs from the day you received the registered letter, not the sending date. A guide return date is printed at the bottom of the non-consent form, so check it first.
- Her group is "Showa 25 Feb to Showa 21 Jul", sent around October 2026
- Day 45 counting from 10 October is 23 November. To opt out, post the form so that it arrives by then
- If she does nothing, the result postcard arrives 3 to 4 months later, around January to February 2027
The Service's Q&A says the printed date is a guide and a late form may still be accepted as non-consent. The Digital Agency FAQ, however, says a form returned after the period is treated as consent. If you are past the date, keep the reference number at the top right of the letter to hand and ask the dedicated free dial.
- About the letter or the form: dedicated free dial 0120-74-0011 (or 050-3524-7372). Mon 8:30 to 19:00, Tue to Fri 8:30 to 17:15, second Saturday 9:30 to 16:00
- About the account system: My Number general free dial 0120-95-0178 (option 6)
- Pension offices, pension consultation centres, the pension dial and municipal counters do not handle it
Source: Japan Pension Service Q&A Q7 and Q18; contact section of the special page.
How to opt out: post the form, no stamp needed
You simply drop it in a postbox. There are four steps.
- Check the account shown on the letter. It is the account your pension was paid into on 15 April 2026 (the number is masked).
- Tear off the non-consent form at the bottom along the perforation.
- Apply the enclosed privacy seal and write your address and name in the sender box on the back.
- Post it. No stamp is needed. You can check arrival by giving the reference number to the free dial.
Source: Japan Pension Service Q&A Q3, Q8 and Q11; guidance leaflet[Japan Pension Service leaflet (in Japanese)].
You cannot refuse in advance or ask not to be sent the letter. Returning it within 45 days of arrival is the only way. A lost form is not reissued, but an informal written request may be possible, so call the free dial.
If you agree to registration, do not send anything. Sending the form by mistake will record you as not wanting registration.
To change or cancel later, use Mynaportal or your bank
The form can be returned only once, but the registration itself can be changed or deleted at any time. The pension office is not the place to do it.
| What you want | How |
|---|---|
| Registered after missing the deadline; want to cancel | After the postcard arrives, delete it on Mynaportal or at a bank counter |
| Register an account other than the pension account | Return the form, then register the other account on Mynaportal or at the bank |
| Returned the form but now want to register | Register yourself on Mynaportal or at the bank |
| Want registration quickly | Register on Mynaportal or at the bank without waiting 45 days (your own application takes priority) |
| Want to check whether you are registered | Check on Mynaportal (the only place showing the latest details) |
Source: Digital Agency FAQ Q14, Q17 and Q19[Digital Agency (in Japanese)]; procedures FAQ Q1[Digital Agency (in Japanese)].
Mynaportal requires a My Number Card. At a bank counter the card is not essential; documents showing your My Number, name, address and date of birth will do. Some banks do not accept the procedure. An expired card certificate locks you out of Mynaportal, so it is worth checking your My Number Card renewal as well.
Who should think twice: a planned account change, a family member replying, a parent in a care home
Most people lose nothing by leaving it, but these three cases are worth a pause.
You plan to change your pension account
The account registered is the one used on 15 April 2026. Changing your pension account later does not change the registered account. Changing the registered account does not change where your pension goes either. To move your pension you need a separate "change of receiving institution" form (受取機関変更届)[Japan Pension Service (in Japanese)]. If a closed account stays registered, benefit payments bounce.
A family member returns the form
If the recipient finds it hard to reply, a family member or guardian may write or reply on their behalf after confirming their wishes. The sender box should, as a rule, carry the recipient's own name. The point is to ask the parent first, not to decide for them.
A parent in a care home or away for a long time
The letter goes to the address registered with the Service and must be received in person. If it cannot be collected, nothing is registered. To register, use Mynaportal or a bank separately. If the registered address is the care home, ask staff to let you know when a registered letter arrives so the deadline is not missed.
If you cannot decide, ask which is easier: writing an account number on every benefit claim, or registering one account in advance. Registration does not expose your balance, and it can be deleted later.
Telling the real letter from scams and other pension mail
The real one is simple registered mail from the Japan Pension Service. It never comes by phone or email. Look for these signs.
The genuine letter
- A brown envelope marked "Important notice about your public benefit receipt account"
- Simple registered mail handed over in person; a missed-delivery slip names the Japan Pension Service
- The account number is masked and there is nothing to fill in
- Opting out means posting a stamp-free form
Contacts that suggest a scam
- Asking for your account number by phone, text message or email
- Asking for your PIN or account balance
- Asking for a fee or other money
- Asking you to enter account details through a link in an email (Digital Agency notices contain no links or attachments)
Source: Japan Pension Service special page; Digital Agency FAQ Q22; procedures FAQ Q6. The Service, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Digital Agency never ask for account numbers or fees by phone, text message or email.
The only individual mail from the Digital Agency is the result postcard and Mynaportal notices. The postcard is marked in red "Notice about registration of your public benefit receipt account". If you get a suspicious contact, do not respond, and call the police consultation line (#9110).
It is easy to confuse with the pension dependants declaration that arrives from September. That form is one you "submit" if you qualify for deductions; this letter is one you "return" only if you do not want registration. It is also separate from the claim postcard for the pension recipients' support benefit, sent from around September.
What to do today
- Match your own and your parents' dates of birth to the table and note the month. Ask your parents to tell you when a brown registered envelope arrives.
- If it has arrived, note the guide deadline at the bottom of the form and the reference number at the top right.
- Only if you do not want registration, or want a different account, post the form by the deadline.
Summary
- The intent confirmation notice sent by registered mail from the Japan Pension Service is not a scam — it asks whether you agree to register your pension payout account as your Public Funds Receipt Account.
- If you do nothing, the registration proceeds. Only those who return a non-consent form within 45 days of receiving the notice avoid registration.
- Notices are sent to pension recipients aged 65 and over, in order of birth date, from August 2026 to February 2027. Around October, this covers those born between July 1946 and February 1950.
- Even after registration, your pension payout destination does not change, and the government cannot view your account balance or transactions.
- Even after registration, you can change or cancel it through the Mynaportal site or your financial institution.
References (sources)
- Japan Pension Service, "Sending the letter on registering pension accounts as public benefit receipt accounts" (in Japanese) - eligibility, schedule, 45 days, contacts
- Japan Pension Service, notice of sending (in Japanese)
- Japan Pension Service, Q&A on the letter and the non-consent form (in Japanese)
- Japan Pension Service, sample letter and enclosures (in Japanese)
- Digital Agency, receiving benefits in your pension account (in Japanese)
- Digital Agency, FAQ on the special registration via administrative bodies (in Japanese)
- Digital Agency, public benefit receipt account registration (in Japanese) - four ways to register, change or delete
- e-Gov, Act on Registration of Savings Accounts for Public Benefits (in Japanese) - Articles 5-2 and 5-3
- Japan Pension Service, changing your receiving institution or address (in Japanese)
This article is general information. For your own situation, check with the dedicated free dial for the letter or the My Number general free dial.
