Revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law Fact-Finding Survey ~from en Japan Inc.

 

◆"Revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law": 90% awareness of the contents applicable from April 2022 and 73% awareness of the contents applicable from October 2022.

Have you heard about the "Revised Child Care and Family Care Leave Law," which will go into effect in stages starting in April 2022? When asked, 79% of the respondents answered that they were familiar with the concept (16% were familiar with it well and 63% were familiar with only an overview). By employee size, 77% of companies with fewer than 300 employees (14% and 63%, respectively) and 84% of companies with 300 or more employees (22% and 62%, respectively) were aware of the system, indicating that awareness is higher among large companies.

With regard to the specific details that will be implemented in stages as a result of this legal revision, 73% of respondents (14% were familiar with the law and 59% were only aware of the outline) were aware of the "creation of an environment conducive to taking childcare leave, individual notification, and mandatory measures to confirm intentions," which will be imposed on all companies from April 2022, and the "relaxation of conditions for taking childcare leave for workers with fixed-term employment. Awareness of the "creation of postnatal paternity leave (childcare leave at birth)" and "the possibility of taking childcare leave in installments" from October 2022 was also 73% (same: 19% and 54%, respectively).

However, according to a survey of 1,000 male employees by LegalForce,Inc. the following responses were obtained.

*80.4% of respondents were unaware of the revision of the Child Care and Family Care Leave Law starting in April 2022.

*79.0% of respondents did not know how to apply for childcare leave.

*32.3% of the respondents answered that it would be easier to take childcare leave if they could "secure replacement personnel" and "hold explanatory meetings for all employees".

◆35% responded that they have a record of male employees taking childcare leave. 59% of companies with 300 or more employees have a record of male employees taking childcare leave.

Thirty-five percent of male respondents answered that they have taken childcare leave when they were asked about the use of childcare leave by gender. By company size, 26% of companies with fewer than 300 employees had taken childcare leave, while 59% of companies with 300 or more employees had taken childcare leave, indicating that more than half of the large companies had taken male childcare leave. Overall, 79% of women took childcare leave, and 73% of small and medium-sized companies with fewer than 300 employees answered that they had taken childcare leave. We found that there is a difference of more than 40 percentage points in the number of men and women who have taken childcare leave.

How Will Defined Contribution Pension Plans Change in 2022?

Defined contribution pension plans have been revised so that they can provide a better economic foundation for the long-term elderly and so that more companies and individuals, including small and medium-sized companies, can take advantage of the plans.

The revisions that will take effect in FY2022 are as follows.

◆The upper age limit for the start of receiving benefits has been extended to 75

From April 2022, you will be able to choose when you would like to start receiving old-age benefits for your company-type DC and iDeCo (individual-type Defined Contribution pension plan) between the ages of 60 (after losing your eligibility) and 75. You can choose when to start receiving the old-age benefit.

◆Expanding the Age for Enrollment in Corporate-type DC

Currently, people under the age of 65 are eligible to join the corporate DC, but from May 2022, the age will be expanded to include people under the age of 70. However, the age at which you can join differs depending on the company.

◆Expanding the Age for Joining iDeCo

Currently, people insured under the public pension system who are under 60 years old are eligible to join iDeCo, but this will be expanded to under 65 years old from May 2022.

◆Enforcement in October - Making it easier for corporate DC participants to join iDeCo

For those who are currently enrolled in a company-type DC to join iDeCo, an agreement between labor and management of each company is required, but in principle they will be able to join from October 2022.

However, the employer's contribution to the corporate DC, the contribution to the iDeCo, and the total amount of these contributions must each be as follows. In addition, you cannot join an iDeCo if you are making matching contributions to the corporate DC.

If you are a member of a company-type DC and want to join an iDeCo

1) Employer's premiums for corporate DC : JPY 55,000 or less

2) iDeCo premiums : JPY 20,000 or less

1) + 2) : within JPY 55,000

If you are a member of a corporate DC or a defined benefit plan (DB, employee pension fund, etc.) and want to join an iDeCo

1) Employer's premium for corporate DC : within JPY 27,500

2) iDeCo premiums : JPY 12,000 or less

1) + 2) : within JPY 27,500