Flowers on Retirement Day, Divorce Papers at Home
A 62-year-old retired principal in Japan, pseudonym Mr. A, after his last day at work, first stopped by his usual izakaya for a drink. Drinking beer alone, thinking that his wife had handled household matters for years, he felt full of gratitude, and was planning to take his wife traveling after retirement. Unexpectedly, when he returned home holding a bouquet, his wife suddenly brought up divorce, and asked how much his retirement bonus was, saying she could also receive a considerable share. A divorce agreement lay quietly on the table, with his wife's name already filled in, sobering him up instantly.
NT$4 Million Retirement Bonus and Mortgage Dilemma
Mr. A's retirement bonus is about 20 million yen, about NT$4 million, with about 7 million yen, about NT$1.4 million, remaining on his mortgage. He had originally planned to pay it off in one lump sum once he received the money. After retirement, he could receive about 180,000 yen per month, about NT$36,000, plus his wife's portion, totaling about 250,000 yen, about NT$50,000 for the couple, and had originally hoped to live simply and work until age 65. However, once divorced, property accumulated during the marriage must be divided, and the retirement bonus may also have to be shared with his wife, creating uncertainty for the mortgage repayment plan. If the mortgage is not paid off, he will have to continue repaying it, and may even have to work beyond age 65.
Late-Life Divorces Rise, Pension Division Increase Limited
According to THE GOLD ONLINE, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare 2024 Vital Statistics show that 185,5904 couples divorced in 2024, with a divorce rate of 1.55 per thousand, and both the number of divorces and the divorce rate have continued to rise since 2023, with divorces among couples cohabiting for more than 5 years also increasing year-on-year across categories. Pension division at divorce does not split the husband's retirement pension in half; in principle, only the employees' pension contribution records during the marriage are divided. According to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data, women who adjusted their pensions in fiscal 2024 solely through No. 3 division saw an average increase of only 8,317 yen, about NT$1,660, a modest increase.
Expert: Talk Money and Future Visions Before Retirement
From April 2026, Japan's deadline for applying for pension division at divorce has been extended from 2 years to 5 years. However, experts remind couples to handle it as early as possible to avoid prolonged anxiety. Experts point out that talking money is really talking values — some want to travel, some want to stay home, and some want to spend time with grandchildren, with answers varying by person. Yet many couples only sit down to talk money when buying a house, when children advance in school, or at retirement. If Mr. A and his wife had talked earlier about how to use the retirement bonus, they might have discovered that their visions for the future were different. Experts also use a mountain-climbing analogy: saving money is like climbing up, retirement is going down, and besides watching the money at hand, couples must also pay attention to the life each wants — like the weather on the descent, once it turns bad, choices become limited. Japan's pension division at divorce is divided into consensual division and No. 3 division, where No. 3 division refers to dependent spouses such as full-time housewives, who can unilaterally apply after divorce to split Employees' Pension records for dependent periods since April 2008 in half, without the other party's consent.