Membership Eligibility

Persons employed at and receiving salaries from educational institutions are eligible for membership and qualified to receive various benefits offered by the program.

However personnel who are; (1) not full-time employees (2) employed on a temporary basis, or (3) not meeting the required labor hours and labor days and also does not meet the requirements for part time work membership / are not eligible for membership.
The requirements of labor hours and labor days to become a regular member is that "both the number of labor hours per week and the number of labor days per month are equal to or over 3/4 of that of a normal worker (full-time employee)."

For those who are not eligible to become a “regular member”, meeting the following conditions1. to 5. will allow the person to become a “part time work member”.
Although “regular member” and “part time work member” have different requirements, there are no difference in the benefits.

• The membership eligibility for PMAC is mandatory; individuals cannot decide at will to join or to terminate their membership or choose to join only the Short-Term or the Pension Benefits program once his/her working hours meets the criteria.
• There are some schools (Type B) to which only the Short-Term Benefits program applies and others (Type C) to which only the Pension Benefits program applies. PMAC defines as table below. For more information about membership for persons at age 70 or older, refer to Pension Benefits for persons Age 70 and Older.

<Reference> Membership types are categorized as follows.

Note 1:
All institutions newly joining the system will be classified as Type A.
Note 2:
A person who is approved to be an insured person of “Medical System for Old Elderly” and exempted from the application of PMAC Short-Term Benefits.
Note 3:
A person age 70 or older not entitled to receive the Old-age Employees’ Pension Benefits and has postponed the application of the Employees’ Pension Insurance.
Note 4:
“Specified personnel” (Type B-3, C-3 and C-6) do not need to pay the premiums because neither the Short-Term nor Pension Benefits applies to them.
Note 5:
Only applies to Employees’ Pension benefits.

Membership Card/Membership Card for a Dependent

• When becoming a member, a “Membership Card” is issued. For persons between the ages of 70 to 74, an “Elderly Recipient Card” on which the self-pay ratio for medical expenses is indicated is also issued. (refer to Elderly Recipient Certificate)
• If a family member is approved to be a dependent, a “Membership Card for a Dependent” is issued. For those between the ages of 70 to 74 an “Elderly Recipient Card” is also issued.(refer to Dependent)
• A member or their dependent must present a Membership Card/Membership Card for a Dependent at medical institutions when receiving medical services covered by health insurance. The card is equivalent to an “insurance card” of a health insurance plan.

Membership Eligibility Certificate

• For Type C members who only receive the application of the Pension Benefits, a “Membership Eligibility Certificate” is issued.
  A member cannot receive health insurance treatment at medical facilities with a Membership Eligibility Certificate.

Handling Membership Cards with Care

• The information printed on the “Membership Card” or “Membership Card for a Dependent” must be confirmed upon receipt. If the name, birthdate, sex, eligibility start date or dependent approval date printed on the card is incorrect, procedures to correct the information must be taken immediately.
• The address field on the Membership Card must be filled in by the member. The address on their card must be updated upon moving. The member must also advise us of their new address via school. Voluntarily Continued Insurance Members must provide their new address to us directly.
• If a member loses or damages the Membership Cards or when the member’s name changes, refer to Types of Forms to Use must be taken through the schools.

Membership Card

Membership Card for a Dependent

Backside of Membership Card/Membership Card for a Dependent

Membership Card code and number

• Membership Card code and number (hereinafter referred to as “member number”) is necessary when requesting benefit payments or making inquiries about benefits from PMAC.
• The member number is printed on the “Membership Card” or “Membership Eligibility Certificate.”
• The member number is composed of the following 1-5 parts:
  1. Prefectural code: Indicates one of the 47 prefectures using a 2-digit number.
  2. School type: Indicates the school type using an alphabetic character.

1. Prefectural code list

prefecture	code	prefecture	code
Hokkaido	01	Shiga	25
Aomori	02	Kyoto	26
Iwate	03	Osaka	27
Miyagi	04	Hyogo	28
Akita	05	Nara	29
Yamagata	06	Wakayama	30
Fukushima	07	Tottori	31
Ibaraki	08	Shimane	32
Tochigi	09	Okayama	33
Gunma	10	Hiroshima	34
Saitama	11	Yamaguchi	35
Chiba	12	Tokushima	36
Tokyo	13	Kagawa	37
Kanagawa	14	Ehime	38
Niigata	15	Kochi	39
Toyama	16	Fukuoka	40
Ishikawa	17	Saga	41
Fukui	18	Nagasaki	42
Yamanashi	19	Kumamoto	43
Nagano	20	Oita	44
Gifu	21	Miyazaki	45
Shizuoka	22	Kagoshima	46
Aichi	23	Okinawa	47
Mie	24	-	-

2. School type code list

University	A
Junior College	B
High school and secondary education school	C
Junior high school	D
Elementary school	E
Pre-school	F
Special needs school	G
Miscellaneous school	H
PMAC	I
Technical College	J
Specialized training school	K

3. School number: 4 digits
4. Personal number: 5 digits
5. Branch number: 2 digits

Example of member number

Note:
The member number is printed on the Membership Card above card holder's name.

Reporting the Basic Pension Number

The Basic Pension number is a 10-digit number uniquely assigned to an individual by the Japan Pension Service and is unchanged for the individual’s entire lifetime even when the Employees’ Pension Insured Persons type changes due to a change in occupation. In principle, this number is assigned to persons aged 20 and older.

Persons who already have a Basic Pension number must notify PMAC of the number when he/she become a member.

Basic Pension number is printed on the pension book, Basic Pension number notice, and “Nenkin Teikibin (Pension Service Letters)” issued by the Japan Pension Service

Note:
The pension book will be abolished effective April 2022.

Reporting of “My Number” (Individual Number)

“My Number” is a 12-digit number used for purposes such as sharing information for medical insurers. The system is based on the “Act on the Use of Numbers to Identify a Specific Individual in Administrative Procedures.”
PMAC collects “My number” as the “Persons in Charge of Processes Using Individual Numbers” defined in the My Number System (The Social Security and Tax Number System.)
When acquiring a qualification or becoming a dependent, report your “My Number” through your school, etc.
When a dependent who had been living abroad at the time of acquiring the status of a dependent returns to Japan and receives “My Number” for the first time or when there is a change to “My Number,” you are required to report this using a “My Number Renewal Reporting Form.”
Be aware that the member is responsible for confirming the correct Individual Number of the dependent.