Pension bill will cut employees' benefit by 70,000 yen

Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Koike Akira on May 27 revealed that the amount of employees' pension benefits will be decreased from the current 233,000 to 160,000 yen if the pension "reform" bill is enacted.

At a House of Councilors Health and Labor Committee meeting, Koike referred to the monthly benefits for a "model household" (husband retiring after 40 years of service and housewife).

A senior health ministry official admitted that although the amount of the benefits in 2004 is 59.3 percent of the average disposable income of current workers, it will be decreased to 40.2 percent in 2031.

The amount of the National Pension benefits in 2031 will be cut to 45,000 yen from the current 66,000 yen, said the ministry official.

Koike criticized the pension bill stating that it will "threaten the right to live guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution." (end)