November 9, 2021

In 2019, the number of elderly people whose assets were seized due to delinquency in payment of premiums for the public nursing-care (public long-term care) insurance program topped 20,000 for the first time, reaching an all-time high of 21,578. This was shown in the Health and Welfare Ministry survey results.

Those elderly who failed to pay long-term care premiums are mainly persons with no or little pension benefits. The major reason for this is that these people need to pay their premiums by using payment slips unlike pensioners with an annual pension income of more than 180,000 yen whose premiums are automatically deducted from their pension benefits.

The ministry data also indicated that 13,883 elderly people in arrears with the premium payments were subjected to a penalty that restricts the use of nursing-care services.

Under the Liberal Democratic-Komei coalition government, long-term care insurance premiums for the elderly aged 65 and above have continued to rise. On top of this, in August, the government downsized measures that enabled low-income nursing-home residents to pay less for residence and meal fees. This imposed further financial burdens on low-income seniors.