Unemployment Insurance Rules You Want to Know Before Quitting! How to Create a 360,000 Yen War Chest with the Re-employment Allowance

I will organize what I didn't fully understand at the briefing session based on my own experience.
In my previous articles, I have written about:
・The fact that unemployment insurance is not additional income
・The pitfalls of health insurance you should check while still employed
As a continuation of that, this time I have summarized:
“Unemployment insurance rules and re-employment allowances I wish I had known before quitting.”
Although there are briefing sessions for unemployment insurance, honestly, they move at quite a fast pace. Even if you think, “I’ll look back at the materials later,” I think many people end up going through the procedures without really understanding them. So, I will share the points that you should at least keep in mind.

Introduction: Key Points

First, regarding the key points of this article, there are three.

⚠️Apply for unemployment insurance as soon as possible!
⚠️ If you quit for personal reasons, be prepared for “zero income” for the first two months!
⚠️ Consider the re-employment allowance too!

I will explain the details of each point according to the unemployment insurance rules👇

① How is the benefit amount determined?

The unemployment insurance benefit amount is determined by the following formula:
【Daily Basic Allowance Amount × Number of Prescribed Benefit Days】
These two vary significantly depending on the person.

● Daily Basic Allowance Amount

Determined by the following factors:
・Wages paid in the 6 months immediately preceding resignation・Age

● Number of Prescribed Benefit Days

Determined by the following factors:
・Reason for resignation (personal reasons/company reasons, etc.)・Period of enrollment in employment insurance

You can easily check the estimated benefit amount by using the
【Unemployment Benefit Simulator】 available on the web. As I mentioned in another article, I think it is good to check it in advance to visualize the money coming in and going out during the unemployment insurance period.

⚠️Apply as soon as possible!
The period during which you can receive unemployment insurance is, in principle, “one year from the day after your resignation date” (there are exceptions for extending the benefit period due to illness or childbirth). Once this year passes, even if you have benefit days remaining, you will not receive a single yen. It is recommended to apply for unemployment insurance as early as possible.

② When will I receive it?

This is important. The timing when benefits begin also differs depending on the person.
The basic flow is as follows:

After submitting your resignation certificate to Hello Work,
・Waiting period: 7 days
・Benefit restriction period: 1 to 3 months
・From the end of the benefit restriction period to the first payment: several weeks

During this “waiting period + benefit restriction period,” in principle, not a single yen of allowance will be received.
If you are not joining someone's dependent coverage, this will be a period where you continue to pay social insurance premiums without any income, so it is a point you should be mentally prepared for in advance.

In my case:
・Waiting period: 7 days
・Benefit restriction period: 1 month
・From the end of the benefit restriction period to the first benefit: about 25 days
→ I was able to receive the allowance for the first time about 2 months after going to Hello Work.

⚠️ If you quit for personal reasons, please be prepared for “zero income” for the first two months!

③ Conditions for receiving benefits

Unemployment insurance is a “system to support your life while unemployed and help you find re-employment as soon as possible.” Therefore, the following are conditions:
・Being “unemployed”・
Engaging in “job-seeking activities” is a necessary condition.

Every 28 days, you go to Hello Work and submit an “Unemployment Certification Declaration Form.”
Here, you declare:
・That you are not employed or working
・The status of your job-seeking activities
Actually, I

published a note article with Amazon affiliate links. I was worried about whether this activity would count as “employment,” so I inquired at Hello Work.The result was,
perhaps because I had no sales (sadly), the answer was “no problem at all.” However, this judgment may change depending on the local government. There is also a risk of fraudulent receipt if there is a falsehood on the declaration form, so it is safe to always check with Hello Work in advance!

4. Other systems you should know about besides unemployment insurance

This is one of the things I regret.
That is, not using the system called Re-employment Allowance.

The Re-employment Allowance is a system where, if you meet certain conditions and find a new job early, you receive a lump sum of 60-70% of your remaining benefit amount.

Does it apply to freelancers (starting a business)?

If it is recognized that you are "certain to continue working (your business) for more than one year," there are cases where it applies to starting a freelance business.

Here is a calculation if I had started my business at the time of my second unemployment certification and submitted an application for the Re-employment Allowance.
・Benefit amount: 6,570 yen x 100 days x 70% = approx. 460,000 yen
・Social insurance: Pension (20,000) + Health insurance (80,000) = - approx. 100,000 yen
・Amount remaining in hand: approx. 360,000 yen
　*Calculated using the maximum daily benefit amount of 6,570 yen

In reality, I went to Hello Work from July to Decemberand the amount I had left in hand was about 340,000 to 420,000 yen.
On the other hand, if I had used the Re-employment Allowance system, 360,000 yen would have been guaranteed by August.Moreover, I could have used my time from September onwards to "work and earn money."
⚠️ I think the option of "early job change or early business startup" was the most rational one.

Conclusion: Proceeding without understanding the gray areas is the most dangerous thing

I researched various things, but honestly, the unemployment insurance system often differs from person to person, and there are many gray areas regarding irregular cases.
If you are wondering, "How does this apply to my case?", I think the best thing to do is to check with Hello Work in advance.

I hope this article serves as "one piece of decision-making material" for those who will be using unemployment insurance from now on!

[Related Articles]

If you found this article helpful, I would be encouraged if you could give it a like or follow me ☺️✨