Better Place Surpasses 400 Partnerships with Tax Accountants, a 1.4x Increase in Half a Year. Accelerating Tax Accountants' Proposals for 'Talent Retention Support' Amid Severe Labor Shortages.

Better Place Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Shinji Morimoto; https://bpcom.jp/), which supports the introduction and design of corporate pension and retirement allowance systems, primarily the 'Fukushi Hagukumi Corporate Pension Fund' (hereinafter 'Hagukumi Corporate Pension'), announced that the cumulative number of referral partnerships with tax accounting firms and individual tax accountants has surpassed 400. This represents an increase of over 120 partnerships in the six months since announcing 'surpassing 200 new partnerships' at the end of September 2025, an overall 1.4-fold increase. ■ Background of Accelerating Partnerships: The Need for Tax Accountants to Support Both 'Finance' and 'HR' Behind this rapid increase is the current situation where 'labor shortages' have become a more severe issue added to the challenges faced by SME managers. We believe the major driving force behind the surge in partnerships is that tax accountants, the closest advisors to business owners, are proactively proposing the introduction of employee benefit systems as an 'HR strategy to support the sustainable growth of clients', transcending the conventional framework of tax and accounting. ■ Evidence of the 'Hagukumi Corporate Pension' Introduction Effect Supporting 'Ease of Introduction': Expectations for Improved Employee Engagement and Talent Retention According to the joint research results announced by Better Place in October 2025 with Koji Nishikubo, Professor Emeritus at the University of Yamanashi and Director of the Employee Benefits Strategy Research Institute, concrete evidence showed that introducing the 'Hagukumi Corporate Pension' can be expected to improve employee engagement and retain talent. *Excerpt from the survey results of 'Survey on Enrollment Factors and Management Effects of Hagukumi Corporate Pension', supervised by Koji Nishikubo, Employee Benefits Strategy Research Institute/Professor Emeritus, University of Yamanashi (October 2025) (N=2,711). In response to business owners' questions like, 'I know the Hagukumi Corporate Pension is a good system, but is it really effective?', being able to make data-based proposals has translated into trust for busy tax accountants as 'an employee benefit they can introduce with confidence'. ■ Voices from Tax Accountants We introduce some of the voices from tax accounting firms and individual tax accountants we received as partnerships expanded. *Comments requested by Better Place from each tax accountant have been edited. Midosuji Tax Accounting Corporation Tax Accountant: Ms. Tomoyo Ogasawara Management that takes responsibility for employees' lives When thinking about a company's HR system, I highly value 'whether the company allows employees to plan their lives with peace of mind'. The Hagukumi Corporate Pension is a system that can support employees' future asset formation without significantly increasing the company's burden. Precisely because we are in an era of a 100-year lifespan, I feel that it is necessary for future company building to provide not only salaries but also 'future security'. Venture Support Inheritance Tax Accounting Corporation Representative Tax Accountant: Mr. Hiroaki Furuoya A system with significant benefits not only for employees but also for the company and the managers themselves The Hagukumi Corporate Pension can be utilized not only by employees but also for the personal asset formation of managers. In addition, because the social insurance premiums for enrolled employees decrease (*1), the company's statutory welfare costs also decrease. The fact that it can be introduced without a large financial burden on the corporation (*2) makes it fully considerable even for corporations that previously found it difficult to utilize employee benefits due to costs. *1 This is the effect of the 'optional system (a system where a portion of the existing salary is changed to prepaid retirement allowance, and each employee can choose how to receive that prepaid retirement allowance)'. The Hagukumi Corporate Pension assumes the adoption of the optional system. Depending on the contribution amount chosen, other benefits, including future old-age pension amounts, may decrease. *2 When the effect of introducing the system (cost reduction) exceeds the various costs and operational expenses for introduction. (A substantial burden may occur depending on the size of the corporation and the employee enrollment rate.) ■ To All Tax Accountants (Contact Information) Better Place is always looking for tax accountants who can introduce the 'Hagukumi Corporate Pension'. Please feel free to contact us. https://hub.bpcom.jp/agency_recruitment ■ About 'Hagukumi Corporate Pension' Currently, in our country, the 'decline in the working population' is progressing due to population decline and hyper-aging, resulting in chronic labor shortages. Furthermore, the most common reason young workers leave companies is for economic reasons *1, and the number one anxiety for the working generation regarding old age is 'money' *2. The economic disparity arising from the size of the company one works for or the region one lives in greatly affects future asset formation and retirement funds. To mainly support SMEs and the people working there, we are promoting the introduction of the 'Hagukumi Corporate Pension', a corporate pension system with benefits for both companies and employees. The 'Hagukumi Corporate Pension' is available to employees (including non-regular employees) as long as they are insured by the employees' pension.