iDeCo for foreigners: who can join and what happens when you leave Japan

Yes: as of October 2026, iDeCo for foreigners works as for Japanese citizens while you live in Japan. If you are in Japan’s national pension (国民年金), you can join; nationality and permanent residency (永住) don’t matter. Employees without a company pension can put in up to ¥23,000 a month, rising to ¥62,000 from December 1, 2026. The money is locked until age 60. Leaving Japan, you can get it back early only if you contributed for 5 years or less or hold ¥250,000 or less, and claim within 2 years.

What is iDeCo?

iDeCo (個人型確定拠出年金, individual-type defined contribution pension) is a voluntary private pension on top of the public pensions. You choose how much to pay in, you choose the investments, and what you get later depends on your contributions plus investment returns, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (厚生労働省). It is run by the National Pension Fund Association (国民年金基金連合会). You open it through one financial institution, called an administrator (運営管理機関). About 160 institutions offer it, and each one offers 3 to 35 products, such as investment funds, insurance products and deposits.

Can foreigners join iDeCo?

Yes, if you are in the national pension system. The rule depends on your pension category, not your passport. Nationality matters only after you move abroad.

Some details for foreign residents:

• Premium exemption blocks you. If you are Category 1 and have a full or partial exemption from national pension premiums, you cannot join, according to the iDeCo official site.
• Company pension rules. If your employer has a company DC plan (企業型DC), you cannot join iDeCo if you make matching contributions (マッチング拠出) to that plan, or if your employer pays its DC contribution yearly instead of monthly.
• No visa or residence-card rule. We found no official rule that ties iDeCo to your visa type or to how long is left on your residence card (在留カード). The test is your pension enrollment.

You apply through the one institution you choose. Ask it which documents it needs from a foreign resident.

How much can you contribute?

The minimum is ¥5,000 a month, in ¥1,000 steps. You can change the amount once a year and stop contributing at any time.

In December 2024, the limit for people with a company pension was made the same whether the plan is company DC or a defined benefit plan (DB). If your employer’s amount is above ¥35,000 a month, your iDeCo limit falls below ¥20,000. Your company DC member website or your DB plan notice shows the employer’s amount.

The December 2026 increase comes from the 2025 pension reform law, passed on June 13, 2025. The ministry lists it as scheduled (施行予定) for December 1, 2026. The same reform lets some people aged 60 to 69 keep contributing even after they leave the national pension.

What are the tax benefits?

iDeCo has three tax breaks, according to the iDeCo official site:

1. Contributions are fully deductible. They come off your taxable income under the small-business mutual aid deduction (小規模企業共済等掛金控除), lowering both income tax and resident tax (住民税). The official example: ¥10,000 a month at 10% income tax and 10% resident tax saves ¥24,000 a year.
2. Investment gains are not taxed while they stay in the account. Ordinary investment gains have 20.315% withheld.
3. Deductions when you take the money out. A lump sum gets the retirement income deduction (退職所得控除). An annuity gets the public pension deduction (公的年金等控除).

The deduction helps only if you pay income tax in Japan. Employees claim it at year-end adjustment (年末調整) with the contribution certificate. Others claim it on the tax return (確定申告), according to the National Tax Agency (国税庁). See our guides to year-end adjustment and tax returns and to tax residency.

There are fees too. The National Pension Fund Association charges ¥2,829 once when you join and ¥105 each time a contribution is paid. The administrator and trustee bank charge their own fees, which differ by institution, and funds have their own management fees (信託報酬).

When can you take the money out?

In principle, from age 60. You cannot cancel iDeCo. If you stop contributing, you become an account holder who only directs the investments (運用指図者), and the money stays in.

You can start receiving between ages 60 and 75. To start at 60, you need 10 years of total DC membership. With less, the start age moves back:

You can take the money as a lump sum, as an annuity for 5 to 20 years, or as a mix.

What happens to your iDeCo if you leave Japan?

When you move abroad as a foreign national, you leave the national pension and cannot keep contributing. Only Japanese nationals overseas can join through voluntary enrollment. That leaves two outcomes.

The early-exit lump sum (脱退一時金)

Foreign nationals living overseas are listed by name as people who cannot join iDeCo. That makes them one of the groups that can claim the 脱退一時金. You must meet all of these conditions, according to the ministry and the iDeCo official site:

• You are under 60.
• You are not in a company DC plan.
• You cannot join iDeCo (a foreign national living overseas qualifies).
• You are not entitled to a DC disability benefit.
• Your total contribution period is 5 years or less, or your assets are ¥250,000 or less.
• You claim within 2 years of the day you last lost member status in iDeCo or company DC.

The official pages do not say how Japan taxes the 脱退一時金 or how it is paid to someone abroad. Ask your administrator before you leave, and ask the tax office (税務署) or a tax accountant (税理士) about the tax.

The 2025 reform did not change these conditions. The reform items the ministry lists do not include the iDeCo 脱退一時金.

If you do not qualify

If you contributed for more than 5 years and have more than ¥250,000, you cannot take the money out early. It stays invested as a 運用指図者 account until you can claim it, from age 60 at the earliest. The administrator’s account fees keep running while you wait. Ask your administrator, before you leave, how it handles an overseas address and payment of benefits later.

This iDeCo refund is separate from the national pension refund. For that, see our pension refund (脱退一時金) guide and the leaving Japan checklist.

iDeCo or NISA?

If you may leave Japan within a few years, the lock-in matters most. A small iDeCo that stays under 5 years of contributions or ¥250,000 can be refunded. A larger one can be stuck in Japan until you are 60. NISA has no deduction, but you can sell and withdraw at any time, and NISA gains stay tax-free with no time limit, according to the Financial Services Agency (金融庁). See NISA for foreigners and securities accounts for foreigners.

US citizens

The IRS says US citizens and resident aliens living abroad are taxed on worldwide income, and that people with foreign financial accounts above the reporting threshold must report them (FBAR), even if the accounts earn no taxable income. The IRS page does not cover iDeCo itself. Ask a US-qualified tax adviser how the US treats it before you join.

More guides

Planning your pension in Japan? Read our guide to Japan’s pension for foreigners. Leaving soon? Start with the leaving Japan checklist.