iDeCo's December 2026 Reform: Enrollment to Age 70

The bottom line: what changes from December 2026

The reform to the scheme itself takes effect on December 1, 2026. However, you can actually pay in at the raised cap only from the January 2027 contribution (iDeCo official site; Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). For the basic tax-saving mechanics of iDeCo itself, see iDeCo's tax-saving effect.

Change 1: enrollment extended to "under age 70"

Currently, you can newly contribute to iDeCo in principle only until under age 65 (conditional on being insured under the National Pension). After the reform, you will be able to keep enrolling and contributing until under age 70. For people in their 60s who keep working and stay enrolled in Employees' Pension Insurance, or who voluntarily enroll in the National Pension, this extends by up to five years the period during which you can invest tax-free while also claiming the income deduction.

Change 2: a substantial rise in the contribution cap

The biggest impact of this reform is the higher contribution cap. In particular, company employees and civil servants (Category 2), whose cap used to be finely split into ¥20,000–23,000/month depending on whether they had a corporate pension, will now be unified under a common cap of ¥62,000/month.

Because contributions are fully deductible from income, a higher cap directly translates into bigger tax savings. That said, iDeCo money is in principle locked up until age 60. How to balance this against your emergency fund and NISA is discussed in iDeCo vs. NISA.

Don't forget the "exit": how you receive the money changes the tax

With iDeCo, it's not just the accumulation phase — how you design your withdrawal makes a big difference to your take-home amount. In particular, if you take it as a lump sum and the timing is close to your company retirement allowance, the retirement income deduction gets reduced through overlap elimination, triggering unexpected tax.

The rule for avoiding this overlap has been extended from the previous "5 years" to "10 years," effective January 2026 (the FY2025/Reiwa 7 tax reform). If you receive iDeCo first and the retirement allowance later, you need to leave a 10-year gap or the deduction gets cut. Now that you can contribute more, designing the order of receipt matters more than ever. See the order of receiving iDeCo and your retirement allowance for worked examples.

Summary

• The reform takes effect on December 1, 2026. Contributions at the raised limits can be paid from the January 2027 contribution.
• The age limit for joining rises from under 65 in principle to under 70. People already receiving the old-age basic pension or iDeCo old-age benefits are not eligible.
• The monthly limit for the self-employed rises from ¥68,000 to ¥75,000, and employees and public servants get a ¥62,000 monthly cap. Category 3 insured persons stay at ¥23,000 a month.
• For employees, the ¥62,000 is what remains after subtracting employer contributions to corporate DC and DB plans and matching contributions. The less corporate pension you have, the more your limit grows.
• If you take a lump sum, watch the gap from your retirement allowance. If iDeCo comes first, you need a 10-year gap or the retirement income deduction is reduced.