[2026 Latest Edition] 7 ways to increase your pension | Ideas for increasing retirement funds through iDeCo, additional pension, and deferred receipt

【summary】

Investing is not the only way to increase your retirement funds.

Rather, the first thing to look at is public pensions and systems with tax benefits. If you are self-employed, options include supplementary pension or national pension fund, if you are a company employee, you can continue to enroll in iDeCo or Employees' Pension, and if you are over 60 years old, you can defer receiving benefits or opt for voluntary enrollment.

However, none of these are "correct for everyone." Priorities change depending on age, work style, whether you pay taxes, whether you spend money before age 60, your health condition, and family structure.

This article is a general system review and is not individual tax/pension consultation. The actual amount received and tax burden will vary depending on enrollment record, income, workplace system, age, and family structure. Before proceeding, please check the latest conditions at the Japan Pension Service, iDeCo official website, Financial Services Agency, workplace, pension office, etc.

3 Second Diagnosis: Where to look first

If you are confused because there are so many systems out there, don't just choose a product right away; look at it from your own perspective.

The important thing here is to distinguish between "systems to increase" retirement funds and "money that can be used at any time."

While iDeCo and the National Pension Fund are easy to use to raise funds for retirement, their liquidity is low. The new NISA has a high degree of freedom, but there are no income deductions, and the prices of the products you invest in may fall.

1. Supplementary pension: If you are self-employed, you should check the supplement first.

The supplementary pension is an additional system that can be used by National Pension Category 1 insured persons and voluntarily insured persons under the age of 65.

Pay an additional 400 yen per month as an additional insurance premium to your monthly National Pension Insurance premium. The future additional pension amount will be calculated using the following formula:

付加年金額（年額）＝ 200円 × 付加保険料を納めた月数

For example, if you pay for 120 months over 10 years, an annual amount of 24,000 yen will be added to your basic old-age pension.

The design is such that if you receive the insurance for two years or more, you will receive a pension that is greater than the additional premiums you have paid. If this applies to you, this is the system you should check first.

However, company employees and civil servants are not eligible. People who are members of the National Pension Fund are also unable to pay additional insurance premiums. Additional pensions do not have indexation, so they do not automatically increase in line with inflation.

2. iDeCo: Create funds for retirement while saving taxes

iDeCo is a private pension system where you make your own contributions and choose your own investment products.

The biggest feature is that the entire premium is tax deductible. For people who pay income tax and resident tax, the advantage of lowering their tax burden before investing is significant.

The easy mistake to make here is to conclude that ``the correct answer is to pay the full amount because it will save you tax.''

If there is a possibility that you will need a large amount of money before the age of 60, such as purchasing a house, paying for education, changing jobs, becoming independent, or nursing care, it will be difficult to move if you put too much money into iDeCo. Are these funds not to be used until retirement? I want to check that first.

3. National Pension Fund: Create the second floor of self-employment

The National Pension Fund is a system that allows Category 1 insured persons, such as self-employed people and freelancers, to add their benefits to the national pension.

Company employees have welfare pensions, but self-employed people do not. The National Pension Fund is an option to fill that gap.

The entire premium is subject to social insurance premium deduction. If you choose a lifetime annuity type, you can generate pension income for the rest of your life.

The future amount of iDeCo will change depending on the investment results. The pension amount of the National Pension Fund is easy to see at the design stage. Rather than deciding which is better, it is better to look at the difference between whether you want to manage your pension yourself or whether you want to increase your lifetime pension.

4. Postponed benefit receipt: option to prepare for longevity risk

In principle, old age pensions are received from the age of 65.

However, if you delay starting receiving benefits after age 66 until age 75, your benefits will increase by 0.7% for each month you delay. The maximum increase rate is 84%.

The appeal of deferring pension benefits is that you can increase your pension amount for the rest of your life.

However, you will need to cover living expenses while you wait. If you die early, the total amount you receive may be less than if you received it starting at age 65. It may also affect your out-of-pocket costs for taxes, social insurance premiums, and medical/nursing care costs.

I don't want to just look at the face value and decide that it's a good idea to wait until I'm 75. I would like to check the estimated amount for ages 65, 70, and 75 on sites such as Nenkin Net.

5. Continue to enroll in the Employees' Pension: Increase your pension while working

If you subscribe to the Employees' Pension and work after the age of 60, your Old Age Employees' Pension can be increased according to your enrollment period and salary.

If you continue to work as a company employee or meet the requirements for social insurance even if you work part-time, you may be able to add to your retirement pension amount.

From April 2026, the adjustment amount for suspension of payment of old-age pension for employees will be raised to 650,000 yen per month. This standard relates to systems in which part or all of pension payments are suspended when the total of salary and old-age welfare pension exceeds a certain amount.

Working not only increases the amount of pension money, but also has the effect of delaying the time when you can withdraw your savings.

On the other hand, realistic choices will vary depending on income, physical strength, family caregiving, and workplace system. This is not a story about forcing yourself to work just to increase your pension.

6. Voluntary participation: Fill in the period of non-payment or non-participation in the National Pension.

The full amount of the National Pension is 40 years from age 20 to 60, or 480 months.

If you have less than 480 months at age 60, you can voluntarily enroll between the ages of 60 and over and under 65 if you meet the conditions. This is a way for people who have not paid or are not covered for a period of time to approach the full amount of their old-age basic pension.

The full amount of the old-age basic pension in 2026 is 847,300 yen per year for people born on or after April 2, 1955. If you simply divide by 480 months, the effect that one month's payment will have on your future pension amount will be approximately 1,765 yen per year.

It doesn't mean that if you pay for one month, you'll get an additional 20,000 yen a year. The amount will increase by around 20,000 yen per year if you pay an additional 12 months.

Voluntary enrollment is a system that considers the insurance premium burden and future pension increases. I also want to see the balance with my health, cash on hand, and other retirement funds.

7. New NISA: Not a pension, but a supplement to retirement funds

The new NISA is not a pension system.

Still, it is a strong option as a supplementary account for retirement funds. Profits earned from financial products invested in a NISA account are tax-free. Under NISA starting in 2024, the lifetime tax-free holding limit will be 18 million yen, of which the growth investment limit will be up to 12 million yen.

iDeCo is for retirement, while NISA has a high degree of freedom.

If you have taxable income and don't want to use the money until age 60, iDeCo is an option. If the money is likely to be used in the near future, a new NISA or savings may be more suitable.

Compare 7 methods

It is difficult to compare methods of increasing your pension based on the amount of increase alone.

This is because the liquidity, tax system, target audience, and risks are different.

If you are confused, it will be easier to organize if you look at them in the following order.

ねんきんネットで見込額を確認
↓
自営業なら付加年金・国民年金基金・iDeCo
↓
会社員なら勤務先制度・iDeCo・厚生年金継続
↓
60歳以降は任意加入・繰下げ・働き方
↓
流動性が必要な資金は新NISAや預金と分ける

Which should be used first, iDeCo or New NISA?

A common concern is the priority order between iDeCo and the new NISA.

The answer depends on whether you place more weight on income deductions or liquidity.

It is better not to decide to use your iDeCo to the full amount and then use your NISA.

If you only look at taxes, there are many situations in which iDeCo tends to be advantageous. However, there are major restrictions that prevent you from withdrawing until the age of 60. When your household budget is tight, it may be better to prioritize cash reserves over tax savings.

First, check the current situation on Nenkin Net

The first step in planning pension plans is not to choose a system, but to understand the current situation.

The Japan Pension Service's ``Nenkin Net'' allows you to check your pension records and estimate your expected future pension amount. There is also a ``simple calculation'' that assumes that you will continue to be covered until age 60 under the same conditions as you are now, as well as a calculation that allows you to set your future work style, the age at which you will start receiving benefits, and if you pay any outstanding balance.

The order to check is simple.

1. Register on Nenkin Net
2. Check your pension records for any omissions.
3. See the estimated amount at age 65
4. Try the expected amount for postponing age 70/75
5. If there is a period of non-payment or non-enrollment, check for voluntary enrollment or late payment.
6. Make up for the shortfall with iDeCo, new NISA, deposits, and working period

The trial calculation results are only a guideline. It will change based on future work styles, wages, system reforms, prices, and taxes. Still, it's easier to take countermeasures if you have numbers in mind rather than worrying without looking at anything.

FAQ

Q. Is the additional pension really a benefit?

If you are a Category 1 National Pension insured person or a voluntary insured person who is not enrolled in the National Pension Fund, this is a fairly efficient add-on system. You pay 400 yen a month, and in the future, the annual amount will be added by 200 yen x the number of months you paid, so if you receive it for more than 2 years, it will be more than the additional premium you paid.

However, there is no indexation, and the target audience is limited.

Q. Until what age should I wait to receive benefits later?

If you look only at the total amount received at face value, the longer you live, the more likely you are to be advantageous. However, the actual break-even rate will vary depending on taxes, social insurance premiums, self-pay for medical and nursing care expenses, and living expenses during the waiting period.

I would like to list the expected amount for ages 65, 70, and 75 on Nenkin Net, and take into account cash on hand and health status.

Q. Will my pension become zero in the future?

Public pensions are operated using a combination of insurance premiums from the working generation, national treasury contributions, and reserves. Rather than assuming that the system will suddenly drop to zero, it is more realistic to prepare for adjustments in benefit levels and changes in real value relative to prices.

That's why it makes sense to combine supplementary pensions, iDeCo, new NISA, working periods, and reviewing expenditures.

What to do today

Finally, drop it on your action list.

When it comes to raising funds for retirement, it is more realistic to reduce the amount of money left out by the system than to make a flashy one-shot reversal.

First, check your estimated pension amount. From there, you can add available systems one by one.

source

• Japan Pension Service “Additional insurance premium payment”
• Japan Pension Service "Delayed receipt of pension"
• Japan Pension Service "Voluntary Participation System"
• Japan Pension Service “About pension amounts from April 2020”
• Japan Pension Service "Estimated pension amount using Nenkin Net"
• Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare “The working age pension system will be revised”
• iDeCo official website “Features of iDeCo”
• Financial Services Agency "Know NISA"
• National Pension Fund Federation “Benefits of joining”