RetireJapan

Hi all,

I have been investing through iDeCo for about 2 years since I became a full-time employee at my current company.
However, I got transfer by my company to Singapore and will move out there in the next couple months.

What will happen to my iDeCo investment? will it freeze and I can collect it once I am 60 years old?
can I collect it earlier preferably before I move out from Japan?

If anyone knows or have an experience about this please kindly share!
Thanks as always Ben and everyone!

The current rules say you will not be able to contribute while you are overseas (but can restart if you come back to Japan). You can manage your account (rebalance, etc.). You can cash out at age 60 and your provider can send the funds to you anywhere in the world.

There is talk of a new system where non-Japanese residents will be able to cash out if they meet certain conditions when leaving Japan, but I don't have the details for that yet.

https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/IDeCo#Lump_sum_withdrawal

This now summarises the rules regarding iDeCo lump sum withdrawals.

The summary itself could be further summarised as:

an individual under 60 who has lost eligibility to contribute to an iDeCo within the last 2 years and has < 5 yrs of contributions or < 250,000 yen invested

[a couple of nuances are lost in that single sentence summary; but is perhaps simpler to follow than the official 7-point list of criteria and will encapsulate the majority of cases]