This consultation came from an online FP session booked via our website, answered by financial planner Yoshiko Nakamura.

Client: Male (59), nurse, living in Niigata Prefecture with his parents

The consultation:

After a health scare, he switched from full-time to part-time work. His take-home pay dropped from ¥250,000 to ¥160,000 a month — about a 30% cut. Living with his parents, he can still cover living expenses, but he’s no longer able to save.

Worried about retirement funds, he’s considering taking his public pension early — starting at 60 instead of 65, at a reduced ¥130,000/month instead of ¥170,000 — and investing that money through NISA (Japan’s tax-free investment account) to grow it. His thinking: if he can combine the investment returns with his current ¥5 million in savings, he might reach around ¥15 million by 65 — enough, he hopes, for a secure retirement.

Taking Your Pension Early Isn’t a Good Idea

Let’s start with the conclusion: using an early pension payout to fund NISA investments is risky.

There are two reasons.

First, NISA returns aren’t guaranteed. The past few years have seen strong global stock gains, but historically there have been five-year stretches with almost no returns — and stretches with losses. If he invests ¥130,000/month for five years (60 months), the principal comes to ¥7.8 million. That could grow to ¥10 million, but it could also stay flat at ¥7.8 million, or even shrink to ¥6 million or less.

Second, claiming the pension five years early permanently cuts the monthly benefit by about 24% (from ¥170,000 to ¥130,000). If he lives to the average male life expectancy of 81, the total amount received works out about the same either way — but the longer he lives past that, the more he loses by claiming early. His parents are 87 and 90 and still going strong.

“Hmm, I can’t really picture myself dying at 81,” he said.

Keep Your Savings Intact — Shift Part of Them Into NISA Instead

It’s easy to assume that if you can’t save from your monthly income, you can’t invest either. That’s not true. He can simply move a set amount each month from his existing ¥5 million in savings into a NISA investment fund.

NISA is designed for long-term investing, but the money isn’t locked away — it can be withdrawn anytime. Withdrawing within five years carries a slightly higher risk of a loss, but the funds are never inaccessible. For example, investing ¥50,000/month (¥600,000/year) would shift roughly ¥2.4 million — about half his current savings — into NISA over four years. That’s a reasonable balance between savings that won’t shrink and investments with room to grow.

For the investment itself, the NISA “tsumitate” (accumulation) category works well: two or three mutual funds combining domestic and international stocks. He can open an account at the counter of his local regional bank — no need to go online. For a first-timer, sitting down with a bank staff member to walk through it is the safer route.

The Real Asset He Hasn’t Noticed He Has

So far this has all been about money. But this client actually holds something more valuable than any savings or NISA account: his nursing license, and the health that lets him keep using it.

Nurses are one of the professions where people commonly keep working past 65 — some, adjusting their schedule, work into their late 70s. Earning power like this beats any investment portfolio. It doesn’t lose value in a downturn, doesn’t erode with inflation, and can’t be stolen by a scam.

Asked about the cause of his health issues, it turned out no internal problems had been found — but he’d been experiencing leg swelling and heart palpitations that made full-time work difficult. Digging into his daily habits, it emerged that he drives everywhere and has barely walked in years. A lack of exercise can weaken the autonomic nervous system and contribute to exactly these kinds of symptoms.

From Walking at 60 to Finishing Marathons in His 70s

Getting your health back doesn’t require anything dramatic — it starts with walking. My own father retired at 60 with diabetes. He began walking two to three hours a day, and within a year had naturally started running and entering marathons. He went on to finish races around the world — New York, Honolulu, the Gold Coast — and by his 70s, had transformed into a lean, muscular version of himself that surprised everyone around him.

There’s no need to run — walking is the starting point. From there, it’s about finding a form of exercise you actually enjoy and building it into daily life. It turns out this client once competed in biathlon, and said he’d like to learn to swim well enough to try a triathlon. That same day, he started walking again and began looking into swim classes.

Combine a nursing license with good health, and you get a strength no investment strategy can match. Regain his energy, and returning to full-time work — or working part-time all the way to 70 or 75 — comes back within reach.

Key Takeaways

• Don’t claim your pension early just to fund NISA investments
• Shift part of your existing savings into NISA gradually, within a comfortable range
• A professional license plus good health is a stronger asset than any investment
• Start with something as simple as walking every day

That’s my advice — I hope it helps. I look forward to hearing from you.

This column is covered in more detail on note.

Yoshiko Nakamura Financial Planner al-pha & Associates