The Diet passed into law Friday a new defined-contribution pension bill that will go into effect Oct. 1, introducing a scheme modeled on the U.S. 401(k) plan, the benefits of which hinge on the performance of investments.
The House of Councilors endorsed the bill at a plenary session to complete the legislative process. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives last week.
The new law will work with a defined-benefit pension law, which was enacted June 8 and will take effect April 1, to drastically reform the corporate pension system by increasing the options for companies adopting pension programs for their employees.