Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zulethe]

For those of you who have re-signed in the past, did you roll over your pension and severence or did you take it after you finished the first year.

I would kind of like to have the money but does it make a lot more financial sense to leave it and let it grow?

[prideofidaho]

All I can speak for is SMOE. When re-signing with them, they hold the pension/severance. You receive them only after you terminate your employment with SMOE.

[cruisemonkey]

It's illegal for SMOE to withhold severance due on a completed contract (but a lot of things SMOE does are illegal... people just bend over and 'take it'); and, one cannot receive a lump sum pension refund unless one is leaving the country 'permanently'... so renewing a contract precludes this.

[Zulethe]

I don't work for SMOE and I was told that it was my choice. I'm just curious about your experiences and what would be the smarter decision. If their making you roll the pension and severance over to the next year then I don't think you should be signing a year to year contract but rather an indefinite one.

I'll have to look into the pension a little bit more closely because I didn't know I couldn't take that out after the first year as well.

I'll post again when I find out.

[Ramen]

It all depends on whether you are getting a huge pay raise or not.

If you are, you should roll it over since severance will be paid out based on average of your last three month';s pay. If not, get it now and blow it.

[Big Mac]

I'm hoping to re-sign with my public school for six months. I'm hoping they will keep the severence money. I've heard that if you don't take the pay-out after one year, then the money will accumulate on a monthly basis after that. If I take the payout after one year, then I won't get any severence for the last six months. If I don't take the money, then I'll get a year and a half's worth of severence.

[schwa]

Cruisemonkey is right about pension. It rolls over if you re-contract. To get a payout from the pension office you need to show you're out of here.

He's wrong about severance. Nothing at all illegal about not paying it out after one year. Its at the employer's discretion, but thats negotiable. Or not. Some provincial PS programs now mandate annual payout to avoid big budget hits, but you can't demand it.

Big Mac: good luck getting a 6-month PS extension -- I've yet to hear of anyone successfully negotiating that. Even then, they wouldnt be on the hook legally to give you 6 months added severance. Severance is legally based on annual contract completion. But maybe you could arrange something. Prorated severance is something employers can provide, but they're not obliged to.

[cruisemonkey]

[Big Mac]

I'm getting my info from the Korean Labour Standards Act:

Article 34 (Retirement Allowances System)

a.. (1)An employer shall establish a retirement allowance system whereby an average wage of more than 30 days shall be paid for each year of consecutive years employed as a retirement allowance to a retired worker; however, if the worker was employed for less than one year, this shall not apply.
b.. (2)In establishing the retirement allowance system stipulated in paragraph (1), a differential retirement allowance system shall not be permitted within one business.
c.. (3)An employer may, at the request of workers, pay retirement allowances in advance for the period of continuous employment of the worker concerned by adjusting the balances of remunerations before his retirement, irrespective of the provisions of paragraph (1). In this case, the number of years of continuous employment for the computation of retirement allowances shall be counted anew from the moment the latest adjustment of balances has been made.

[cruisemonkey]

I'm unaware of any PS contracts that are considered continuation of previous employment. In fact, they all specifically state they are not. Therefore, severance must (legally) be paid upon completion of a (one-year) contract.

[Hello]

GEPIK paid me my severance and I stayed with the same school for another contract.