Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rmonkeylee]

So I currently hold an F4 visa, and I work at a hagwon. Originally I signed on with the nation pension, health insurance and tax. Now my wonjang wants to take me off the national pension and just have me pay for health insurance(must for me) and tax. What exactly is the national pension? She also mentioned that alot of other foreigners dont enroll for the national pension fund, is that true? Also how does that affect my taxes back in the states. Any help is welcome and thanks in advance.

[hari seldon]

Explain to your employer that Americans must make make annual payments to the U.S. Social Security administration and Korea's National Pension plan is the means to do it.

[rmonkeylee]

Is the national pension plan the only means of doing it? I think I am also getting taxed 3.3%, could that help with US taxes?

[aweitzm1]

I was told by multiple recruiters that all schools had to participate in the national pension plan.

[freakyaye852]

I think if your country has an agreement with korea then it is not optional. plus, isn't it 4.5%?

plus, work must contribute 4.5, thats why she wants out. When you leave you get the whole monthly 9% back I don't know if f4 visas are exempt, but i didnt think

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[rmonkeylee]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the posts. I meant 9 percent total. I get taxed 3.3 plus pension and health insurance. After reading some of the threads, I think my boss is trying to shaft me. I just checked my national pension fun and it says i havent paid for the last 2 months even though it went out of my paycheck. This is all coming as a shock to me and timing couldnt be worse. sigh... Anyways thanks again for the posts. I appreciate any further ones as well.

[rmonkeylee]

So a quick update. Instead of going the official pension route,
My wonjang proposed this to me, and I was wondering what you all thought.

out of a 2,3 mil won salary,
she will be taking out 25k for national pension
25k for health insurance
and 75 for taxes.

the terms are not what we first agreed on in the contract, but honestly i dont get the feeling she is trying to cheat me. i will be losing a bit of money compared to what the contract originally states, but I'm not sure if 2-3 is enough to stir up a storm.

[omar]

As far as I know, when you leave you get all your pension back, including the part that the employer contributed. So you are getting shafted if your employer doesn't pay into it, end of story.

[OBwannabe]

As someone already mentioned, E2 visa holders pay 4.5% of their income into the Pension Scheme and their employer matches the amout dollar for dollar (won..whatever). I'm paying 108,000/month at the moment. That's like 108,000 in my pocket each month from my employer. Pretty sweet. Can't wait to cash it out.

I'm not sure if it's the same for F4 visa holders though. Hope for your sake it is. If so, make sure you and your employer are paying into it. You'll be glad later.

[MarionG]

She is definitely trying to shaft you...

For pension you should pay, on a salary of 2.3, 103,500 and the school should also pay 103,500, so that's a total of 207,000 per month. I Think
you mentioned that the contract states 3.3% for income tax...this is too
high, and she's probably keeping part of it, but since it's in the contract,
you can't do too much about it. Also, you should pay half of the cost of National Health Insurance and so should your boss, I've forgotten the percentages.

[Whistleblower]

The owner of the school is pocketing your 125,000 won from deductions. I would encourage that you visit the tax and pension office to ensure your school is contributing fairly.

You are losing money that is freely yours and it is possible that the owner is not contributing to national health insurance but possibly a private insurance at a cheaper rate. The owner is robbing you blind and don't let them.

The contract states national pension, health, etc vis a vis that is fact.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[World Traveler]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Maybe those foreigners are not aware that is mandatory to be enrolled in the national pension fund. I think it's pretty sad that their bosses are knowingly deceiving them.

[air76]

In this case I think that the school is trying to shaft the OP....but there are lots of cases where a teacher would rather not enroll in the pension....say, ALL of the teachers who are not from the US or Canada?? If you're not going to be getting the money back then why would you want to pay in? Even in the case of the UK...I'd rather have my 1/2 cash in hand then get double put into my pension account back home.

[big_fella1]

You have 2 legal choices:
1. You and your boss contribute 4.5% each.
2. You pay the 9% into the pension fund yourself.

Why would anyone choose 2????