Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Konglishman]

For a period of two years, a total of a little over 5 million Won was subtracted from my salary and put into the Korea Teachers' Private Pension. I have always assumed that the employers are always required to 100% match the employee's contribution to a pension fund regardless whether it is the public pension or a private pension. So, I naturally expected to get back a little over 10 million Won yesterday. However, I have only received a little over 6 and a half million Won.

Can someone with some authority such as ttompatz please show me what the law says on this matter?

[ttompatz]

[Konglishman]

In short, there are additional downsides to working at a private university I wasn't already aware of. I guess at this point, while admittedly feeling disappointed to hear this, I am not that surprised.

[hogwonguy1979]

thats why some private univs will boot people after 4 years because after 4 years they have to kick in pension then and that can be a huge chunk of change

[denverdeath]

most, if not all, private unis/colleges will also report ur earnings in an "interesting", yet, supposedly, legal way. they manipulate things like research funds, gov't allowances/grants, meal funds, etcetera to lower their bottom line. if u stay at the place for more than 5 yrs though, they will b paying in a bit more.

[YTMND]

[fishy]

Just call them and ask. That's what I do whenever I have a question. I don't ask my colleagues because there's so much misinformation out there. They have a guy (hopefully still there) who can answer your questions in English.

[Konglishman]

[nora]

The numbers are right.

The private pension plan sucks if you're here for the short term. My job just switched us to it this year. We were on the national pension which was a 50/50 split. On the private plan though it's something like 80/20. Each year however, the numbers change and it becomes more favorable to me.

A friend of mine is leaving Korea after being here for 11 years and she is getting her private pension money back. She put in 28 million over the years but is getting about 120 million when she goes.

If you've been there a few years, then yeah, you're only going to get what you put in and a little extra. If you're there for multiple years, it really pays off.

[YTMND]

[Konglishman]

[jackson7]

We've had this spelled out for us very neatly by our administration. This is a bummer of a plan if you're here for the short term (as others have written), but it is much better after you've stayed with an institution for five years (although something changed in the plan in 2009, so you may want to see if you can transfer between pension schemes).

Many friends have been disappointed when they got such a small amount back from two or three years at a university. This MAY be why several universities with enormous general English programs have put a three to four year cap on their lecturers (often two-year contracts, twice renewable).

Find a place in which you're happy, stick it out for the five years, and perhaps you'll even be there for the full twenty and get the actual pension later in life (which is MUCH better than the payout, if you live have an average life expectancy). Another bonus in this regard is that the national pension will likely run dry in the next forty to fifty years, according to conservative projections, but the teacher's pension is private and will likely have a more stable ratio of those receiving to those funding.

Nothing here on Dave's (except perhaps good ol' Ttompatz!) is a substitute for the horse's mouth, however. Check out the website, or give a ring and get an English-speaker on the line: www.ktpf.or.kr


J7

[Konglishman]

[Hyeon In]