Korean Job Discussion Forums

[iamdugmoore]

I'm about to go to the pension office (in the next week or so). I've heard that Canadians get their pension return from the Canadian government AFTER the Korean government sends it to Canada.

It seems that the money is sent to the Canadian tax office, and then it issues a check to the teacher.

Is this how it works if your a US citizen? I'm only going to be back in the US for a month before I go to a different country to teach. I'd hate for the IRS to get aggressive with my pension.

Any feedback appreciated.

[Ya-ta Boy]

When you get to the pension office they will ask if you want them to deposit your money in your account in the US a few weeks after you leave, or if you want to have the money added to your Social Security account.

[plattwaz]

See, that's what the Korean Pension office told me, too -- that they send the money to the Cdn govt and the Cdn govt' refunds it to me. They said it takes about 8 weeks.

That was almost 4 months ago. I have contacted both HRDC and CPP and they both told me that the money goes straight to me from the Korean Pension office, that the Cdn govt has NOTHING to do with it.

So my money is in limbo.....Korean Pension office will do nothing, Cdn govt will do nothing.

Any Canadians out there actually GET the money IN HAND?? How? It was soooo easy when I was at the pension office that I knew there had to be a glitch SOMEWHERE.........

[Saunagukin]

I'm American. My Pension refund got deposited into my American bank account 4 weeks after I applied. The IRS did not interfere at all.

I have several Canadian friends who had the same situation; applied and 4 weeks later received the money. I've never heard of the C'ndn gov't handling it first...but it means very little that I haven't heard of it...I'm not even Canadian!

Also, if you haven't already, you should probably do a search here and see what you come up with. There's lots of info on different threads.

You can apply for your refund 30 days before your departure, if you have your ticket to prove that you're leaving. That should speed up the process...should being the operative word.

[plattwaz]

WHOooo Hooooo! I GOT IT!!!

I stopped checking every day because it was dragging me down being disappointed every time I looked.

But I took a peek at my hoem account just now, and I got my money yesterday!

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Took a little longer than the 6-8 weeks they said, (like, it took 13 weeks) but it's there!

You were right, straight from Korea Pension office, no Cdn gov't stepping in.

But it makes me wonder WHY at the Korean Pension office, did they TELL me that the money would come to me from HRDC/CPP??? Is it so that when the money is late/delayed, ppl don't go pestering the Korean side of it???

[pest2]

I am American and I applied for my pension and got it back about 1 month later with absolutely no problems. This happened even though my school "forgot" to send them the pension for my last month of work.. they d deposited the money into my acct minus 1 months deduction and even sent an apologetic letter later when my school "remembered" to send the money to the pension office..

Make sure:

1) the account to which the money is to be sent has YOUR name on it and not some other persons... even your mom's or dad's or relative's acct would not be acceptable.

2) its a good idea to go with some Korean speaking person, maybe, since they dont speak english; at least not the office I visited... but even then the forms are written in english.

[lastat06513]

I would like to write to you about some of the misconceptions about applying for your pension.

- You don't have to have it submitted into your American bank account (actually if you have it deposited into your korean account, it will be processed much more faster- 4 days to a week instead of 1 month)

- You don't necessarily have to go back to the US to get your pension. (actually, as long as you have a one-way ticket out of the country, it will suffice the people at the pension office- at least it did at the Gongdeok office)

- And after you withdrawal your pension and if you want to come back to teach, you can. No penalty (they'll start with a "0" balance at that time)

Sidenote- you actually even acrue interest on your pension, even for the time you don't work.

Here's my story...
I was suppose to take a job in China and I was planning on leaving Korea. So I called the pension office and they told me to bring the following documents

- Passport
- Social Security card (for americans)
- a one-way ticket out of Korea.
- Bankbook (Korean OR American)

I asked them if it was possible to collect if I was going to China instead of the US, they said sure. I asked if I could have it deposited into my korean account instead of an American account, they said sure (actually, they said they prefer that). I took a friend with me to help sign the necessary documents. As the day came and went (I actually went to the Philippines instead for the night), I found that the money was doposited into my account with no hassles and I was able to start a new job easily

[OiGirl]

[stumptown]

Nothing is going to be worthwhile sitting in a US social security account, other than the fact that that money will be lended out and "lost"

[ajuma]

Good questions OiGirl! And a few others: What is the "retirement" age for foreigners with pension accounts in Korea? What are the benefits of getting it "in bulk" vs getting paid a certain amount each month (if a person plans on staying here for a considerable time...possibly up to or past the "retirement age")? Or doesn't the Korean pension system work that way? If you decide to go back to your home country AFTER your "retirement age", (or to another country for that matter) will the pension fund pay a regular amount into your home country account?

Oh! And OiGirl! Considering the current adminsitration, I don't know how much I'd trust the current SS system to still be active when we need it. I recently got a letter from SS telling me how much I'm entitled to per month, but it has a HUGE disclaimer saying that the numbers were PROJECTED and may change. By 2042, the amount paid in will only be 72% (maybe 73) of what will be needed!

[OiGirl]

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Keepongoing]

I have not had a hardp-copy Social Security card in years...do you actually need one to get your pension refund??

[OiGirl]