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kiwiluvesyew
Joined: 29 Apr 2008
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 Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:05 am Post subject: health Insurance - How Much do you pay? |
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How much is the law to pay for health insurance a month for a E-2 visa ESL teacher? Who can we call to check when it was set up?
Our Hagwon said they set it up on Oct 1, but since our pay period is sept 18 to oct 18, we have to pay for four weeks, instead of two weeks (which would be reasonable). When asked school said "this is law".
I think that 68,000 per month is a lot for Korean Health Ins.
Can you opt out of it?
Last edited by kiwiluvesyew on Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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broken76
Joined: 27 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:08 am Post subject: |
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Can't recall the exact percentage right now but it should be about 2.7% of your pay. The school should also be paying the same amount for a total of 5.4%.
Even if you haven't received your medical insurance card the payments are retroactive so any back payments will need to be made up. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 7:43 am Post subject: Re: health Insurance - How Much do you pay? |
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| kiwiluvesyew wrote: |
How much is the law to pay for health insurance a month for a E-2 visa ESL teacher? Who can we call to check when it was set up?
Our Hagwon said they set it up on Oct 1, but since our pay period is sept 18 to oct 18, we have to pay for four weeks, instead of two weeks (which would be reasonable). When asked school said "this is law".
I think that 68,000 per month is a lot for Korean Health Ins.
Can you opt out of it? |
Medical is 2.54% of your salary and matched by your employer.
68580 would be your share of the premium if your salary is 2.7 mil per month. If your salary is less than that I would guess that it is being under reported to the NHIC and you are paying 100% instead of 50%.
You pay for the full month, even if you only work 1 day so you would have paid for Sept and Oct on your first payment.
It is RETROACTIVE to the time you entered Korea and not just from your enrollment date.
You cannot legally opt out of the national medical plan. If you are enrolled you should have received your "insurance booklet" with your insurance number in it from the NHIC about 15 days after your enrollment. If you have no booklet chances are someone is not being truthful to you.
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kiwiluvesyew
Joined: 29 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:27 am Post subject: |
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I get 2.4 million. The contract says 2.24%. Actually, 58,420 w was deducted (my mistake) but according to the percent in our contract it should've been 53,760 w.
We've been teaching here since August 4th, so there's no way that includes back payments.
WTF? My school is currently fucking up:
Pension (taking out 103,500 when it should be 108,000 at 4.5% - this means THEY are paying less and I will get less back)
Medical Insurance (taking out 58,420 when it should be 53,760 - 4660 too much for one month) and we still haven't gotten our insurance card.
Taxes (contract says 3.3%, which should be 79,200 w, but they are only taking out 44,290 on one line and 4,420 on another for a total of 48,710)
"Unemployment tax" (2,360 that a foreigner on an E-2 SHOULD be exempt from)
I'm guessing since they got very upset when we wanted to pay the landlady the maintenance fee ourselves, and since everything else is wrong, that it is wrong as well. 30,000 won/month. I don't think we'll get a statement from them for it, they hate us too much. We wanted to write the landlady a note asking how much it is, but when we asked a Korean teacher to write "what is our maintenance fee?" she had no idea what it was. Any idea what it is in Korean?
I might make this a whole new post so I can get as much help as possible.
What can I DO? We've talked with the school about all of these things and they're getting pissed that we're "complaining" and do nothing about it.
* WHO can I contact about the medical insurance and the taxes? Immigration/ Labor office? How can I check if they're even paying into it?
Last edited by kiwiluvesyew on Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:00 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:57 am Post subject: |
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| kiwiluvesyew wrote: |
I get 2.4 million. The contract says 2.24%. Actually, 58,420 w was deducted (my mistake) but according to the percent in our contract it should've been 53,760 w.
We've been teaching here since August 4th, so there's no way that includes back payments.
WTF? My school is currently fucking up:
Pension (taking out 103,500 when it should be 108,000 at 4.5% - this means THEY are paying less and I will get less back)
Medical Insurance (taking out 58,420 when it should be 53,760 - 4660 too much for one month) and we still haven't gotten our insurance card.
Taxes (contract says 3.3%, which should be 79,200 w, but they are only taking out 44,290 on one line and 4,420 on another for a total of 48,710)
"Unemployment tax" (2,360 that a foreigner on an E-2 SHOULD be exempt from)
I'm guessing since they got very upset when we wanted to pay the landlady the maintenance fee ourselves, and since everything else is wrong, that it is wrong as well. 30,000 won/month. I don't think we'll get a statement from them for it, they hate us too much. We wanted to write the landlady a note asking how much it is, but when we asked a Korean teacher to write "what is our maintenance fee?" she had no idea what it was. Any idea what it is in Korean?
I might make this a whole new post so I can get as much help as possible.
What can I DO? We've talked with the school about all of these things and they're getting pissed that we're "complaining" and do nothing about it. |
On a salary of 2.4 million your deductions should be:
Taxes: 52,130
pension: 108,000
medical: 60,960
Your numbers all seem to be within reason and fairly close so I wouldn't get my nose in a knot over them.
The maintenance fee is a utility fee that everyone in Korea pays just like your electric, gas, internet, water and cable TV. It probably includes many of the minor fees like water, basic TV and recycled trash. I am sure that your contract specifically excludes monthly utility charges.
You are paying a $1.50 for an unemployment tax that you should be exempted from but really, do you plan to get worked up over the cost of a donut? Contact the labor office to get confirmation. Call center for Foreign Workers : 031-345-5000
I would get insistent over the medical booklet. Get in their face or get a K-friend to check with the NHIC to check and make sure that you actually do have an account. http://www.nhic.or.kr/ (press the link for English if you want the English version).
If you are looking for an excuse to leave, it is not found here.
Perhaps this may be of interest: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/CGuanipa/cultshok.htm
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kiwiluvesyew
Joined: 29 Apr 2008
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 2:08 am Post subject: |
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No, not looking for an excuse to leave. I just wanted what was in the contract. So the fact that nothing matches has confused me greatly. Makes me wonder if all of it is in their pockets. Wouldn't that worry you?
I don't think it's culture shock, but thanks for the article. I love Korea. I hate my school. It doesn't help that I work with yes-men that pay anything that comes their way and ask if there's anything more they can do when we're working forced overtime with no pay on Saturday. I look crazy for asking why nothing matches up.
I just want my shit legit. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 4:45 am Post subject: |
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| kiwiluvesyew wrote: |
No, not looking for an excuse to leave. I just wanted what was in the contract. So the fact that nothing matches has confused me greatly. Makes me wonder if all of it is in their pockets. Wouldn't that worry you?
I don't think it's culture shock, but thanks for the article. I love Korea. I hate my school. It doesn't help that I work with yes-men that pay anything that comes their way and ask if there's anything more they can do when we're working forced overtime with no pay on Saturday. I look crazy for asking why nothing matches up.
I just want my shit legit. |
The numbers in your contract in reference to taxes, pension and medical are NOT the real numbers. They perhaps were at one time but as you should understand, the numbers change every year and you can rest assured that your contract probably hasn't been amended since the hakwon opened.
Tax is on a sliding scale based on income (just like home) and your previous year's return for deductions. Use the tax calculator on the NTS website for current numbers and specifics.
Pension is 4.5% (matched by your employer) and will DROP in the 2nd year because it is based on your TAXABLE income from the previous year (and that will drop with a 30% tax exemption in years 2+).
Medical is adjusted every year and currently stands at 5.08% split equally between you and your employer (2.54% each).
You just got your ARC so it is possible that they were taking the deductions but not remitting them (since you had no ARC there could be no account).
You should get your medical book within 2-3 weeks of your ARC. You can usually check your pension account about 3 months AFTER you get your ARC (contributions are made quarterly). You may not have a tax account until the end of December.
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red_devil
Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 7:03 am Post subject: |
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| kiwiluvesyew wrote: |
No, not looking for an excuse to leave. I just wanted what was in the contract. So the fact that nothing matches has confused me greatly. Makes me wonder if all of it is in their pockets. Wouldn't that worry you?
I don't think it's culture shock, but thanks for the article. I love Korea. I hate my school. It doesn't help that I work with yes-men that pay anything that comes their way and ask if there's anything more they can do when we're working forced overtime with no pay on Saturday. I look crazy for asking why nothing matches up.
I just want my shit legit. |
You're in the wrong country to play the "to the letter of the contract" game, that's what people are trying to tell you. |
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lov2travel
Joined: 21 Oct 2008
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:54 am Post subject: |
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I just got out of a horrible hagwon after being here two months and being lied to about a visa. Now I'm looking for work. The first hagwon broke the contract countless times so now I'm going over each new contract I receive for a potential job and adding things that aren't in there, amending things that are outrageous, etc.
The school was expecting me to sign the contract today but were asking me if I went to law school rather than liberal arts school because of all the language in the contract I added.
Hopefully with a complete contract protecting both parties interest..I can play "by the contract" |
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Misera
Joined: 12 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:09 pm Post subject: |
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| ttompatz wrote: |
You are paying a $1.50 for an unemployment tax that you should be exempted from but really, do you plan to get worked up over the cost of a donut? Contact the labor office to get confirmation. Call center for Foreign Workers : 031-345-5000
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So I called them while I was still without internet at home with nothing better to do.. The guy says it's not really a "tax" but rather an unemployment insurance that the employer/school joined. If your school/employer has joined the program, then every employee (doesn't matter foreign or not) has to pay it. We do benefit from it (according to him). |
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