Korean Job Discussion Forums

[The German]

Don't forget ur pension money!

I'm leaving Korea soon and I just made yesterday an extra 3.2 million Won!

I was working in Korea for 3 years now. The first year full time for a foreign language high school. Second year part time for several schools and my last as a university professor.

Not only that we get the severance pay for fullfilling our contracts we also pay every month into the national pension system. It's 4.5% of our salary and the employer has to pay the same amount by law.

When you leave the country all you need to do is to go to the pension office (every Gu has one) and show them your passport, alien ID, your ticket when you're leaving and your bank account number. Just make copies of the four items.

In less than 5 minutes they tell you how much and when they send the money to your korean account. It's 5 working days after your ticket says you are leaving Korea.

In case you don't have an international ATM-card and cannot withdraw money from home or abroad here's my advice.

Get an online ticket and book a flight one week earlier than you wanna leave. Then postpone your flight to the day you really wanna leave and you will have two initinaries of your ticket. Use the first one for the pension office and the money will be transferred before you're gone and you can transfer it or withdraw it or more safe give them the account number of a person you trust and she/he can send the money to you.

I went to my administration office yesterday to ask for the severance pay.
Somebody told me before I will get either a severance pay or the pension money. But it isn't true. I have to get both. The administration staff at my Uni is very kind so they told me that the severance pay only can be made after my contract is finished. Also the application for the pension money can be made after the contract is finished. But I could leave them the papers and they will do it for me. They also told me that there are different pension systems. The pension money I paid while working as a full time teacher at a school went to a different fund than the money I paid as a professor.

But who cares from where the money comes back as long as it does.

And they not only give you back the paid money you also get tax back and the pay you the interest.

In my case it's 2.7 million severance pay
1.6 million from the school teacher's pension
and also 1.6 million from the professors pension.
That's totally 5.9 million!!!

If you left already the country maybe you still have a friend here you can trust and he can apply on your behalf. Maybe it's a little bit more back and forth but definitely worth to try it.

[sojourner1]

That's correct, but your figures are a bit high unless you're making more than me and paying more pension than me.

I'm making 2.2 million and paying 99,000 a month in pension. This means.

1,188,000 Pension professor
1,188,000 pension school
Total 2,276,000

Severance 2.2 million

Total 4,476,000 Still a decent amount to go home on. This doesn't count the 1.3 for return airfare.

[The German]

pension teacher is 1.613.160 Won incl tax back and inerest
pension prof is 1.655.840
and severance is 2.700.000
so close to 6.000.000 Won
and your right the ticket

[cruisemonkey]

[moosehead]

3.2 for 3 years?

sorry - are you sure everyone was paying in?

I've earned over 2 mill in 1 year - that is, w/the 50/50 contribution payments. over 3 years I think you should have earned more - did you ask for a breakdown of how much each school paid in? the Pension office should provide it, and yes, it's your money so take a breath and make sure you get ALL that's coming to you, ok?

[ontheway]

It's nice that you got your pension money back, but the numbers seem a little low.

Since the teacher pays approximately 4.5% and the school matches, that's 9% of a month's salary each month, times 12 months comes to 108% of one month's salary for the year, approximately. So, you should have a total of 3 months' salary in your pension account after 3 years. Even if you had no pension taken out for your year of part time work, the numbers seem low.


Three years' pension plus one year's severance ought to come to 10 million won, plus your airplane ticket.

[Tobias]

Agree with others here. That is low for 3 years. I've accumulated 5+ million in just under two years. I know half of that is mine, but I should have an extra month's jack extra when I leave.

Your post has caused the fog to roll in. I've always been told all I have to do is give my American account information and the pension office would wire it to my US account after some time, around a month or so. Someone cut through this fog bank, as I'm going to the pension office very soon and want no surprises. I want my money sent to the US, not to my account here.

I've tried to call the pension office in Seoul, but no one picks up. The numbers I have are 02-2176-3005 & 02-2240-1082. I need a number for somebody at the office who speaks English and knows his/her stuff. Can somebody give me a good number to call and/or what we need to do to get our pension $$ wired to our US accounts? I've got all I THINK I'll need--account number, swift code, bank name, ARC, plane ticket....

[cruisemonkey]

Tobias,

Don't worry. Unlike Immigration, the Pension Corporation has it's 'stuff' together. If you have all required docs & info. you'll be in and out in ten minutes.

P.S. The OPs numbers just don't add up... but as long as he/she is happy, who cares?

[sojourner1]

Yes, his calculation has to be for 1 year in a job paying 2.7 million won per month; not the previous 2 years as he probably already cashed in on those. Not sure what job pays that unless he has a and masters as well as the 2 years experience. He's cashing in on his 3rd year and could be back for year 4 to do it all over again.

[The German]

I was working my second year just part time and freelancing. So no money went into my pension fund. Only my first year and my third.

I made some calculation also. Teachers fund is 108% of my monthly salary. Professors fund is 54%. They only pay me back the 4.5% I paid.

I don't bother. This thread is just remembering all the others who have no idea getting money back.

[Tobias]

[Cheonmunka]

[yingwenlaoshi]

So it's not "Friday" anymore? It's "an extra 3.2 mil W"?

Strange.

[cruisemonkey]

As we say in K-land -

"Just a reminder... don't forget to remember."

[sojusucks]

My pension is starting to build up.

I shouldv'e claimed it before my current job when the exchange rate went down. I couldv'e visited Japan. Oh well.