Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pakenhamin]

I've been teaching at Yeong Cheon English Town for just over two weeks and the administrator just told me the other day that apparently because I am Australian I don't need to be on the Korean National pension scheme.

Now their justification for this is that Australia already has a national pension scheme so allegedly that will take care of me.

Given that the Yeong Cheon Education department is my employer I'm a little confused about all this. Is there anyone else in the forums from Australia that has had a similar experience who can tell me what the real deal is. I don't want any problems further into the future.

Am I as an Australian supposed to be on the Korean National Pension Scheme or not?

Input from fellow Australians would be much appreciated.

[Otherside]

Actually, all teachers HAVE TO contribute to the Korean National Pension (except for South Africans). Some teachers (US, Can) get the money back when they leave, others lose out. I believe Australia has recently signed an agreement with Korea, so you should be able to get your money back when you leave.

Either way, you still have to pay it.

[AussieGav]

[pakenhamin]

Thanks guys for your answers. It saved me having to hassle the NPS directly which would been the next step.

I approached my supervisor and it turns out that there was a misunderstanding on their part in that they thought that I was already on superannuation scheme in Australia. I had to explain to them that we are only on the superannuation scheme in Australia when we are being employed in Australia so there is no double paying into a scheme like they thought might be the case.

So it looks like I'll be paying into the pension scheme after all. The person responsible for chasing after those matters in the head office is out today so if there are any further issues I'll let you know.