Korean Job Discussion Forums

[isisaredead]

my boss just tried to tell me that there is no agreement between korea and australia in terms of claiming a lump-sum refund of my pension. according to several websites, i automatically assumed this to be false.

quick question: can i claim a lump-sum refund of my pension?

- i'm australian.

- started working here nov. 2007.

- worked at two different hagwons with no breaks in between.

- i'm in gyeongnam province.

any australians to prove me correct would really help. as would any phone numbers for english speaking pension offices. my boss claimed he called the pension office here, and they told him flat-out that i couldn't claim anything.

any help would be really appreciated.

[metalthrasher]

I am sorry to say that your boss is lying to you. You are definitely entitled to a lump-sum return. I am an Australian and I worked for a fairly large hagwon in Seoul last year. I was able to claim my return without any problems at all. All the information, and proof, that you need can be found on the national pension service website: http://www.nps.or.kr/jsppage/english/main.jsp

[isisaredead]

hey man, don't be sorry - be stoked that you've proved me right.

i just wasted a whole morning trying to prove him wrong. as if i needed more stress with organising jobs, visas, moving, etc etc etc.

thanks, that's all i needed.

[Senior]

Your boss probably hasn't been paying into the pension. By pass him and speak directly with the pension office.

I know that an agreement has been signed, but I have never heard of an Aussie getting his pension back (feel free to prove me wrong on that). I'm a Kiwi,a nd there doesn't seem to be any movement on that front for us.

[the ireland]

None for kiwis but there is one for aussiea, I know for sure too cos one of the guys I used to work with got his back when he left.

It came into play in june 2008 as far as I remember

[Hamlet]

http://www.nps.or.kr/jsppage/english/agreement/agreement_02_13_01.jsp

[ttompatz]

OP: Your boss(s) have screwed you.

Go to the pension office and file a complaint.

You will be required to show:

Passport
ARC
proof of employment and salary (for each job) (contracts are acceptable)
Proof of deductions (if possible / if any)

You WILL need to pay YOUR share of the contributions BEFORE they will go after your old bosses.

It IS refundable for Canadians, Americans and Australians.

Be aware that your boss WILL be pissed at you for sicking the pension office on him (and probably the NHIC will go after him too as a result of the claim and investigation.

If you just started at the job you will probably get fired before too long as a result.

If you are leaving that employer then fill your boots and pee in his cornflakes by making the claim and ruining his day.

.

[carpetdope]

I'd be interested to know how this pans out. Keep us posted if you're able.

[isisaredead]

no worries.

it looks as though someone at the pension office was simply completely clueless. my boss called again this afternoon and got the same response, but as i was there and silently screaming "THIS IS A LOT OF MONEY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE" he kept at it.

finally he ended up writing down a bunch of things on a bit of paper (things you need to take with you to make a claim - i'd seen the same list online several times before), gave it to me, and said that he'll take me next week, and i should have it in my account after my ARC expires.

it's much better to know he was simply as clueless as the people at the pension office, rather than somehow doin' the dodge.

but, we'll see. i haven't got a cent yet.

[freakyaye852]

A lot of people are not aware that since Oct 2008 Australia has been able to claim the refund. The recruiter I am with now has needed some advice on a few points actually.

[isisaredead]

many recruiters are still completely clueless as to what EXACTLY an australian needs to apply for a job here.

so i can sort of understand about the pension thing. it's not like it's completely hidden in a sea of internets, though. the agreement is well advertised on the australian embassy website, for example.

what scares me is that someone WHO WORKS IN A PENSION OFFICE was not aware of the agreement, and didn't bother to check up on it until i went to work and semi-pleaded with my boss to have another go.

[garygoodbloke]

You absolutely can get it back, there is no doubt about this. My friend already has and I'm in the process of getting mine back now. I finished working in Korea in March, 2008. I only found out I could get it back recently.

Here's a link that will autmatically download the info on the agreement from centrelink if you click it:

http://www.centrelink.gov.au/internet/internet.nsf/filestores/int031_0812/$file/int031_0812en.rtf

It's a bit of a pain in the arse, but worth it for the money. Sorting it out from Aus you need to prove that you've left Korea for good, give them proof of working in Korea and your Korean exit stamp in your passport, prove to them that you have a job in aus, and prove to them that you are the person you say you are with respect to the bank details. Oh, you also need to give ID, as well.

I don't know how it works if you're still in Korea.

My story is I went into centrelink and they hadn't heard of it before. This is in Bondi Junction, so if they haven't heard of it then chances are most centrelinks haven't. They had to do some checking around, finally they called the international services department down in Tasmania (what a place to stick your international services department).

The people in Tassie then send the forms to you (it all seemed very secretive) and then you have to take the forms and the originials to be sighted and verified at your local centrelink. Following this, your centrelink posts it off and then centrelink and the Korean NPS sort the rest out. It takes several weeks.

I'm still waiting for mine.

Hope this helps.

[isisaredead]

i'm bumping this thread because i figured this would be of interest to at least a few australians in korea.

i applied for my lump-sum refund a few hours ago, and it was farely painless.

here are some details:

- my contract finishes tomorrow, and i am not leaving the country for the next three weeks

- i have worked at two different hagwons

- i was told an estimated amount after tax, which exceeded my reasonably-accurate calculations

- the amount was retrospective before the agreement date between korea and australia

- they showed me the seperate amounts for each hagwon

- i chose to have it put into a korean bank account

- i was told i would recieve it on or before the 30th of july

- i did not provide an address, a phone number, or anything else for that matter for australia

- i provided the same details as all other nationalities: passport, ARC, receipt of flight ticket, bank account number. that was it.

THERE WAS ONE HICCUP. the form asked me for my Centrelink Customer Number. now, i have been unemployed in australia before (i know, what a shock, right), but there was no way i could remember my number. nor did i actually feel any need to give it to them anyway, after thinking for a few moments.

the receptionist made a phonecall and the problem seemed to resolve itself. she said it was all good, gave me my receipt thing, and i went on my merry way.

hope that helps.

[hwarangi]

Thanks for posting that.

Good to know you can have it deposited into your Korean bank.

Re: the Centrelink customer no., I've got the forms ready to fill out and I noticed that it is compulsory to fill in a "social security number", which not all Aussies have, but I think all/most Americans and Brits do.

Could that have been what she meant? Or Medicare no.?

[isisaredead]

it said "Centrelink Customer Number".

i noticed that the form she gave me was specifically tailored to australians. it mentioned the agreement, several things about australian law, and a bunch of other things that pertained specifically and only to australia.

it would have made slightly more sense if the form was asking for my Tax File Number. but it wasn't. it said Centrelink Customer Number.