Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nickolieee]

I've been searching for nearly 3 days for an answer to my problem and have thus found nothing. So here it is...

From September 2009 to August 2010 my salary was 2,000,000 won. 4.5% was withheld from my salary at that time. My employer should have been paying the other 4.5% as well to make a total of 9% which is 180,000 for 12 months.�

From September 2010 to current my salary is 2,700,000 won. 4.5% is again being withheld based upon my pay stub. I am under the impression my employer is also contributing the same amount which should bring the total contribution to 243,000 won monthly as of September 2010.

Based on this information I calculate

180,000 x 12 months = 2,160,000
243,000 x 6 months = 1, 450,000
2,160,000+1,450,000=3,618,000 approximately.�

My current pension statement from the NPS website states that my current contribution total is 1,996,320 which is approximately 1,600,000 less than my calculation. Perhaps I am missing some information but from the way I see it, there is a significant amount of money not being reported on my part. It would be a great pleasure for me to get this situation sorted out for I will be departing Korea the beginning of March. Based on what I have read, am I safe to assume that all of mine and my employer's contributions can be returned to me completely or is some withheld at the time of my departure?

Every time I address this with my employer she states that her accountant handles everything and I will get it broken down to me when I leave. Unfortunately when I leave is too late to address any problems that may arise. She also stated that the income tax, NHIC and pension entities were related and through some formula this amount is calculated. But after speaking to the NPS office today, that is in fact not true and the separate entities have nothing to do with the other. I don't want to create a rift at my job before I leave but the only thing I can gather is that something is fishy with her? I'd like to believe otherwise but at this point it's a lot of money missing and I just can't bring myself to walk away knowing that. Any insight or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[nukeday]

by the way, how can i check my current pension balance?

[thegadfly]

Pension contributions are not always done monthly, although they are taken out of your pay monthly -- if you have a listing of when your contributions have gone in, you should be able to see if they are done quarterly or bi-annually...not saying that is what is happening, but I know my school makes contributions quarterly (and makes pro-rated contributions "out of schedule" at the end of a teacher's contract, to get the contributions back to current prior to the teacher's departure).

...a bi-annual pension payment would explain the discrepancy -- just something to double-check before going ballistic...

Also, it is possible that the pension, taxes, and other issues are handled by the accountants, just as your boss stated -- I know that is the case at my school...I am not saying it is the same in your case, just that a similar situation exists at my school, and I have been at this school long enough to know the clunky engine works (I get my tax refund in March, every other teacher that has left has received the full pension payments AND pro-rated tax refunds within the window that the pension office states, etc).

I would double check everything, and keep notes, but nothing you have said sounds THAT far out in left field...but I would also say your concerns are justified. I know I can trust my school -- it has been demonstrated to me over time. I know nothing about your school, so I can not make the same claim....

[winterfall]

You can go to the pension office and get a statement. It'll show your reported income per year, your deduction rate (Combined with employer), and whatever your total pension is. You might need to have the pension office investigate.

I noticed my school was reporting 85% of my income. Total missing was about 2 million won. I went ballistic after I found out my income on file was my starting pay grade that didn't change over 3 years. I also found out the pension office sends a billing statement every month to the school and the school pays whatever is due. That said, it's hard to tell who's responsible. It's possible your accountant is manipulating the data or your accountant is just the grunt while someone higher up is messing around with the information.

As soon as your school files the paperwork correcting the info. After the pension office calls them. Think they're either take out a lump amount the next month to cover the difference (Your half) or spread it out over a couple months. Either way it'll be fixed in a short time.

To another poster. School's aren't legally allowed to hold off payment on a biannual monthly payment, quarterly or towards the end. Since they get that billing statement. They either pay it or they don't. If they don't the pension office would probably call them and find out why. So it seems more like your school has just been under reporting your income. They made all their payments on time but its not the right amount.

Problems with under reported income seems to be more common than I thought. Looks like PS isn't the safe haven everyone thought it was.