Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bassist33]

I lost my wallet and my ARC the night before I left Korea. I got a police report, but at the airport I had to pay $40 in order to pass through customs. I assume that at that time I was being processed as leaving the same as if I had turned in my ARC. It has only been three weeks since I left, but I just wanted to see if any one had a similar experience or had any more information. The main reason I worry is that my roommate left three days after me and has already received his pension refund.

Will I still receive my pension the same as if I had turned in my ARC at the airport or should I be calling the pension office to inform them that I left?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[nathanrutledge]

Did you go to the pension office to claim it? If not, you don't get anything.

Also, it depends on a lot of factors. Your last paycheck has to be deposited, and the last payment to the pension office processed, and THEN you get it. Last time I did it, it took about 8 weeks for my pension to arrive, so I wouldn't get bent out of shape over it yet.

[cincynate]

As long as you left the country you are fine. Did you work for a public school or a hakwon. The pension office won't release your pension until your employer makes the last payment. This can be anywhere from 1 week to 2 months. Public school seams to be faster than hakwon at making payments to NPS, so may just take a bit. As long as you went to the pension office and applied for the refund, you'll get it.

[bassist33]

Yeah I applied for my pension. I just was asking about not turning my ARC card in. They told me that once my ARC card was turned in, the pension process would begin.

I'm not worried about it right now, but I did just want to get some feedback from anyone else that experienced this or had further knowledge about it. My school was a public school and generally good about pension payments.

Also, I wanted to start this thread for answers for anyone else that experiences this. I had a pretty stressful last few hours in Korea not knowing what to do about my debit cards, ARC card and everything else in my wallet. I've never lost it before, so it really was about the worst time it could have happened.

[YTMND]

[bassist33]

I don't believe that is an issue. I was leaving at the end of my contract. Paying the money is a penalty for not having your ARC.