Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nene]

appologies for the double post, but i could really use answers to these questions:

1. under the korean national health insurance, you're liable for 50% of all expenses, right? so if something terrible happens and you get stuck with 10,000,000 in bills, you're still on the hook for 5,000,000?

2. can anyone certify that you really do get your pension payments back in double upon leaving after a year?

thanks much.

[peppermint]

With the medical insurance you pay 50% of the premiums each month, not 50% of the final expenses.

RE pension- if your school has been paying the money to the pension fund, and you're from Canada or the US, you can apply to get the full ammount ( your contributions and the schools) when you leave.

[nene]

surely it's not zero deductible, unlimited medical insurance though...

[Big Mac]

You posted this in another thread, and I guess you didn't see my answer. So here it is again.

1/ No, you're paying 50 per cent of the PREMIUM....not 50 per cent for each doctor's visit or medical emergency. It is 3.94 per cent of your monthly salary. If you visit a doctor, you will have to pay a small percentage of the bill...the rest is covered by your insurance. I think the last time I visited a doctor it was 3,000 Won...very cheap. Also, the insurance subsidizes your prescription drugs too, so the amount you will pay for drugs will be very cheap as well.

2/ I pay 4.5 per cent of my monthly salary for pension right now. Maybe that's more expensive than it used to be, I don't know. I know people who have got the money back. I will be leaving in two weeks, so I went to the pension office the other day and I have the application in front of me now. However, I have found out that it is actually better to make the application in Canada, through Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC). If you make the application in Korea, the money will more than likely be in your Korean account after you leave...and it is questionable whether you will have access to it outside the country. I don't have a Canadian account right now, otherwise they could have wired it there.

To make the application in Canada, you can call International Benefits at 613-957-1954 and they will mail you the form. They collect the money from Korea on your behalf and deposit the money in your Canadian account. It will take 3-4 months as opposed to three weeks in Korea, but it seems much more foolproof, at least for my situation.