Korean Job Discussion Forums

lastat06513

I seem to repeat this post once a year.

I always read about people who contribute to the National Pension Scheme and are told they can get it after they leave, only to find out that it is harder than hell to get it, or worse find out that their bosses never put the money into the fund while they were working in Korea.

PLEASE, don't get suckered!
YOU CAN GET YOUR MONEY BACK BEFORE YOU LEAVE KOREA and it is a whole lot faster and easier to get.

If you are American, all you need is;

1. Your passport (with your E-2 visa sticker in it)
2. Your ARC
3. Your contract
4. A pay stub that shows (or allegedly shows) your school contributing to the pension fund.
5. Your SSN card
6. A ticket showing you are leaving Korea.
7. An active Korean bank account.

Go to the nearest National Pension office that deals with foreign worker's pension. Fill out the forms and have them make copies of the documents mentioned above.
If you use your Korean account, you should recieve the money between 4 days to 2 weeks (depending on how fast they act on it).

Now here is the beautiful part- The ticket showing that you are leaving Korea can be for another country, not just your home country, so you can cancel your visa, go on vacation somewhere and then come back to Korea on a tourist visa with a clean slate and money in the bank that you can use to look for another job.
Or once you finish the paperwork, you can cancel the ticket and collect your money.
You can do that and start over with a 0-balance again.
Another good thing is that if you leave your pension in there longer, it also starts acruing interest from the day you start working to the day you leave Korea (no matter whether you were working at that time or not).

To do this, you might need to have a friend or someone close keep an eye on the bank account while you are away.

But I did this before and found it easier than having it put into a stateside account and waiting to see if it gets to me or not.

lastat06513 · Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:52 pm Post subject:

I almost forget....

Every September, you are suppose to get an annual pension balance sheet to show how many was contributed and how much you might have and what would be the monthly payments should you retire in Korea at age 60.

midian3x · Joined: 18 Sep 2006

SSN - social security number card?

lastat06513 · Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:54 pm Post subject:

StAxX SOuL · Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Location: London

I always heard that you had to be in Korea for a year and a day... maybe it's just another one of those hagwon rumours... I can't say I'm too bothered by it anyway since I'm from the UK, although I would be interested to know...

seoulsista · Joined: 31 Aug 2005

What is the secret password that makes it happen in 4 days to 2 weeks rather than two months? Because what you wrote sounds not much different from the standard process minus the Korean bank account and the SS number.

HamuHamu · Joined: 01 May 2003 Location: Seoul

What you are saying is correct but the way you've titled it and worded it at the start is very misleading.

The most important part about pension is that you must FINISH YOUR CONTRACT in order to apply for pension. Your school director will need to call/fax/write/telegraph/send a message in a bottle to the Pension office that notifies them that:
1/ you've finished your contract
2/ your last contribution will be deposited on DD/MM/YYYY
3/ the amount of your last contribution

"Finished your contract" here does not necessarily mean "one year contract" but rather that you have mutually agreed with your employer to end your employment.

You also have to show that you are leaving the country, ie/ have your plane ticket.

Now, most people are not in a position to do those 2 things until a day or two before they leave.

So yes, you can apply for your pension before you leave Korea. But if you are leaving for good, it's very very unwise to give them your Korean bank account number for the funds. If you give them your overseas account number, sorry but you ain't gonna have your money before you get on that plane!!! It will take a while to process.

Saying "you can get it while you are here" or "you can get it after you leave" are equally misleading statements. What should be said is, "Apply before you leave, receive it when you're home."

lastat06513 · Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 9:20 pm Post subject:

No, you don't need to finish your contract because the money is controlled by the National Pension Agency and not by your school nor your boss.

And the reason it takes 2 months is because the they usually have to verify the bank account info for the foreign bank, while they can verify the bank info for a Korean bank rather quick.

I collected my pension 2 seperate times, both times I was in Korea and both times using my Korean bank account and the first job I got, I left after only 10 months but I still got my pension plus interest.

manlyboy · Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 9:36 pm Post subject:

Just for all the Aussies out there who may be wondering about their pension refunds; Don't forget that all of our payments continue to go directly down the same place:

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

HamuHamu · Joined: 01 May 2003 Location: Seoul

dogshed · Joined: 28 Apr 2006

Mr Crowley · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Location: Suwon

My US drivers license has my social security card number on it . Will they accept that? I don't have my social security card in Korea with me.

robertmanicni · Joined: 16 Oct 2006

Can't people from the UK get a pension in Korea?

lastat06513 · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 3:56 pm Post subject:

The only people I know of who can get their pension are those from the US and Canada.

And if I were a new person and I saw the problems people were having getting their pensions, I would try to get a one-way ticket out of the country for the sole prupose of getting my pension. Then once I had my money in-hand, I would change my ticket to the real date I would leave.

The day you go to immigrations to cancel your visa and get your 2-week exit order, that is the time when a notice is sent to the pension office telling them you are leaving. And your school's accountant will be in contact with the Pension Office to notify them of your pending departure from Korea, there is or should be nothing you have to bring other than the documents I mentioned (but as a safe measure, call them before you decide to collect). And the day you apply for your pension is the day they will tell you it will be in the bank- again between 4 days to 2 weeks.

I am sorry to say but Koreans are very sneaky to the point that you might have to be equally dishonest to get what you want.
But if you grew up following the "golden rule", chances are you are going to get screwed in Korea- point is, you have to lie and cheat sometimes to get what you need and want and sadly, sometimes there is no way around it.