UK Teachers - Pension

[claire]

Hi,

Just wondered if any UK-born teachers here know anything about the Korean Pension Scheme.  We were told that people from the UK don't get their pension money refunded when they leave Korea - even though all those from other countries do...  Is this still the case?

If so, does anyone fancy joining forces to try to get this changed?  There are 3 of us already who are keen to do something about this.  We are under the impression that it's simply a case of bringing the matter to the attention of the relevant person in the UK embassy/government, and trying to get the same agreement signed that has been signed by all other countries and Korea.

Anyone with us??  Or anyone else know how to help/where to start?

Let's make a change!!!  ;-)

[Will orange]

hey claire.

from what i heard in my orientation. we get back what we paid. kinda like a deposit.

unlike the north americans who get double what they pay for pension.

as for getting it changed, im not sure if it would just be a case of bringing it up to someone in the government. but give it a go! wouldnt hurt!

[claire]

oh cool - thanks for that - will look into that then and see if that's the case - wouldn't be so bad if we still got back what we paid in!

we were under the impression that we got nothing back at all, which would be rubbish!  still seems unfair that some nationalities get double money, but hey, I guess we can still try to get that changed if we can!!  reach for the stars and all that....

thanks for your help :-)

[adamwatch]

I think you will find that you won't get anything back. Please post what you discover.

[jpscorpio]

Hiya


I think I've heard that we don't get it back. And I'm from the uk so I'm fully behind anyone who wants to instigate change.

Let me ask some other people and I'll post any further info.

J

[claire]

Hmm ok - I will look into it too and see if I can find out any definite information - not sure who is best to contact... will try a few avenues....

thanks for all your help,

claire

[countdown.]

My co called the Pension people, and said we don't get anything back.
It's rather frustrating.
From my understanding it is because a Korean who lives in England and works a full tax year is not able to apply for those taxes back- in North America, I believe, they can apply for some. I think it's because in England it goes into things like the NHS, not just pension, which is a usable service whilst living there. Also, I suspect out of all the English speaking countries, except S.A, the UK has a much smaller amount of Korean citizen  and therefore does not consider such agreements too high on their agenda. We just don't scratch their backs as well as other countries.

BUT, if you retire in Korea you are entitled to it back...

[sambelina78]

from my orientation i was led to believe the same - UK people will not get anything back, not even what they have paid. i don't understand the agreement between the two countries, and whether it is to do with tax etc going into the NHS or not. a friend from New Zealand worked in the UK for two years and got every single penny she paid in taxes back. i however worked in New Zealand for a year, and didn't get any of my tax back at all - wasn't entitled to it because it goes towards usuable services whilst i was there. so the reason UK people don't get pension back is because Koreans working in the UK cannot claim tax back doesn't follow through with Kiwis!!

i would be willing to sign a petition to the UK embassy though - however, if the percentage of UK folk at my orientation is anything to go by, we may not be a strong force... seems like there are more Americans and Canadians here. i could of course be wrong.

[smolynl]

I am a UK citizen and would definitely support an attempt to get this changed.

[nakdong]

I'm from New Zealand and have been throwing money into the pension for 5 years - We're not entitled to get anything back either, its complete rubbish.

[abipawlowski]

You don't get it back because it goes into your state pension which you receive when you retire in the UK

The problem is that when most of us retire in the UK there wont be any money left to give us a state pension, it comes down to a treaty agreement between the two countries (ROK an UK), which is why it's different for every country.

A petition will do nothing to change anything, especially if you send it to the British embassy in Seoul - they are the biggest load of oxygen wasters around.

I guess if you look at it optimistically then at least your pension is being bolstered by your work here.

[adamwatch]

Its worth complaining about imho. Call me silly but I think all people should be treated the same regardless of their nationality. After all we all do the same job and in effect we come out with less than others.

Given a choice I would opt out of any pension scheme. I would rather look after myself in my old age than trust any government.

[countdown.]

Hey, are we sure it goes into our state pension?

When i first moved to Korea I had my dad call around a few people back in the UK.
From what my father said, the 'tax man' almost found it amusing that he even considered any kind of transferring of money between a Korean Tax office and a UK one.

I would like to think my money is at least going back to me. But, I'm not too hopeful. ANYONE with more accurate information please prove me wrong! 

[Daejeon]

The only people that are entitled to pension reimbursement are those citizens of Australia, Canada, and USA.  This is simply because there is an agreement between the respective governments and that of South Korea to allow for Pension reimbursements upon exiting the country.  i.e. A Korean working in Australia would receive the pension reimbursement as would an Australian working in South Korea.

The pensions get paid out quarterly.  When I exited Korea in Dec of 09, I received my pension reimbursement at the end of February. 

The pension money doesn't have to be reimbursed to a bank account of the 3 countries.  I had mine paid to an account in NZ.  You can also select which currency you want the refund to issued in.

[Jeffery2k]

Unfortunately, British citizens do not qualify for the pension refund. However, under the contributions agreements, you can request that your pension payments be added to your British accruing pension credits in the UK, of which you can begin to receive when you retire in that country.

The procedure should generally be the same, but talk to the local pension office for more detail (this is the main office, but there are several offices in Daegu (if you happen to teach here), they should be able to give the locations of others):

Address: Kukminyeongeum Daeguhoegwan Bldg.(국민연금 대구회관) 1198-5, Igok-dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu
Zip Code: 704-713
Phone No. : 053) 589-4516～7

[doneill36]

Do all teachers pay the same in the national pension scheme, regardless of location.
I live in Geoje Island and pay 210k a month.
Feel like im getting hammered here!

[snowflake]

Unfortunately, British citizens do not qualify for the pension refund. However, under the contributions agreements, you can request that your pension payments be added to your British accruing pension credits in the UK, of which you can begin to receive when you retire in that country.

The procedure should generally be the same, but talk to the local pension office for more detail (this is the main office, but there are several offices in Daegu (if you happen to teach here), they should be able to give the locations of others):

Address: Kukminyeongeum Daeguhoegwan Bldg.(국민연금 대구회관) 1198-5, Igok-dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu
Zip Code: 704-713
Phone No. : 053) 589-4516～7

I was told this by one pensions officer in the UK. However when I wanted clarification and something in writing I was told that this wasn't in fact the case and there was NO agreement for our payments here to "count" towards our UK pension. I did get that in writing 
I would love to try and get this changed - however I fear this goes beyond anything we may be able to have an impact upon. I've been here for 5 years and starting a family here - I hate to think of all that wasted money. If anyone has any great ideas for doing something however then I would be in.

[beccaraella]

yep, i can confirm that i called the wonju pensions office in gangwon-do today and they told me UK citizens wont get any money back and there is no agreement for it to be able to be paid into a UK pensions fund...sigh!

[mrajyandy]

Does anybody know how, as a British citizen, I can reclaim my pension contributions? I've been here for four years and I believe I probably have somewhere between 8 and 9 million invested in the Korean national pension system. Everybody else seems to be able to claim this back, but we can't. Does anybody know any loopholes, that would enable me to claim this money?

So far I've only come up with marry a national of one the countries who can claim it back. (anybody interested? I'll give you a million.) Or, start some kind of petition, but I don't know whether enough people are affected by this issue to make that a viable option.

[oculisorbis]

While you can't take a cash lump sum refund, there is an agreement in place where the money in your pension can be credited to your British pension. Although I dont actually know how to go about making it happen......