List of National Pension Offices.

I have a question:

Is any money deducted from your paycheck toward the national pension fund during the first two "tax free" years of teaching in Korea?  If yes, then how much is deducted?

Does anyone know what time the pension offices in seoul close. Are they open on saturdays? I guess not.

Is there a certain bank that is better for this process?  I've heard that some make it very difficult when it comes to international money transfers.

Can I only claim my pension if I complete the contract? I only plan to stay 6 months and I wanted to know if it was possible to claim the pension for the 6 months I've worked in Korea? thanks!

Can I only claim my pension if I complete the contract? I only plan to stay 6 months and I wanted to know if it was possible to claim the pension for the 6 months I've worked in Korea? thanks!

Assuming you're eligible for a lump-sum refund (your country has a reciprocal agreement with Korea) and your employer has made the payments, the length of time spent in K-land (or completion of a contract) is irrelevant and of no concern to the NPS.

how do you get reimbursed for your pension deducted from your paycheck?

If you are a Brit and you are frustrated that you won't get to see your pension contributions again why don't you join the fight to change that at:

Waygooks for British Pension Refunds

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Waygooks-for-British-Pension-Refunds/210893912315201

Just some information based on my experience.

If you hold dual nationality with a country that has a totalization agreement then you can get a full pension refund. For example, my Visa is on my UK passport but I provided my US Passport, Social Security Card and Birth Certificate to get a full refund.

If the clerk is unfamiliar with the process ask to speak to someone higher up in the chain of command.

Peace.

Instead of the ticket, will a receipt for the ticket be enough for the pension refund?

Hi,

I leave for the UK in a year - one of my co-workers is really supportive and so I am getting everything sorted before she leaves the job.

I have made a reservation now for my departure to the UK, I am a UK resident. Is there anything else I can do and give to my co-worker to make the refund as easy as possible. The UK Tax Office has sent me paperwork today - so I will give this to her.

UK citizens don't get refunded. This information is pretty clear if you do a basic search on the matter.


Ok where can you "search on the matter?"
I am a UK citizen and a New Zealand permanent resident..

Yes.  I bought my ticket online at Orbits.  Printed out the email confirmation and took that in.  I went to the Jongno branch in Seoul.

The only trouble I had was with the bank account back home.  I don't have a bank book for that here.  I thought bringing in the bank account # and routing # would be enough.  It wasn't. 

A proof of wire transfer was.

So, I took a taxi to the nearest KEB.  Wired some money home.  Took a taxi back and gave her the receit.  All was well...

I'm going to post a little more info here for you guys, including some Australia-specific stuff, having done this yesterday. Basically, just rock up at the national pension office (list linked on the first post) in your last week. My local office closes at 5 pm apparently. No delays, no problems. There's a dedicated counter for the lump-sum refund. The documents I filled in were really simple and I dealt with a lady who spoke perfect English. However, page one of the paperwork is country-specific. It will ask for country specific items. It may be worth moving a list of known country specific items to the opening post for future reference.

Stuff Everyone Needs to Bring

• Korean Alien Registration Card
• Passport
• Proof of Flight - Just a printout of your confirmation email after purchase. I think Korean sites actually email you some sort of visual image of a ticket as your "e-ticket" in case you get weird questions/expectations.
• Korean Bank Number or Blank Self-Addressed Cheque or Overseas Bank Number in Printed Form - If you're planning on returning to Korea, then you can just pop down a Korean bank number and its easy for them to verify. If you want the refund posted overseas then you'll need to either bring a blank bank cheque addressed to yourself or a printed copy of your bank details. They cannot confirm the details of overseas accounts so they will demand a printed document of any sort to cover themselves. A bank statement, or receipt from your last remittance or just a printout of the account details page (redacted if necessary) on online banking should suffice.

Stuff for Australians

• Centrelink Number - Doesn't matter if you've ever had the pleasure of dealing with Centrelink before or not, you'll need a number. Fear not though, for they have an international hotline that can issue you with one (or dig up your old one) in a Flash. Furthermore, there are freecall hotlines for a list of countries including South Korea found here.

Has anyone used a deposit slip from your US bank account? Will this work well for information needed at the NPS office for lump sum refund?

Thank you for the list!  It's very useful.  How long does it usually take to get your pension money back?

I'm slightly worried about this "Overseas Bank Number in Printed Form" that Paul mentioned.

I know all of my home bank information (account number, bank number, whatever that other number is....) but what is this "in Printed form" mean?

Can't I just go and tell them the numbers?

Has anyone applied for the pension to be sent in the form of a cheque? (I'm sending money directly Hong Kong instead of Canada - next job is there)
If so, is it sent by courier of registrar mail?

I'm slightly worried about this "Overseas Bank Number in Printed Form" that Paul mentioned.

I know all of my home bank information (account number, bank number, whatever that other number is....) but what is this "in Printed form" mean?

Can't I just go and tell them the numbers?

Have you made any wire transfers from your Korean account to your home one?  You should have provided an overseas remittance number the first time you made one of those that is then printed on the receipt you get after making a wire transfer.  Bring in one of those receipts.  (If I'm wrong, someone, correct me but that is what I read further up in the thread).

Question: What is the EARLIEST one can apply for their pension?  Is 2 months in advance too soon?  I have time over vacation the first two weeks of August and will be leaving the last week of September.

Question: What is the EARLIEST one can apply for their pension?  Is 2 months in advance too soon?  I have time over vacation the first two weeks of August and will be leaving the last week of September.

I'm not entirely positive about this, but I believe you can only apply 30 days or less before you leave.

Hi guys,
Great thread, great help.
I'm a New Zealander holding a dual citizenship with Canada.
I came here on my NZ passport and after three years, I'm trying to apply for the pension refund, a reasonable amount of money after three years. On the phone, they told my co teacher: Because he came here on a NZ passport, he cannot get refund.

I have proof of my Citizenship, my ID card clearly showing my Canadian citizen status. I don't have a Canadian passport, though.

Has anyone been through a similar problem? Or, better yet, can anyone help me with this?

When you applied for you visa, which country did you apply with?

This is an interesting problem.   If you applied as NZ citizen, maybe you might be consider a NZ here.   

All I can say at the moment is check out the National pension website.   It explains things pretty nicely.
http://english.nps.or.kr/jsppage/english/main.jsp

Please keep us appraised