National Pension-Tax Information For U.S. Citizens in Korea

National Pension

The National Pension was established in Korea to serve the economic needs of the aging population. Akin to Social Security, the National Pension involves a monthly tax payment, which varies depending on the salary of the employee in question. An average employee making approximately two million won per month can expect to pay roughly 70 000 won per month to the National Pension. The employer is obligated to match these funds for each of their employees.

Foreign nationals living in Korea, including U.S. citizens, are required to pay into the National Pension regardless of their intention to collect these funds after they retire. Judging by the care and kindness extended the elderly in Korea, one must never rule out the possibility of retiring in Korea. Click here to read the Social Security Agreement as authorized by both the Republic of Korea as well as the United States governments, among other nationalities. If you want to retire here, you should know what benefits you can receive.

The Korean government has signed agreeements with several countries to allow Korean citizens living abroad to collect pension funds as well as to allow foreign nationals living in Korea to collect funds accumulated in the National Pension. The U.S. is fortunate enough to be one of those countries. Click here if you would like to see the totalization agreement in all its lengthy glory.

Barring all that, let's find out how to reclaim these funds!

Getting the National Pension Back!

What do I need?

You will need the following items to successfully reclaim your National Pension:

Passport

Airplane ticket showing departure date

Resident Alien Card

Letter of Release from your Employer

Bank Account Information in the United States

Where do I go?

The address of the main National Pension office is:

7-16 Sincheon-Dong

Songpa-Gu, Seoul

138-725

Phone: (02) 2240-1114

Fax: (02) 424-9209

What do I do?

Take the above information to the above address and say "I want to reclaim my national pension." Wait patiently as the bemused looks of exasperation drift from the faces of these government officials and allow them to assist you in this relatively easy process.

Not satisfied? Email the National Pension Corporation directly to enquire about their services, location and the quality of their office coffee. Click here to email them directly.

If you find the above address inconvenient, please try another one! Click here to see the complete list.

If you require further information, we suggest that you take some time to page through the National Pension Corporation's extensive website. You can find it by clicking here.