Korea National Pension Refund Calculator 2026 — Lump-sum Refund for Foreigners
If you are leaving Korea for good, you may be able to get your National Pension contributions back as a lump sum. Step 1 checks whether you can, using your country, your visa during the enrolled period and months enrolled. Step 2 adds up the amount from the contributions you enter. It does not guess your pay history.
Choose your nationality and enter the months you were enrolled to see the result.
Can I get it?
How much?
Time limit to claim
Estimate only — the official amount is decided by NPS. This calculator applies the National Pension Act and the NPS country list to what you enter. Whether you are paid, and how much, is decided by the National Pension Service (NPS) when you apply.
How to apply
This summarizes NPS's own guide in our words. Read the official page before you go to an office.
- Who applies. In principle, you apply in person at an NPS local office. If you already live abroad, an agent can apply for you, or you can send the documents by post.
- Before you leave. You can file before departure if you show proof that you leave within one month, such as a flight ticket. NPS pays after your departure is confirmed (NPS's Korean guide).
- Documents for filing in Korea. NPS lists: the application form, your passport, your alien registration card, proof of your bank account (for example a bank statement), and proof of your departure date.
- Filing from abroad. NPS asks for the application, your passport, a copy of your bank account proof and an overseas remittance application. An agent also brings an ID or a power of attorney. Foreign documents may need an apostille or consular confirmation, and a Korean translation.
- How you are paid. By Korean bank transfer or overseas remittance. If you leave through Incheon Airport, NPS can pay in foreign cash at the airport on the day you leave, under conditions (for example, you apply within a month before leaving, your employer has reported that you left the job, and it is not a weekend or public holiday). NPS asks you to give a bank account as a back-up.
- By phone or fax. NPS's Korean guide says foreign nationals cannot claim by phone or fax.
- How long payment takes. We found no official processing time, so we do not give one.
- What it costs you. NPS's Korean guide says that once you take the refund, your enrollment period ends and you cannot get a pension from it later. If you join the pension again, you can repay the refund with interest to restore the period (National Pension Act Art. 78, our translation).
- Questions. NPS call center 1355 inside Korea, +82-63-713-6900 from abroad.
Source: NPS: Lump-sum Refund for Foreigners (English), checked Oct 28, 2026.
Legal basis
Each law is linked to its Korean original on law.go.kr, the Ministry of Government Legislation's site. English titles are our translation. The Korean text is what counts legally. For a reference translation, see the Korea Legislation Research Institute's English law site; it is a reference translation, not legally binding, and may not include every provision used here; it may show an older version and different paragraph numbers.
| Law (our translation) | Articles | Effective date | Last checked |
|---|
The country list is not in the law. NPS publishes which countries it pays under reciprocity (Art. 126(5)) and under social security agreements (Art. 127). We copy that list into our data file with its date.
Limitations: what this calculator does not cover
Please keep these four in mind first.
- We do not calculate interest. The law adds interest to your contributions, but we could not find an official year-by-year rate table. If you already have an interest figure (for example, one NPS gave you), enter it; otherwise the total is shown without it.
- The country list is NPS's, dated Jun 15, 2026. NPS can change it. If your country is not on it, we say "Check with NPS" and do not say you are not eligible.
- The link between the visa codes E-8, E-9 and H-2 and the Act's wording on foreign workers comes from NPS guidance. The Act does not list visa codes.
- Tax is not calculated. A lump sum like this may be taxed. The payer (expected to be NPS) withholds income tax under Income Tax Act Art. 127 (our translation); we could not confirm NPS's own guidance. Check with NPS.
See all 13 limitations
- Tax is not calculated, and tax treaty relief is not included. The Income Tax Act treats a lump sum under a public pension law as retirement income, and only the part based on contributions from Jan 1, 2002 onward is taxed. How NPS applies this to foreign nationals, including non-residents, was not confirmed.
- Interest follows a rule in the Enforcement Decree (Art. 50): each month's contribution earns interest from the next month until the month your right arises, at the average 3-year time-deposit rate set each Jan 1. We could not find an official table of those rates for past years, and NPS does not publish the formula in detail, so we leave it to an interest figure you already have.
- If your visa changed during your stay, for example from one work visa to another, whether a part of your enrollment is paid is not covered.
- Enrollment of 120 months (10 years) or more is marked "Check with NPS". The Act's age-60 ground is for under 10 years, and the ground for emigrating has no such limit in its text, but we found no NPS guidance on how longer enrollment is handled for people who leave.
- The NPS list can be updated after the date shown. We re-check it regularly, but a change in between would not be reflected.
- NPS's Korean page headline says 22 agreement countries, but its table lists 24. We use the 24 in the table.
- Some countries have a social security agreement with Korea but are not in NPS's refund table. NPS does not explain why. If your country is one of them, you see "Check with NPS".
- The Act does not say what date counts as "emigrating" for a foreign national. NPS says it pays once your departure is confirmed. The five-year note counts from the departure date you enter, and NPS may count from a different date.
- Claims after a death or at age 60, and claims by family members, are not covered.
- "My share only" assumes your employer paid the same amount as you, so it doubles your share for workplace members. It does not apply if your employer paid a different amount. As we understand it, members who are not employed by a workplace (local members) generally pay the whole contribution themselves, so nothing is doubled (National Pension Act Art. 88, our translation). Check with NPS.
- We do not estimate contributions from your pay. Past contribution rates and income limits were not confirmed, so please enter the total contributions paid.
- If you were in both workplace and local (self-employed) membership, use the total contributions option instead of "My share only".
- We do not convert currencies. All amounts are in Korean won.
What this calculator does
It checks whether a foreign national who is leaving Korea for good can claim a lump-sum refund of the National Pension, and adds up the contributions paid. The refund is the contributions you paid, including your employer's share for workplace members, plus interest (National Pension Act Art. 77(2), our translation; Korean text). It does not calculate interest, so you enter an interest figure from NPS if you have one. It does not calculate tax.
How to fill in each input
- Nationality. Your passport country, chosen from the list NPS publishes. If it is not there, choose "Other / not listed".
- Visa during the enrolled period. Any period of your enrollment on E-8 (employment for training), E-9 or H-2 may count; if you are unsure, choose "Not sure". These visas count under NPS guidance. E-8 for seasonal workers does not.
- Leaving for good. Choose "Yes" only if you are leaving Korea permanently. NPS says a stay abroad for work or study does not qualify.
- Months enrolled. The total months of National Pension enrollment.
- Departure date. Optional. It is only used for the five-year claim note, and a planned date is fine.
- Amount. Use the total contributions paid (for workplace members, the total includes the employer's share). If you only know your own share, choose "My share only" and your member type. For a workplace member we double it, assuming your employer paid the same.
- Interest. Optional. Enter an interest figure if you already have one (for example, one NPS gave you). If you leave it empty, the total has no interest.
How to read the results
"Eligible" means your answers fit a rule on the NPS country list or visa guidance. "Not eligible" means they do not, for example because you are not leaving for good. "Check with NPS" means we cannot say, so please ask NPS. Enrollment of 120 months or more also gives "Check with NPS".
The total is your contributions plus any interest you entered. Read the "Why this amount" steps to see how it was added up. The claim date is approximate, because NPS may count the time limit from a different date.
Frequently asked questions
Who can get a refund?
A foreign national who is leaving Korea for good and fits one of three routes (National Pension Act Art. 77(1), 126(5) and 127, our translation): a visa of E-8 (employment for training), E-9 or H-2 (by NPS guidance), a country with a social security agreement that covers the refund, or a country on NPS's reciprocity list whose minimum enrollment you meet. A temporary trip, study or work abroad, or quitting a job does not qualify (NPS guidance). The E-8 visa for seasonal workers does not count (NPS Korean guide).
How much is it, and is my employer's share included?
Yes. The refund is the contributions you paid, plus the employer's share for workplace members, plus interest (National Pension Act Art. 77(2), our translation). So for workplace members it is more than your own share alone. Local members (members not employed by a workplace) generally pay the whole contribution themselves, so they generally have no separate employer share (National Pension Act Art. 88, our translation). Interest follows Enforcement Decree Art. 50, and we do not calculate it; if you already have an interest figure, you can enter it.
What does "Check with NPS" mean?
We cannot tell from what you entered. Common reasons are that your country is not on the NPS list, you are not sure whether you are leaving for good, or you were enrolled for 120 months or more. We do not call these "Not eligible", because NPS decides when you apply.
How do I apply?
In principle, you apply in person at an NPS local office. If you live abroad, an agent can apply for you, or you can send the documents by post. You can file before you leave with proof that you depart within a month, but NPS pays after your departure is confirmed. Foreign nationals cannot claim by phone or fax. See "How to apply" above for documents and payment.
How long do I have to claim?
If you leave Korea for good, the right to claim ends if you do not claim within 5 years (National Pension Act Art. 115(1), our translation). If it has ended, you may be able to claim again when you reach age 60 if you were enrolled for under 10 years (Art. 77(1) item 1; Art. 116(1)), or on death. With 10 years or more, check with NPS. NPS's English guide says re-applying is allowed within 10 years after age 60. Check with NPS.
Is the refund taxed?
It may be. A lump sum under a public pension law is retirement income, and only the part based on contributions from Jan 1, 2002 onward is taxed (Income Tax Act Art. 22, our translation). The payer withholds tax (Art. 127). We could not confirm how NPS applies this to foreign nationals, so we do not calculate tax, and the total is before tax.
Did the recent National Pension Act amendments change the refund?
Not in the versions we compared. The Act was amended with effect from Oct 20, 2026. Articles 77 to 79, 115 and 116 have the same wording as before, and the foreign-national rule keeps the same refund wording under a new paragraph number, Art. 126(5). The later amendments we found, taking effect from 2027 to 2028, do not change these articles either.
See also
- Korea Take-Home Pay Calculator — see how National Pension comes out of monthly pay
- Sembaro home (English)
Update log
- Oct 28, 2026 — Released. Uses the National Pension Act as in force on Oct 28, 2026 and the NPS country list dated Jun 15, 2026.