Korean National Pension Refund Guide for Foreigners

Last verified: 2026-08-06

If you contributed to Korea's National Pension (국민연금) as a foreign national and are permanently leaving Korea, you may be able to receive a lump-sum refund (반환일시금) of your contributions instead of a future monthly pension. Whether you qualify depends on your visa history, your nationality, and whether Korea has a social security agreement with your home country. Use the Pension Refund Calculator to check your likely eligibility route and get a rough estimate.

Who may qualify

NPS describes several routes to the lump-sum refund for foreign nationals:

• Qualifying visa category: holders of E-8 (Trainee Employment / 연수취업), E-9 (Non-professional Employment / 비전문취업), or H-2 (Working Visit / 방문취업) visas who contributed to National Pension.
• Social security agreement with equal treatment: nationals of countries whose agreement with Korea is commonly documented as including the lump-sum refund on the same terms as Korean nationals.
• Reciprocity: if your home country's own pension law gives Korean nationals an equivalent lump-sum right, you may qualify even without one of the routes above — this requires individual confirmation with NPS.

In every case, a qualifying event is also required — most commonly, permanently leaving Korea. See the full country eligibility table for nationalities commonly documented under each route.

Estimating your refund

The refund is based on your actual NPS contribution history. If you have your official contribution record (국민연금 가입내역확인서), that total is the most reliable starting point. If you don't, you can approximate it from your average salary and months contributed, though this is a rough estimate that does not account for how contribution rates changed over time. NPS also adds statutory interest at payment time, using a rate that changes periodically — the calculator's estimate excludes this interest, so your actual official refund will differ.

How to apply

General steps commonly described by NPS: confirm your eligibility route, request your official contribution record, and apply either before departure at an NPS branch or after departure through the NPS website, mail, or a representative. You'll typically need identification documents, proof of departure, and a bank account for remittance. Exact requirements and processing steps can change, so confirm the current process with NPS or your nearest Korean embassy/consulate before you travel.

Limitations

• This guide describes commonly documented routes, not an exhaustive or guaranteed-current list of every country's treatment — always confirm your specific case with NPS.
• Interest calculations and exact processing timelines are not covered here — see NPS directly.
• This is not a substitute for an official determination from NPS.