National Pension Service

Main Contents of the Social Security Agreement Between Korea and Australia

History of the Agreement with Australia

• Aug. 2003 : Held a presentation meeting on the Korean-Australian Pension System (Negotiated a social security agreement between Korea and Australia)
• May. 2005 : Held the first round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in Australia
• Mar. 2006 : Held the second round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in Korea
• Sep. 2006 : Held the third round of Negotiation Meetings for the Agreement in Australia
• Dec. 2006 : Signed the Agreement on Social Security between Korea and Australia
• May. 2007 : Provided a written notification to Australia that Korea has complied with all requirements for entry into force of this Agreement
• Jul. 2007 : Held negotiation Meetings for the Administrative Arrangement of the Agreement in Korea
• Dec. 2007 : Signed the Administrative Arrangement of the Agreement
• Jul. 2008 : Received a written notification from Australia that Australia has complied with all requirements for entry into force of this Agreement
• Oct. 2008 : Social Security Agreement between Korea and Australia entered into force

Applicable Legislation

• With respect to Korea,

  • the National Pension Act and enforcement rules and regulations thereof; and
  • with regard to benefits under the Agreement, the provisions of the legislation concerning old-age pension and lump-sum refund

• With respect to Australia,

  • the Acts forming the social security law in so far as the law provides for, applies to or affects, age pension (☞ they apply to the provisions concerning benefits); and
  • the law concerning the superannuation guarantee: the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, the Superannuation Guarantee Charge Act 1992 and the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Regulations. (☞ it applies to the provisions concerning exemption of contributions)

Personal Scope of this Agreement

This Agreement applies to any person who is or has been subject to the National Pension Act of Korea and, where applicable, to other persons in regard to the rights derived from the person described above. Therefore, this agreement may also apply to a stateless person, refugee and a national of a third state as well as nationals of both contracting countries if they are or have been subject to the law concerning National Pension Scheme.
=> A person who is subject to the National Pension Act means the person has insured period under the National Pension Scheme.

This Agreement applies to any person who is or has been an Australian resident and, where applicable, to other persons in regard to the rights derived from the person described above. Therefore, this agreement may also apply to a stateless person, refugee and a national of a third state as well as nationals of both contracting countries if they are or have been Australian residents.
=> A person who is an Australian resident means the person who has citizenship or the right of permanent residence and actually resides in Australia.

※ For more information, you may refer to the section Text of Agreement

Exemption from Dual Coverage

※ Provisions concerning exemption from dual coverage regulate on the payment of Korean National Pension contributions and Australian Superannuation Guarantee contributions.

• In general, an employee is subject to the legislation of a contracting country in which he/she is employed.
• A person who resides in Korea and is engaged in self-employment in Korea and Australia is subject to the Korean National Pension Scheme

  ⇒ Australian Superannuation Guarantee doesn't mandatorily cover an self-employed person. Therefore, a person who resides in Australia and is engaged in self-employment in Australia can choose to be covered under the Superannuation Guarantee program or not.

• A detached worker is exempt from being covered under the legislation of the country which he/she is sent to for less than 5 years if he/she is covered under the legislation of his/her home country.

  ※ In the case that agencies of both contracting countries agree on, exemption period may be extended.

[ Countries that employees and the self-employed pay their contributions to ]

Benefits under this Agreement

※ With regard to benefits under the Agreement, in Korea, National Pension coverage shall be taken into account, while in Australia, a period of residence under the social security system shall be considered.

Even though your periods of coverage in one country are not sufficient to qualify for old-age pension benefits, you may be eligible for old-age pension benefits after this Agreement has entered into force. This is possible due to totalization of coverage in both countries.

• Korean National Pension Old-age Pension Benefits under the Social Security Agreement

  • If you have more than 12 months of insured period in Korea but do not have enough periods of coverage (more than 10 years) to qualify for old-age pension benefits under the Korean National Pension Scheme, you may be able to qualify for Korean old-age pension benefits by totalizing periods of coverage under the Korean pension system and periods of Australian working life residence. However, those periods of Australian working life residence creditable must not coincide with the periods under the legislation of Korea.

    ※ In this case, a period of Australian working life residence means a period during which a person is employed or self-employed during periods of Australian working life residence under the Australian legislation which is between 16 and pensionable age for an old-age pension.

  • Your benefit is calculated by dividing the Korean periods of coverage by the total periods of coverage and then multiplying by the benefits amount (Theoretical Benefit). The benefits amount (Theoretical Benefit) is calculated based on the totalized periods in both countries.

• French Pension Benefits under the Social Security Agreement

  • If you have been an Australian resident for less than 10 years but had one continuous residency period of more than 5 years, you may be able to qualify for Australian old-age pension benefits by totalizing periods of Australian residence and periods of coverage under the Korean National Pension Scheme. However, those periods creditable under the Korean pension system must not coincide with the periods of Australian residence; or
  • If you have been an Australian resident for less than 10 years and doesn't have any continuous residency period of more than 5 years, you may be able to qualify for Australian old-age pension benefits by totalizing periods of Australian residence and periods of coverage of more than 5 years under the Korean National Pension Scheme. However, those periods creditable under the Korean pension system must not coincide with the periods of Australian residence; and
  • Your old-age pension benefit is calculated by taking into account of periods of Australian residence, country of residence, income and property and other pension benefit amount, etc.

  ※ If you apply for the benefits in another country rather than Australia, you must have more than 12 months of periods of Australian working life residence (at least 6 months of continuous period).

  ※ In this case, a period of Australian residence means that a period during which you who has citizenship or the right of permanent residence actually reside in Australia, a period of Australian working life residence means a period of residence between 16 and pensionable age for an old-age pension under the Australian legislation regardless of being engaged in income-earning activities.

• A person to whom this Agreement applies is treated equally by a contracting party in the application of its legislation regarding eligibility for and payment of benefits.
• Korean lump-sum refunds are granted to Australian nationals based on the Agreement. However, lump-sum refunds can be paid to nationals of a third State only in accordance with the reciprocity principle under the National Pension Act.
• There is no lump-sum refund system under the Australian social security, and as such any lump-sum refund will not be granted to Korean nationals under this Agreement.

  ⇔ However, regardless of this Agreement, a pension benefit can be paid in a lump-sum under the Superannuation Guarantee of Australia.

Agencies of this Convention

• As regards Korea,

  • National Pension Service (NPS)

• As regards Australia,

  • Regarding Exemption of Contributions, Australian Taxation Office
  • Regarding Benefits Application, Centrelink International Services

Guide for Exemption Application

How to be Exempt from Australia Superannuation Guarantee

If you are mandatorily covered by the Korean National Pension Scheme and detached to Australia, you can be exempt from Australian Superannuation Guarantee, provided that you get "a Certificate of Coverage under Social Security Agreement" from the National Pension Service of Korea and submit (show) it to the Australian Taxation Office.

※ However, note that when you are exempted from coverage, you will not be entitled to any pension benefits.

1. A request for a Korean Certificate of Coverage

   If you are an employee, your employer in Korea must request "a Certificate of Coverage under Social Security Agreement"

   If you are self-employed, you are not mandatorily covered under the Australian Superannuation Guarantee. Therefore, you do not need to get a Certificate of Coverage under Social Security Agreement.

   • Who requires a Korean Certificate of Coverage?

     • An employee who is sent to work in Australia within a certain period (5 years) by an employer
     • An employee who is sent to work in Australia by an employer within a certain period and the detached period is extended for a certain period (In this case, mutual agreement between two countries is needed)
     • Some workers or members of a crew on a ship or aircraft who can be exempt from Australian Superannuation Guarantee under this Agreement

   • How to request a Korean Certificate of Coverage?

     The employer or self-employed person must request a Korean Certificate of Coverage by visiting the National Pension Service with the required documents or sending them to the National Pension Service.

     • National Pension Service, Center for International Affairs, 6th Floor, Kukmin-Yeonkum Building, 180, Giji-ro, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeonbuk-do, 54870, Korea
     • Fax (063)900-3404

   • Required Documents

     • When you request the Certificate, you must submit an "Application for Certificate of Coverage under Social Security Agreement" and documents to confirm the employee's detachment such as a Detachment Order.

     ※ "Application for Certificate of Coverage under Social Security Agreement" is available on our website → Social Security Agreement → Forms or you can get them by visiting NPS's regional office and by copying the form in the manual brochure at the NPS.

2. Submission or Presentation of Certificate of Coverage to the Australian Taxation Office

   An employer who is responsible for paying pension contributions is exempt from paying contributions of Superannuation Guarantee for the period specified on a Korean Certificate of Coverage under Social Security Agreement by submitting or showing the Certificate to the Australian Taxation Office.

   However, if a contributor has already paid contributions for the exempt period specified on a Certificate before submitting or showing it, he/she is able to request a refund according to the internal procedure of Australia. However, in some cases, there could be limitations on the period regarding retroactive exemptions or refunds, so we recommend that you request the exemption allowing a suitable amount of time.

How to be Exempt from Korean National Scheme

If you are mandatorily covered by the Australian Superannuation Guarantee and detached to Korea, you can be exempted from Korean National Pension Scheme, provided that you get "a Certificate of Superannuation Guarantee Coverage under Social Security Agreement" from the Australian agency and submit it to the Korean National Pension Service.

1. A Request for an Australian Certificate of Coverage

   If you are an employee, your employer in Australia must request "a Certificate of Superannuation Guarantee Coverage under Social Security Agreement".

   If you are self-employed, you are not mandatorily covered under the Australian Superannuation Guarantee.

   However, since you are mandatorily covered under the Korean National Pension Scheme, you don't need to get a Certificate of Superannuation Guarantee Coverage under Social Security Agreement.

   • Who requires an Australian Certificate of Coverage?

     • An employee who is sent to work in Korea within a certain period (5 years) by an employer
     • An employee who is sent to work in Korea by an employer within a certain period and the detached period is extended for a certain period (In this case, mutual agreement between two countries is needed)
     • Some workers or members of a crew on a ship or aircraft who can be exempt from Korean National Pension Scheme under this Agreement

   • How to request an Australian Certificate of Coverage under the Social Security Agreement?

     After contacting the Australia Agency by phone or fax, you must request a certificate with the required documents according to the agency's procedures.

   • Issuing Agency of the Australian Superannuation Guarantee Certificate of Coverage

     Australian Taxation Office; ATO:

2. Submission of the Certificate of Coverage to the Korean National Pension Service

   • If you are a worker, your employer in Korea must submit an "application of exemption" as well as an original copy of "Australian Superannuation Guarantee Certificate of Coverage under Social Security Agreement", and a copy of your identification to the International Center or the regional office by visiting or by sending a registered letter (An original copy must be submitted, a facsimile will not be accepted).
   • If you submit an "Australian Superannuation Guarantee Certificate of Coverage under Social Security Agreement", you are exempt from Coverage under the Korean National Pension Scheme for the period shown on the same Certificate.
     If you have already paid contributions before you submit your certificate, the amount of the contributions already paid can be transferred to your due contributions or refunded. However, in accordance with the regulations of the National Pension Scheme, the right to request a refund of a over-collected amount becomes valid only up to 5 years from the day following the processing of a qualification change, therefore, we recommend that you request the exemption within the required period.

※ Information here on our website is a general guide. You can get more information at the International Center of the NPS or any regional office of NPS.

Application for Korean Benefits under the Agreement

If you have Korean National Pension period of coverage and Australian working life residence period but don't have enough periods of coverage under the Korean pension system to qualify for Korean old-age pension benefits (age of 60, however, age of 50 for the early old-age pension), you may be able to qualify for Korean benefits by totalizing Australian working life residence period and Korean National Pension period of coverage.

⇒ In this case, a period of Australian working life residence means a period during which a person is employed or self-employed during periods of Australian working life residence under the Australian legislation which is between 16 and pensionable age for an old-age pension.

If you qualify for Korean old-age pension benefits, you may be able to qualify for Korean benefits by submitting an application and required documents according to the following procedure. In addition, if you don't have enough periods of coverage to qualify for old-age pension benefits or emigrate to another country, or the beneficiary passes away, you can receive the Korean lump-sum refund according to the following procedure.

Old-age Pension

1. Eligible Persons

   If you meet the following conditions for the benefits by totalizing Korean National Pension period of coverage and Australian working life residence period, you may be able to apply for the Korean old-age pension under the Social Security Agreement. However, to be eligible to have your Korean periods counted, you must have completed at least 12 months in Korea.

   Old-age Pension

   Type	Totalized period of Coverage	Age of the first benefit payment	Other Cases
   Full Old-age Pension	20 years or more	age of 60 (55)	less than 65, not engaged in income-earning activities
   Reduced Old-age Pension	from 10 years to less than 20 years	age of 60 (55)	less than 65, not engaged in income-earning activities
   Active Old-age Pension	10 years or more	age from 60 to 65 (55-60)	engaged in income-earning activities
   Early Old-age Pension	10 years	age of 55	less than 65, not engaged in income-earning activities
   Special Old-age Pension	from 5 years to less than 10 years	age of 60 (55)	more than certain years of age

2. Filling out the Application Form and Required Documents

   If you want to apply for an old-age pension, you must fill out Part A (General information), Part B (Application for an Old-age Pension), Part G (To be signed by the applicant) on the "Application for Korean Benefits under the Korea-Australia Social Security Agreement" and submit it with the following required documents.

   Required documents

   • Your ID such as Alien Registration Card, together with your passport or just your Resident Registration Card

   • A copy of your Korean bank account information

     ※ If you want overseas remittance, you must fill out the Overseas Remittance section Part E (Method of Payment of Benefit) and submit a copy of your foreign bank account information.

   • In the case of Early Old-age Pension

     • If you are an employee: an Employment Contract (Verification of Employer), and Receipt for Earned Income Tax Withholding (Record of your salary or bank account where your salary is deposited into, etc.) are also required.
     • If you are an employer: a Certificate of Suspension or a Cessation of Business, or documents to confirm suspension or cessation are also required.

   • If you have any dependents supported by you

     • Documents to confirm your family relations: a copy of your family register, a copy of the Registration of Korean National Residing Abroad, verification of residence, verification of common law status, etc.
     • Documents to confirm your dependence status: a Certificate of Studentship, a Certificate of Holding Office, a Certificate of Medical Care, a copy of the Certificate of Business Registration, a copy of the Building Registration Certificate, documents to confirm special reasons for living separately, a remittance statement of the financial institution (communications and portal services), etc.
     • Documents to confirm your disability: a medical report for disability under the Agreement (an Australian medical report is acceptable)

   ※ If you have a certificate of disability registration falling under the 1st or 2nd degree based on the Korean Welfare of Disabled Persons Act prior to the date on which reasons of payment occur (e.g., the date when an old-age pensioner reaches pensionable age, when a disability pensioner has finished his/her medical treatment or 2 years have passed since the first medical examination, or in the case of survivor pension, when the person who is/was a contributor dies) it is considered a document of verification for disability.

Divided Pension

1. Eligible Persons

   If you lived with your ex-spouse for 5 years or more while your spouse was paying contributions, and your spouse is a beneficiary of old-age pension under the social security agreement, you may apply for a divided pension if you meet the following conditions for the benefits. However, to be eligible for the benefits, you must have completed at least 12 months of coverage in Korea.

   You are entitled to the payment of benefits

   • When you become 60 years of age after having divorced an Old-age pensioner.
   • When you divorce an Old-age pensioner after turning 60 years of age.
   • When your ex-spouse acquires Old-age pension entitlement after you become 60 years of age.
   • When you become 60 years of age after your ex-spouse has acquired Old-age Pension entitlement.

2. Filling out the Application Form and Required Documents

   If you want to apply for a divided pension, you must fill out Part A (General information), and Part C (Application for a Divided Pension), Part G (To be signed by the applicant) on the "Application for Korean Benefits under the Korea-Australia Social Security Agreement"and submit it with the following required documents.

   Required documents

   • Your ID such as Alien Registration Card, together with your passport or just your Resident Registration Card
   • A copy of the your Korean bank account information

     ※ If you want overseas remittance, you must fill out the Overseas Remittance section Part E (Method of Payment of Benefit) and submit a copy of your foreign bank account information.

   • If you are a Korean national: documents to confirm your divorce such as a copy of your family register, etc
   • If you are a foreign national or a Korean national living overseas: documents to confirm the period of marriage and occurrence of divorce such as a certificate of marriage, a certificate of residence report of overseas Korean national, or a confirmation of residence.

Lump-sum refund

1. Eligible Persons

   If you, as an Australian national meet the following conditions, you may apply for a lump-sum refund. However, once you have received the lump-sum refund, your concerned insured periods cannot be totalized for the Korean National Pension or Australian old-age pension. Therefore, it may be advantageous for you to apply for an old-age pension instead of the lump-sum refund.

   Following persons are entitled to the payment of benefits

   • An Australian national with less than 10 years of totalized periods of Korean National Pension period and Australian working life residence period who reached 60 years of age, provided that he/she is not eligible for the old-age pension.
   • An Australian national who loses his/her insured status under the Korean National Pension and left or plans to leave Korea.
   • A surviving dependent of the Australian national who passed away with less than 10 years of insured periods under the Korean National Pension Scheme, provided that the surviving dependent is not entitled to the survivor pension.
   • A surviving dependent of an Australian national who passed away with more than 10 years of insured periods under the Korean National Pension Scheme, provided that the surviving dependent is not eligible for the survivor pension due to the contributor's non-payment of contributions

2. Filling out the Application Form and Required Documents

   If you want to apply for a lump-sum refund, you must fill out Part A (General information), Part F (Application for a Lump-sum refund), Part G (To be signed by the applicant) on the Application for Korean Benefits under the Korea-Australia Social Security Agreement and submit it with the following required documents.

   Required Documents

   • Your ID such as Alien Registration Card, together with your passport or just your Resident Registration Card

   • A copy of your Korean bank account information

     ※ If you want to receive overseas remittance, you must fill out Overseas Remittance section Part E(Method of Payment of Benefit) and submit a certificate of your foreign bank account information.

   • For an application made because of leaving Korea

     • before leaving Korea: a copy of an air ticket
     • after leaving Korea: a copy of your passport (including proof of the immigration exit stamp dated after you discontinued your Korean insured status) or Certificate of the Facts Concerning the entry and exit

   • For an application made because of death

     • Documents to verify your family relations: a copy of your family register, a copy of the Registration of Korean National Residing Abroad, Verification of Residence, Verification of common law marriage, etc.
     • Documents to confirm your dependence status: a Certificate of Studentship, a Certificate of Holding Office, a Certificate of Medical Care, a copy of Certificate of Business Registration, a copy of Building Registration Certificate, documents to confirm special reasons for living separately, a remittance statement of the financial institution (communications and portal services), etc.
     • Documents to confirm disability: a medical report of disability under the Agreement (an Australian medical report is acceptable)

※ Other information regarding the lump-sum refund is available on our website -> National Pension -> National Pension Scheme -> Foreigners and Lump-sum Refund

Disability Pension

※ Provisions regarding the disability pension are not provided under the Social Security Agreement between Korea and Australia. Therefore, qualification for disability pension benefits is determined by the Korean National Pension Act, or the Australian Social Security Act independently.

Survivor Pension

※ Provisions regarding the survivor pension are not provided under the Social Security Agreement between Korea and Australia. Therefore, qualification for the survivor pension benefits is determined on the Korean National Pension Act, or the Australian Social Security Act independently.

※ Information here on our website is a general guide. You can get more information from the International Relations Team of the NPS or any regional office of NPS

Application for Australia Benefits under the Agreement

1. Eligible Persons

   • If you have been an Australian resident for less than 10 years but had one continuous period of more than 5 years, you may be able to qualify for Australian old-age pension benefits by totalizing periods of Australian residence and periods of coverage under the Korean National Pension Scheme. However, those periods creditable under the Korean pension system must not coincide with the periods of Australian residence; or
   • If you have been an Australian resident for less than 10 years and have not had any continuous period of more than 5 years, you may be able to qualify for Australian old-age pension benefits by totalizing periods of Australian residence and periods of coverage of more than 5 years under the Korean National Pension Scheme. However, those periods creditable under the Korean pension system must not coincide with the periods of Australian residence; and
   • Your old-age pension benefit is calculated by taking into account of periods of Australian residence, country of residence, income and property and other pension benefit amounts, etc.

   ※ If you apply for the benefits in another country rather than Australia, you must have more than 12 months of periods of Australian working life residence (at least 6 months of continuous period).

   ※ In this case, a period of Australian residence means that a period during which you who have citizenship or the right of permanent residence actually reside in Australia, a period of Australian working life residence means a period of residence between 16 and pensionable age for an old-age pension under the Australian legislation regardless of being engaged in income-earning activities.

   ※ You can get more detailed information regarding requirement for Australian old-age pension benefits from the Centrelink of Australia.

2. Filling out and Submitting the Application Form

   A claimant can apply for Australian pension benefits by asking the Korean National Pension Scheme or through the following social security agent of Australia.

   Centrelink International Services

   Homepage: www.centrelink.gov.au → International → Centrelink International Services

※ Information here on our website is a general guide. You can get more information from the Centrelink International Services.