Pension rejoining after a gap: what happens if you return to Korea on a new hagwon contract
Taking your National Pension lump-sum refund when you left does not block you from joining again. Sign a new hagwon contract, and your new school enrolls you as if the first time never happened.
Park English2026-10-283 min read
If you taught in Korea before, took the lump-sum refund when you left, and now you're signing a new hagwon contract, you might worry the refund somehow disqualifies you from the National Pension Scheme the second time around. It doesn't.
Your old contribution period is gone, not your eligibility
When you claimed that refund, you weren't just getting your money back. You were closing out your contribution record. When a lump-sum refund is paid due to emigration or loss of nationality, the contribution period is extinguished. If you become a National Pension subscriber again, you can restore that period by repaying the amount plus a set interest rate. In plain terms: your first contract's pension history is wiped the moment you cash out, but the door to rejoin stays open. Nothing about having taken a refund flags your file or slows down enrollment under a new contract.
What your new school does
Nothing changes procedurally for your new employer. Once your ARC is issued and you start work, your hagwon registers you with NPS the same way it would for any new hire, Korean or foreign. You'll see the deduction on your first payslip, same as last time.
The rate went up this year
This part is worth knowing even if you've done this before. For the first time since 1998, the National Pension contribution rate rose from 9% to 9.5% starting January 1, 2026. It's a phased increase, not a one-time jump:
| Year | Total rate | Employee share |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9.0% | 4.5% |
| 2026 | 9.5% | 4.75% |
| 2027 | 10.0% | 5.0% |
| 2028 | 10.5% | 5.25% |
The rate climbs 0.5 percentage points a year under this schedule, reaching 13% by 2033. Your employer always matches your share, so a higher posted rate affects the school's cost too, not just your paycheck.
Should you repay the old refund to restore your contribution period?
For most teachers coming back for a second one or two-year contract, the honest answer is: probably not worth the hassle. The repayment option exists mainly for people chasing the 10-year contribution threshold that unlocks an actual monthly old-age pension later in life. If you're from a country that already qualifies for the lump-sum refund (the US, Canada and Australia are the common ones among our teachers) and you plan to leave again at the end of this contract and take another refund, restoring old months of history doesn't change what you'll receive. You'd be repaying money with interest just to have it refunded to you again later.
Where it does matter: if you're thinking about staying in Korea long-term, past the 10-year mark across multiple contracts, restoring your earlier period could eventually put you on track for the ongoing pension instead of a one-time payout. That's a bigger financial decision than this piece can settle for you.
What to actually check
- Confirm with NPS (1355, or your branch) whether your nationality still qualifies for a lump-sum refund, since agreement terms can be updated.
- Ask your new school to confirm your enrollment start date lines up with your contract start date, not a delayed date after your ARC arrives.
- If you're weighing the repayment option, call NPS directly. The interest calculation depends on how long ago you received the original refund, and we don't have a single number that applies to everyone.
That last part is the honest gap here: the repayment math is individual, and NPS is the only one who can run it for your exact case.