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Pension question, South Korea

Do foreigners get severance pay in Korea?

Separately, your employer or a financial institution still holds your severance, at least thirty days of average wage for each year of continuous service. The right to severance pay under the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act expires after three years without exercise.

What to do next

  1. Find your last day of work in Korea and your employer's name.
  2. Look for any retirement pension or insurance letter from a Korean financial institution.
  3. Run our free check to see which other countries may hold a pension in your name.

Check your own working life for free

Tell us where you worked. The free check shows which countries may hold a pension for you, and which can be ruled out and why. No sign in, no charge.

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Questions people also ask

When do the three years start?

Severance is worse: under the Employee Retirement Benefit Security Act, the right to it expires after three years without exercise, counted from the day after your last day worked, while the employer was obliged to pay within fourteen days.

  • Source: nps.or.kr, law.go.kr, easylaw.go.kr, read 4 October 2026

Do you give advice on what to do?

No. We identify where a pension is likely held and the official route to it, and we name each source with the date we read it. We do not give financial, tax or legal advice.