Irish expats petition for better pension agreement

The Irish expat community is petitioning the Irish government to reform the existing pension agreement between Ireland and South Korea.

The petition has close to 500 signatories and was created by Kenneth Quillinan, a professor at Kyungpook National University.

“I strongly believe that it is only a matter of time that this outdated agreement is altered,” Quillinan said.

In a growing Irish community living and working in South Korea, many are frustrated at not having access to a substantial amount of money held in their national pension accounts.

Seanan Clifford came to Korea as a European Studies professor at Keimyung University in 2004.

“Most of us who have been here for a long time came with the intention of staying a year or two. Now, years later, with age creeping up and responsibilities building, pension rights are an issue,” he explained.

“As an Irish professional working abroad, I pay my taxes, I represent my culture and people and I hopefully add to Korean society. Yet, we do not receive a full Irish pension.”

Under the current national pension scheme, those working in Korea are required to make mandatory contributions to the National Pension Fund similar to Koreans, with 4.5 percent deducted from their pay checks, which is then matched by their employers.

Several countries, including the United States, Canada and most recently Australia, have entered into mutual agreements with Korea to eliminate dual payments, whereby full pension reimbursements are made to nationals when they leave Korea.

However, Ireland’s Social Security Agreement with Korea, which came into effect in 2009, does not allow credits from the two countries to be combined to assist in eligibility for retirement benefits.

Instead, a pro-rata pension formula is applied to calculate the rate of payable pension from Ireland.

For example, someone with five years of Irish pension contributions and 20 years of Korean pension contributions would only be entitled to one-fifth of the Irish state contributory pension.

Moreover, in accordance with the reciprocity principle in the National Pension Act, Korean lump-sum refunds are not granted and can only be paid to nationals of a third state, which means that many Irish nationals are deprived of big sums of money.

“The best thing would be to leave it all in Korea and then pick it up when you reach 65 or probably 80,” said Leo Corbett, a Yeungjin College instructor living in Korea since 2007.

“It is quite baffling to think that some Irish individuals have lived and worked here for over 10 years and never made a strong challenge to have this agreement amended,” Quillinan commented.

But the petition is gradually gaining momentum and raising more awareness, calling on the Irish Embassy to take action.

Irish Ambassador Eamonn McKee explained that “the issue is not the agreement itself, but some of the provisions within.”

McKee, who has been publicizing the petition as well as contacting the relevant departments back in Ireland, said that “the issue is under active consideration, however it’s too early to talk about outcomes.

“There are obviously some issues, but there hasn’t been any active representation on it in the past. The petition has been really useful to gauge support for change.”

With approximately 800 Irish people currently living in Korea, Quillinan and others signing the petition hope to see an improvement in pension entitlements that match the conditions of other foreign workers.

You can view and sign the petition at www.change.org/petitions/the-department-of-social-protection-via-the-irish-embassy-seoul-korea-examine-and-alter-our-current-pension-agreement-offered-to-us-in-korea.

By Astha Rajvanshi (astha.raj06@gmail.com)