Application for Korean Benefits under the Agreement

If you have periods of coverage in Korea and Belgium but don't have enough periods of coverage under the Korean pension system to qualify for Korean old-age pension benefits (age of 60 or age of 55 for the early old-age pension), you may be able to qualify for Korean benefits by totaling Korean and Belgian periods of coverage.

• Please refer to the following details about requirements for entitlement classified by types, eligible persons, the method of filling out the forms and required documents.
• A claimant must submit an "Application for Korean Benefits under Social Security Agreement" to the NPS in Korea or to the relevant Agency in Belgium.
  - Old-age and survivors pensions : Federal Pensions Service(FPS), National Social Insurance Institute for the Self-Employed
  - Invalidity pensions : National Sickness and Invalidity Insurance Institute, Relief and Welfare Fund for Mariners
• At the time of applying for benefits by mail, we recommend that you are fully aware of the requirements for the Benefit Application by contacting the NPS by phone. In this way, you will ensure the proper preparation of the documents and avoid any unnecessary delays in payments. Otherwise, you might waste time in correcting errors or omissions on the Application.
• You can download the form of "Application for Korean Benefits under the Korea-Belgium Social Security Agreement"from our website or get it at the NPS's regional office, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea Abroad, or a Belgium agency.

Old-age Pension

• 1. Eligible Persons
  If you meet the following conditions for the benefits by totaling Korean National Pension periods of coverage and Belgian periods of coverage, you may be able to apply for the Korean old-age pension under the Social Security Agreement.

Eligible Persons

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 H (To be signed by the applicant) on the "Application for Korean Old age, Survivors and Divided pension and Lump sum benefit under Korea-Belgium Agreement on Social Security" 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 H (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), 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 Family Relation Certificate (a copy of Household Resident 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 BusinessRegistration, 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 (a Belgian 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.

• [ You are entitled to the payment of benefits ]
• (1) When you become 60 years of age after having divorced an Old-age pensioner.
• (2) When you divorce an Old-age pensioner after turning 60 years of age.
• (3) When your ex-spouse acquires Old-age pension entitlement after you become 60 years of age.
• (4) 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), Part C (Application for a Divided Pension), Part H (To be signed by the applicant) on the "Application for Korean Old age, Survivors and Divided pesion and Lump sum benefit under Korea-Belgium Agreement on Social Security"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 H (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 Family Census Register (Certificate of Marital Relations), etc.
• If you are a foreign national or a Korean national living overseas: documents to confirm the period of marriageand occurrence of divorce such as a certificate of marriage, a certificate of residence report of overseas Korean national, or a confirmation of residence.

Disability Pension

• 1. Eligible Persons
  If you have periods of coverage in Korea and come to be disabled while you are covered under the Belgian Pension System, you may apply for the Korean Disability Pension under the Social Security Agreement.
• 2. Filling out the Application Form and Required Documents
  If you want to apply for a disability pension, you must fill out Part A (General information), Part B (Application for a Disability Pension), Part E (To be signed by the applicant) on the"Application for Korean Invalidity benefits under Korea-Belgium Agreement Social Security"and submit it with the following required documents.

• [ Required documents ]
• Your ID such as Alien Registration Card and Passport, or just 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 H (Method of Payment of Benefit) and submit a copy of your foreign bank account information.
• Documents to verify your disability history
  • - Documents sent by the Belgian Agency in relation to your disability(Medical report for disability, X-ray, CT or MRI film, etc.)
  • - A Medical report that verifies disability (This form was established under the social security agreement between Korea and Belgium, it is to be used if the documents from Belgium are not sufficient.)
• If the accident occurred while you were working
  Documents to confirm whether you are eligible for compensation under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, the Labor Standard Act or the Seamen Law
• If you receive compensation from a person who caused you harm, you need the related documents
  • - the decision of the court or a copy of the settlement reached with the person who caused your disability.
• If you have any dependents supported by you,
  • - Documents to verify your family relations: a copy of your family register, a copy of the Registration of Korean Nationals Residing Abroad, a Verification for Residence, a Verification for the marriage in effect, 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 your disability: a medical report for disability under the Agreement (a Belgian medical report is acceptable)

Survivor Pension

• 1. Eligible Persons
  A surviving dependent of the person who meets the following conditions can apply for a survivor pension.

• [Surviving dependents are entitled to the payment of benefits:]
• (1) When a person with insured periods under the Korean National Pension Scheme dies while he/she was covered under the Belgian Pension System.
• (2) When a person with a totalized insured period of 10 years or more under the Korean and the Belgian Pension system dies after losing insured status.
• (3) When a person with a totalized insured period of less than 10 years under the Korean and Belgian pension systems dies within 2 years after the first medical examination during the insured period due to disease or injury that occurred during the insured period of the Belgian pension system. This case even applies if a person dies within 2 years after the first medical examination which is made within 1 year after that person's insured status was discontinued.
• (4) When a person who is a beneficiary of the Old-age Pension or the Disability Pension with 1st or 2nd degree of disability under the Agreement dies.

• 2. Filling out the Application Form and Required Documents
  If a person wants to apply for a Survivor Pension, he/she must fill out Part A (General information), Part D (Application for a Survivor Pension), Part H (To be signed by the applicant) on the "Application for Korean Benefits under the Korea-Belgium Social Security Agreement" and submit it with the following required documents.

• [Required documents]
• ID such as Alien Registration Card and Passport, or just Resident Registration
• A copy of your Korean bank account information
  ※ If you want overseas remittance, you must fill out Overseas Remittance section Part G (Method of Payment of Benefit) and submit a copy of your foreign bank account information.
• Documents to confirm the beneficiary's death
  • - a copy of the family register, a medical report for death, a confirmation of the corpse, a certificate of death
• Documents to verify your family relations: a copy of your family register, a copy of the Registration of Korean National Residing Abroad.
• Documents to confirm your surviving 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 for disability under the Agreement(a Belgium medical report is acceptable)
• Documents to show the result of the first medical examination
  • - a medical report for death, a confirmation of the corpse, a certificate of death and other documents to confirm the first medical examination. (if a Korean national dies in Korea, a report for health insurance medical examination and treatment, etc. is required)
• If the accident occurred while working
  • - documents which verify whether you are eligible for compensation under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, the Labor Standard Act or the Seamen Law
• If you receive compensation from a person who caused you harm, you need the related documents.
  • - the decision of the court or a copy of the settlement reached with the person who caused your disability.

Lump-sum refund

• 1. Eligible Persons
  If you are a national of the Belgium and 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 are not totalized for the Korean National Pension or Belgian Pension. Therefore, it may be advantageous for you to apply for a Pension instead of the Lump-sum refund.

• [You are entitled to the payment of benefits]
• (1) A Belgian national with less than 10 years of tatalized insured periods under the Belgian and Korean pension systems who reaches 60 years of age, provided that he/she is not eligible for the old-age pension.
• (2) A Belgian national who loses his/her insured status under the Korean National Pension and returns or plans to return to the Belgium, provided that he/she is not eligible for the old-age pension.
• (3) A surviving dependent of the Belgian national who died with totalization insured periods less than 10 years under the Belgian and Korean pension systems(only when this surviving dependent is not entitled to the Survivor Pension)
• (4) A surviving dependent of the Belgian national who died with more than 10 years of insured periods under the Belgian and Korean pension systems, but only when this person is not eligible for the Survivor Pension due to the 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 H (To be signed by the applicant) on the Application for Korean Benefits under the Korea-Belgium 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 F(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 & Exit
• For an application made because of death
  • - Documents to verify your family relations: an Identification Certificate, a Family Relation Certificate, 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 (a Belgium medical report is acceptable)

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

Application for Belgium Benefits under the Agreement

• 1. Eligible Persons
  If you have periods of coverage in Belgium and are eligible for the Belgian pension by totaling the periods of coverage under the Korean and the Belgian pension systems, you are able to apply for the Belgian benefits.
  ※ You can get more detailed information regarding the requirements for Belgian pension benefits from the relevant social security agency of Belgium.
  ※ For your reference, there's no minimum period for old-age pension and survivors pension in Belgium. If you have any periods under the Belgian Pension Scheme, you are eligible for old-age pension and survivors pension under the Belgian pension system without totalizing the Korean periods of coverage. However, in the calculation of your benefits payable, the Belgian agency will compare the potential benefit amount obtained by totalizing periods of coverage with the amount obtained without totalizing periods of coverage and pay whichever is higher. Regarding the disability pension, you should be covered for 120 days of employment during the 6 months prior to the occurrence of invalidity to be eligible for the disability pension in Belgium. Therefore, you can acquire benefit eligibility by totalizing the divided periods of coverage from both countries.
• 2. Filling out the and Submitting the Application Form
  A claimant can apply for Belgian pension benefits by asking the Korean National Pension Scheme or through the following social security agent of Belgium.

• Old-age and survivors pensions:
  - Federal Pensions Service(FPS)(www.sfpd.fgov.be)
  - National Social Insurance Institute for the Self-Employed
  (www.rsvz-inasti.fgov.be)
• Invalidity pensions:
  - general invalidity :
  National Sickness and Invalidity Insurance Institute (INAMI)
  (www.riziv.fgov.be)
  - invalidity of mariners :
  Relief and Welfare Fund for Mariners

※ Information here on our website is a general guide. You can get more information from the relevant social security agency of Belgium.