Main Contents of the Social Security Agreement Between Korea and Spain

History of the Agreement with Spain

• August 1999 :The first working-level meeting of the Agreement
• January 2007:The second working-level meeting of the Agreement
• July 2010 : The third working-level meeting of the Agreement
• July 2011 :Signing of the Agreement
• February 2012 :The meeting for the Administrative Arrangement of the Agreement
• October 2012 :The meeting for the Administrative Arrangement of the Agreement signed
• April 2013 :Entry into force of the Agreement

Applicable Legislation

• in relation to Korea,
  • - Coverage : the National Pension Act, the National Health Insurance Act, the Employment Insurance Act and the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act
  • - Benefit : the National Pension Act
• in relation to Spain,
  • - Coverage and benefits : the legislation relating to the contributory benefits of the Social Security System other than the benefits resulting from work related accidents or professional diseases

Personal Scope of this Agreement

• This Agreement shall apply to any person who is or who has been subject to the legislation of either contracting state and to the family members and/or dependents and survivors of such a person.
• ※ For more information, you may refer to the section Agreement.

Exemption from Dual Coverage

• ① In general, an employee is subject to the legislation of a contracting state in which he/she is employed.
• ② In general, a self-employed person is subject to the legislation of the state in which he/she works.
• ③ A detached person is exempt from being subject to the legislation of the state which he/she is sent to for no more than 5 years if he/she is covered under the legislation of his/her home country.
• → Based on the mutual agreement between the two countries, those periods can be extended.
• ④ A person who is engaged in gainful activities in both contracting states is subject to the legislation of only the contracting state in which he/she ordinarily resides.
• ※ For more information, you may refer to the section Agreement or Guide for Exemption Application

[ Applicable legislation under the Agreement ]

Applicable legislation under the Agreement

Type	Work Status	Coverage
Employee	You are working in Spain
	- for an employer in Spain who hired you	Spain
	- for an employer in Korea who sent you to work in Spain for no more than 5 years (Based on the mutual agreement between the two countries, those periods can be extended.)	Korea
	- for an employer in Korea who sent you to work in Spain for more than 5 years without extension of detached period	Spain
	You are working in Korea
	- for an employer in Korea who hired you	Korea
	- for an employer in Spain who sent you to work in Korea for no more than 5 years (Based on the mutual agreement between the two countries, those periods can be extended.)	Spain
	- for an employer in Spain who sent you to work in Korea for more than 5 years without extension of detached period	Korea
Self-employed	You are self-employed in Spain
	- for a self-employed person who works in Spain	Spain
	- for a self-employed person who works in Spain for no more than 5 years if that person ordinarily resides in Korea and is subject to the Korean legislation (Based on the mutual agreement between the two countries, those periods can be extended.)	Korea
	- for a self-employed person above-mentioned who works in Spain for more than 5 years without extension of the period	Spain
	You are self-employed in Korea
	- for a self-employed person who works in Korea	Korea
	- for a self-employed person who works in Korea for no more than 5 years if that person ordinarily resides in Spain and is subject to the Spanish legislation (Based on the mutual agreement between the two countries, those periods can be extended.)	Spain
	- for a self-employed person above-mentioned who works in Korea for more than 5 years without extension of the period	Korea
others	You are employed or self-employed in both states You are employed in one state and self-employed in the other state	Ordinary residence

Benefits under this Agreement

• Even though your periods of coverage in one country are not sufficient to qualify for pension benefits, you may be eligible for benefits after this Agreement has entered into force. This is possible due to totaling the coverage of both countries.
• ① Korean National Pension Benefits under the Social Security Agreement
• - If you have no less than one year of period of coverage under the Korean national pension program but do not have enough periods of coverage (e.g., 20 years for Full Old-age pension) to qualify for pension benefits under the Korean national pension program, you may be able to qualify for Korean national pension benefits by totaling periods of coverage under the Korean and Spanish pension systems. However, these periods creditable under the Spanish pension system, must not coincide with those under the legislation of Korea.
  - 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 total periods in both countries.
• ② Spanish Pension Benefits under the Social Security Agreement
• - If you have no less than one year of period of coverage under the Spanish pension program but do not have enough periods of coverage to qualify for pension benefits under the Spanish pension system, you may be able to qualify for Spanish pension benefits by totalizing periods of coverage under the Korean and Spanish pension systems. However, these periods creditable under the Korean national pension program, must not coincide with those of under the legislation of Spain.
• ③ A national of either contracting country who resides in the other contracting country is treated equally with the national of the other contracting country in the application of the legislation of the other contracting country.
• ④ Despite the provisions on equal treatment, Korean lump-sum refunds are not granted to Spanish nationals based on the Agreement.
• ※ For more information, you may refer to the section either Agreement or Guide for Exemption Application

Agencies of this Agreement

Agencies of this Agreement

Korea	Spain
National Pension Service (NPS)	(1) Regarding all benefits except for the Special Sea Workers’ Scheme: - The National Social Security Institute (INSS) http://www.seg-social.es (2) Regarding all benefits of the Special Sea Workers’ Scheme: - The Social Marine Institute (ISM) http://www.seg-social.es