Quick answer: Under the Canada-Korea Agreement on Social Security, in force since May 1, 1999, you normally contribute only to the country where you work. If an employer with a place of business in Canada sends you to Korea for a period not expected to exceed five years, you stay in the Canada Pension Plan and can be exempted from Korea's National Pension with a certificate of coverage. Self-employed people are covered by the country where they ordinarily reside.
Updated: 2026-10-18
The Canada-Korea social security agreement decides whether a Canadian working in Korea pays into the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), and it lets each country count time spent in the other system toward its own pension rules. The calculator below applies the agreement's coverage articles to your situation, estimates the contributions you would otherwise pay twice, and converts them at the current CAD to KRW reference rate.
Americans should use our US-Korea totalization calculator instead.
Loading the current CAD/KRW reference rate.
Article 5 assigns every worker to one system:
| Your situation | Covered by | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Hired by an employer in Korea | Korea (NPS) | Art. 5(1) |
| Sent to Korea by an employer with a place of business in Canada, expected to last five years or less | Canada (CPP) | Art. 5(2) |
| Same posting, expected to last longer than five years | Korea, unless an exception is agreed | Art. 5(1), 5(8) |
| Self-employed, ordinarily resident in Canada, working in Korea or in both countries | Canada | Art. 5(4) |
| Self-employed, ordinarily resident in Korea | Korea | Art. 5(4) |
| Ship or aircraft crew | Canada if ordinarily resident in Canada, otherwise Korea | Art. 5(7) |
The test in Article 5(2) looks at the expected length of the posting when you are sent, not at how long it eventually lasts. An affiliated or subsidiary company of your employer counts as the same employer, and the rule still applies if you were first sent to a third country and then on to Korea. NPS notes that extending a detachment beyond the agreed period needs the consent of both countries, which is what Article 5(8) allows.
The exemption is not automatic. If you stay in CPP while working in Korea, your employer (or you, if self-employed) requests a certificate of coverage using CRA form CPT58. In Korea, the employer submits an exemption application, the original certificate and a copy of your ID to NPS. NPS states that faxes and photocopies of the certificate are not accepted.
Timing matters. If NPS contributions were deducted before the certificate arrived, NPS can credit or refund them, but its guidance says the right to reclaim over-collected amounts runs for five years from the day after the coverage change is processed. Apply before the first Korean payroll if you can.
A Toronto employer sends an engineer earning C$90,000 to its Seoul office for an expected 36 months. At an example rate of 940 KRW per CAD, monthly pay is about KRW 7,050,000, above the NPS cap, so NPS would use KRW 6,590,000.
| Item | Result |
|---|---|
| Rule | Detached worker, 36 months is within five years |
| Keeps paying | CPP: (74,600 - 3,500) x 5.95% = C$4,230.45 employee share |
| NPS avoided, employee share | 6,590,000 x 4.75% x 12 = KRW 3,756,300 |
| NPS avoided, employer share | KRW 3,756,300 |
| Combined avoided | KRW 7,512,600, about C$7,992 at 940 |
NPS pays its lump-sum refund to Canadian nationals, and Canada appears on the NPS list of agreement countries that pay the refund. Two limits come from the protocol to the agreement: Korean coverage before May 1, 1999 is not included in a refund to a Canadian, and periods you take as a refund can no longer be used for totalization. If you might later need Korean months to qualify for OAS or a Korean pension, weigh that before claiming.
The refund is your contributions plus interest based on the three-year fixed deposit rate. You can apply in Korea shortly before leaving (NPS asks for proof that departure is within one month), or from Canada by mail or through an agent, with notarized and apostilled documents. The canada.ca Korea agreement page lists form CAN-KOR 1 LS, Application for Korean Lump Sum payment, for applicants living in Canada. Estimate your amount with our Korea pension lump-sum refund calculator.
Quebec: NPS lists Quebec as a separate contracting party, so Quebec Pension Plan contributors should check that agreement instead.
Yes if a Korean employer hires you. You are exempt only as a detached worker sent from Canada for a period not expected to exceed five years, or as a self-employed person ordinarily resident in Canada, and only after filing a Canadian certificate of coverage with NPS.
The detached worker rule covers postings not expected to exceed five years. A longer posting falls under the general rule and moves you to the Korean system, unless the competent authorities of both countries agree an exception under Article 5(8).
CRA form CPT58. The original certificate goes to NPS with an exemption application; copies and faxes are not accepted.
Yes. NPS pays a lump-sum refund to Canadian nationals, with interest. Coverage before May 1, 1999 is excluded, and any period you take as a refund can no longer be counted toward a pension under the agreement.
They can count as Canadian residence if you have at least 12 months of actual residence in Canada, for periods from January 1, 1988. The result is a partial OAS pension.
NPS says contributions already paid can be credited or refunded once the certificate is filed, but the right to reclaim over-collected amounts lasts five years from the day after the coverage change is processed, so file promptly.