International
Social Security agreements (also known as
"totalization" agreements) have two main purposes.
- They eliminate dual Social Security taxation when a worker from one country works in another country and is required to pay Social Security taxes to both countries on the same earnings.
- The agreements help fill gaps in benefit protection for workers who have divided their careers between the United States and another country.
For those tables showing benefits in force, the tables
also show the annual number of awards and terminations.
Terminations are calculated using the number in force at the beginning
and end of a year and the number of awards in the year.
Note that any average benefit amounts provided by the form above represent the amounts due to beneficiaries in current payment status for the month(s) included in the table. These amounts exclude any adjustments to benefits for retroactive payments and certain payment withholding that may be attributable to eligibility in prior months. Therefore, these data do not represent total benefits paid from the trust funds. Total benefit payment data including these effects are available here.