International Programs
Totalization Agreement with Austria
Introduction
For Austria, the Agreement covers pension insurance, with the exception of the special insurance for notaries, sickness insurance, and accident insurance.
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Eliminating dual coverage for self-employment
Self-employed workers who work in the United States are assigned U.S. coverage. Self-employed workers who work in Austria are assigned Austrian coverage.
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Austrian certificates for employees and self-employed workers
Employers and self-employed workers must request a certificate of coverage to establish an exemption from U.S. Social Security contributions at the below address:
Bundesministerium für Arbeit, Soziales und Konsumentenschutz
Stubenring 1
1010 Wien
AUSTRIA
Please provide the following information:
- Worker's full name (including maiden name);
- Worker's date of birth;
- Worker's place of birth;
- Worker's country of citizenship;
- Worker's country of permanent residence;
- Worker's United States and Austrian Social Security numbers;
- Date of hire, if employed;
- Country of hire, if employed;
- Nature of self-employment activity, if applicable;
- Name and address of the employer in the United States and the Agreement country (if self-employed, address of trade or business in both countries); and
- Date of transfer and anticipated date of return of employment or self-employment in the Agreement country.
U.S. employers should retain certificates of coverage in case of an audit by the IRS. Employers should not send a copy to the IRS unless the IRS specifically requests the certificate of coverage.
Self-employed workers should attach a copy of the certificate of coverage to their U.S. tax return every year as proof of the exemption.
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Monthly benefits
Under the U.S. Social Security system, you may earn up to four credits each year depending on the amount of your covered earnings. For example, in 2022, you receive one credit for each $1,410 of your covered annual earnings up to a maximum of four credits per year. The amount needed to earn a work credit goes up slightly each year. For more information, see How You Earn Credits (Publication No. 05-10072).
Under the Austrian system, credits are measured in months. To simplify the information in the table, requirements are shown in years of credits.
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Retirement or old-age benefits |
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United States |
Austria |
Worker—Full benefit at full retirement age.* Reduced benefit as early as age 62. 1 ½ to 10 years of work credits required (10 years if age 62 in 1991 or later). |
Worker—Benefits payable at age 65 for men or age 60.5 to women with at least:
Note: Beginning January 07, 2024, there is a gradual increase (changes each year) in the women's retirement age from 60 to 65 through 2033. Please visit the Main Association of Austrian Social Insurance Agencies (Hauptverband der österreichischen Sozialversicherungsträger) website at https://www.sozialversicherung.at/ to verify the women’s retirement age on the date the retirement application is submitted. |
*Full retirement age for people born in 1938 is age 65 and 2 months. The full retirement age increases gradually until it reaches age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
Disability benefits |
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United States |
Austria |
Worker—Under full retirement age* can get benefit if unable to do any substantial gainful work for at least a year. One and one-half to 10 years credit needed, depending on age at date of onset. Some recent work credits also needed unless worker is blind. |
Worker—Worker must have a loss of more than 50 percent of earnings as a result of disability that is expected to last 6 months, and not be entitled to a retirement benefit. In addition, the worker must have:
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*Full retirement age for people born in 1938 is age 65 and 2 months. The full retirement age increases gradually until it reaches age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
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Family benefits to dependents of retired or disabled people |
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United States |
Austria |
Spouse—Full benefit at full retirement age* or at any age if caring for the worker’s entitled child under age 16 (or disabled before age 22). Reduced benefit as early as age 62 if not caring for a child. |
Spouse—No provision. |
Divorced spouse—Full benefit at full retirement age.* Reduced benefit as early as age 62. Must be unmarried and have been married to worker for at least 10 years. |
Divorced spouse—No provision. |
Children—If unmarried, up to age 18 (age 19 if in an elementary or secondary school full time) or any age if disabled before age 22. |
Children—No provision. However, retired or disabled worker may receive a supplement if that person has children under age 18 (age 27 if in school) or any age if disabled. |
*Full retirement age for people born in 1938 is age 65 and 2 months. The full retirement age increases gradually until it reaches age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
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Survivors benefits |
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United States |
Austria |
Surviving Spouse—Full benefit at full retirement age* or at any age if caring for deceased’s entitled child under age 16 (or disabled before age 22). Reduced benefit as early as age 60 (or age 50 if disabled) if not caring for a child. Benefits may be continued if remarriage occurs after age 60 (or age 50 if disabled). |
Surviving Spouse—Benefits are generally payable at any age if not remarried and the deceased worker was eligible for a retirement or disability benefit, or met specified coverage requirements. If the marriage lasted less than 10 years, benefits may be limited to 30 months if a surviving spouse is under age 35 at the time of the worker’s death or the deceased was over age 65 (men) or age 60 (women) at the time of marriage. Remarriage terminates benefits but a one-time payment equal to 35 monthly payments is made if a surviving spouse’s benefit was not subject to 30-month time limit. |
Divorced Surviving Spouse—Same as surviving spouse if marriage lasted at least 10 years. |
Divorced Surviving Spouse—Same as surviving spouse if the divorced spouse was entitled to maintenance from the worker. |
Children—Same as children of retired or disabled worker. |
Children—Up to age 18 (age 27 if in school) or any age if disabled. |
Lump-sum death benefit—A onetime payment not to exceed $255 payable on the death of an insured worker. |
Lump-sum death benefit—A one-time payment may be paid to family members if there are no survivors entitled to benefits. |
*Full retirement age for people born in 1938 is age 65 and 2 months. The full retirement age increases gradually until it reaches age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
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How benefits can be paid
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Benefits from the United States—If you do not have enough work credits under the U.S. system to qualify for regular benefits, you may be able to qualify for a partial benefit from the United States based on both United States and Austrian credits. However, to be eligible to have your Austrian credits counted, you must have earned at least six credits (generally one and one-half years of work) under the U.S. system. If you already have enough credits under the U.S. system to qualify for a benefit, the United States cannot count your Austrian credits.
- Benefits from Austria—Social security credits from both countries can also be counted, when necessary, to meet the eligibility requirements for Austrian benefits. To be eligible to have your United States and Austrian credits counted, you must have at least 12 months of coverage credited under the Austrian system.
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Claims for benefits
If you live in the United States and wish to apply for United States or Austrian benefits:
- Visit or write any U.S. Social Security office.
- Phone our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. any business day. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.
- Complete SSA-2490-BK (Application for Benefits Under a U.S. International Social Security Agreement) and mail to your local Social Security Administration office.
If you live in Austria and wish to apply for U.S. or Austrian benefits, contact:
Federal Benefits Unit
United States Consulate General
Giessener Strasse 30
60435 Frankfurt
GERMANY - Visit or write any Austrian social security office.
You can apply with one country and ask to have your application considered as a claim for benefits from the other country.
Information from your application will then be sent to the other country. Each country will process the claim under its own laws—counting credits from the other country when appropriate—and notify you of its decision.
If you have not applied for benefits before, you may need to provide certain information and documents when you apply.
These may include:
- The worker’s United States and Austrian social security numbers;
- Proof of age for all claimants;
- Evidence of the worker’s U.S. earnings in the past 24 months; and
- Information about the worker’s coverage under the Austrian system.
You may wish to call the social security office before you go there to see if you need any other information.
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Payment of benefits
Each country pays its own benefit. U.S. payments are made by the Department of Treasury each month and cover benefits for the preceding month. Payments under the Austrian system are generally made every three months and cover the prior two months plus the current month.. For more information, contact the Austrian authorities at the address in the section titled, “For more information.”
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For more information about Austria's social security programs
- Visit website of the Main Association of Austrian Social Insurance Agencies (Hauptverband der österreichischen Sozialversicherungsträger) at https://www.sozialversicherung.at/.
- If you live in Austria, visit any social security office in Austria.
- If you do not live in Austria, write to:
Federal Benefits Unit
United States Consulate General
ul. Stolarska 9
31-043 Krakow
Poland
Fax: 48-12-424-5120
Email: FBU.Krakow@ssa.gov