My american husband died what can/should i do?

[socksy01]

Tell the relatives there is <deleted> all in the Will for the wife and that he has saved it for when the kid reaches 18. When in Thailand do as the Thai's do. That way they will get Jack Sh*t

[Beetlejuice]

here is information you need. First of all, you marriage to the American citizen HAS to be legal in the SA, meaning a marriage certificate was created. Your son, would have had to be registered as his son in the USA. Your husband could hav done that very easily by getting a passport issued in his sons name, this would have required paperwork to show that he indeed was the son. As far as the marriage, if it was legal and if there was no pre-nump....the wife whether in this country or not is entitled to his assets. If a pre-nump was written, that would overrule that scenario. The will part, if there was a will, then that will would have to be followed. Most states will acknowledge any assets before the marriage are exempt from wife priviledge, meaning, what he owned before the marriage is not pat of the marriage and therefore, not hers, unless the will says otherwise.

Social security; if the husband had registered the marriage, and also had a passport showing he had a son, the wife would get her husbands social security and would also get social security for the son until he turns 18. We are talking about approximately $3000 per month until the son turns 18, then the social security would stop. The reason, the son gets social security because the father passed away, the wife would get his social security because she would be the care-taker of his son.

What you need is passports, marriage certificate and social security number.

If he never legally married, the wife would be out his part of social security, if she can prove that the son is his, she should be able the get about $1500 per month for taking care of the child.

Not necessarily.

Any assets left by a deceased intestate will automatically go to the next of kin if they can be found, that includes distant cousins if they are the closest living relatives.

In the case of a will, anyone can leave anything that belongs to them to anyone they choose. Even to the bag lady down the street, a dogs home or an animal.

The wife can contest the will for various reasons, but it`s certainly not cut and dry that during the marriage everything that was jointly shared between them, regardless what is written in a will is automatically inherited by the surviving spouse, it`s a lot more complicated than that.

And as I said previous, the best method is to seek the advice of a reputable lawyer.

[pizzachang]

Not exactly on topic but very close: I purchased a life insurance policy from AIA (a small one, to cover cremation expenses) here in Thailand. AIA tried to tell my wife that she would be liable for US taxes. Total bs - Life insurance settlement, with a Thai wife beneficiary, are not subject to estate taxes.

[sawadeeken]

And let this be a lesson to all others....................... If you married one of these girls and love her and especially if her kids are your own flesh and blood. Organize everything so she won't have these problems............ Like right now...................

[sawadeeken]

And if she happens to be entitled to Social Security (at least for herself) be sure not to remarry (or check before she does) because I believe that she would lose those benefits when she remarried..................

[farang000999]

Lots of advice in this thread, most of it conflicting the rest of the advice given.

[umbanda]

Before doing ANYTHING with the SSA or American Embassy, tell your friend to contact a Thai-American lawyer in the same city of her American husband's family. Any US lawyer can easily get information about any US citizen assets and recorded court documentation, and give your friend the best advise.Look on the Internet for a Thai-US organization or the Thailand Embassy in the US, to get info about lawyers.

If makes sense, and you friend have means to get a US visa, will be even better for her to get a certified translation in English of EVERY marriage and husband's documentation she have, go to the US, and meet her lawyer and her husband family.

[oogster8]

its quite possible deceesed wanted thai wife to get nothing. facts seem to point that way.

lesson to thai girls-- get the money up-front...................lol (not saying girl was a gold digger), but finances need to be discussed and taken care of properly.

[crazykopite]

It is my understanding that if married in Thailand legally and a will has not been made up by the deceased then the wife is entitled to fifty percent of the deceased estate the remainder goes to his children.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[salapau]

Unbelievable - Typical women and typically Thai

[oogster8]

To all of us (myself included) who say go find a competant american lawyer. Ladee will need to pay upfront, probably a lot of money. No decent GREAT attorney is going to go looking for money that may or may not be there.

Ladee is really in a tough situation.

[gchurch259]

Was her husband a retired military person, who was kind and thougtful enough to have Survival Benefits for her. If so the JUSMAGTHAI (Joint US Military Assistance Groupe Thailand) has a Retirees Assistance Office to aid in the paperwork to receive those benefits. The JUSMAGTHAI is located one block from Rama IV on Sathorn Road. She should also be eligible for his Social Security Benefits at age 63 or younger if handicaped in some way.

As suggested before contact the US Embassy and provide the required information, such as Death Certificate and his Passport, Sucial Security Number.

Jerry

[boatguy]

does she have a TIN number or social security number. Did he file taxes as a joint filling? would make it easier for social security because she would be in the system.

I file jointly with my Thai wife and have a USA marriage certificate. I assumed this would entitle her to my social security (presently collecting) should I die, and possible after she turns retirement age (soon).

But after reading that SS document that was sited previously I'm in real doubts as to what hoops and loops she might have to go thru, particularly when I read the various exceptions & exclusions it seemed to make for the country of Thailand ??

I may have to reread that multiply times to determine what it really says? Does my spouse really have to have physically lived in the USA for 5 years to be eligible to collect my SS if I die first?

[saakura]

To all of us (myself included) who say go find a competant american lawyer. Ladee will need to pay upfront, probably a lot of money. No decent GREAT attorney is going to go looking for money that may or may not be there.

Ladee is really in a tough situation.

Who or what is 'Ladee'???

Edit : Sorry, you obviously meant lady.

[boatguy]

And of course this only applies to assets that are actually going through probate - most wealthy people will have made prior arrangements, set up trusts etc that legally don't belong to them at the time of death anyway, and these are pretty untouchable if they had decent advisors.

This trust situation / alternative is one that desires closer scrutiny. I don't know enough about it yet, but its my intention to look more thoroughly.

I think it avoids a lot of this probate situation that arises with or without a will (and the associated attorney bills).?? I imagine it could even avoid the cross-country problems as the assets just pass (not ownership, but total access of) from one trustee to the other without 'state' jurisdiction,....I believe??

[oogster8]

the bright side is ladii is young enough so with her next marriage she will know what to do........................lol.

[sirineou]

does she have a TIN number or social security number. Did he file taxes as a joint filling? would make it easier for social security because she would be in the system.

I file jointly with my Thai wife and have a USA marriage certificate. I assumed this would entitle her to my social security (presently collecting) should I die, and possible after she turns retirement age (soon).

But after reading that SS document that was sited previously I'm in real doubts as to what hoops and loops she might have to go thru, particularly when I read the various exceptions & exclusions it seemed to make for the country of Thailand ??

I may have to reread that multiply times to determine what it really says? Does my spouse really have to have physically lived in the USA for 5 years to be eligible to collect my SS if I die first?

According to the lawyer I am about to quote, the wife has to have lived in the USA for a continuous 5 years part of which she must have being married to you.

I agree it is a complicated issue with complex requirements, and IMO it would require a lawyer who specializes in this issues.

In order that we do not have this issues, we have applied for my wife to become a US citizen, she did her biometrics a couple of weeks ago, and we are waiting for her appointment to take the test and be sworn in the next few weeks.

http://www.dannamckitrick.com/articles/2012/04/social-security-survivor-benefits-noncitizens/

After reading the below article, the question remains, is Thailand one of the countries that meet the below specifications.?? (for full article see link above)

If Your Spouse is a Noncitizen…

After your death, assuming you are either a U.S. citizen or a noncitizen who has met all the above eligibility requirements, your spouse must meet Social Security’s lawful presence requirement in order to receive benefits while he or she is in the United States. It is important to know that being lawfully present for Social Security purposes is not the same as having lawful status under United States immigration law. The definition of “lawfully present” is a multi-part definition, and it includes lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, noncitizens paroled into the United States for less than one year, and Cuban-Haitian entrants.

In addition, if your surviving spouse ever leaves the United States, there are two rules that may limit his or her ability to receive survivor benefits. However, your spouse may be exempt from these rules if the country of origin falls into one of three categories:

• Social insurance countries. These are countries with social insurance or pensions systems that will pay benefits to U.S. citizens who reside outside that country. The United States will extend a reciprocal benefit to citizens of social insurance countries who reside outside the U.S.
• Treaty obligation countries. The United States has entered into treaties with certain countries requiring the payment of Social Security benefits to noncitizens under certain circumstances.
• Totalization agreement countries. A totalization agreement is an agreement between the United States and another country with a program similar to the American Social Security system. Totalization agreements allow greater flexibility for workers who split their careers between the two countries.

Under the first rule, unless you are a citizen of a treaty obligation country or atotalization agreement country, your spouse must have lived in the United States for five consecutive years (lawfully or unlawfully), and you must have been married during some part of that five-year period. Under the second rule, unlessyour spouse is a citizen of a social insurance country or a totalization agreement country, your spouse will stop receiving benefits if he or she lives outside the United States for more than six consecutive months.

Ensuring Your Spouse’s Eligibility for Survivor Benefits

It is important to fully understand your status and that of your spouse under Social Security as early as possible. If there are any problems with your eligibility, they cannot be remedied after your death, so be sure to look into the matter while you are planning your estate. In addition, the Social Security residency requirements for surviving spouses may influence your spouse’s decisions about his or her residency after your death.

[sirineou]

Ok I did some further research and if a non citizen dependent, living outside the US wanted to receive Social Security benefits , he or she IMO would need a lawyer familiar with the process, The requirements , conditions, and exceptions are so many, it would be difficult to negotiate the process on your own.

There treaties and agreements with many countries regarding payment of non citizen dependants living there But unfortunately as far as I can tell Thailand is not one of them

Here are the lists of qualifying countries. there might be others, that I could not find , but these lists come from an official US pdf.

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/46681.pdf

Appendix A: Exception Countries

The following country lists, which are subject to change periodically, are taken

from the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R., revised through April 1, 2002) and

the Social Security Administration’s International Program web page.

Social Insurance or Pension System Countries

The following countries meet the “social insurance or pension system”

exception in Section 202(t)(2) of the Social Security Act:

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize,

Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta), Canada, Chile, Colombia,

Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic,

Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana,

Iceland, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico,

Monaco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland,

Portugal, San Marino, Spain, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Lucia, Sweden,

Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

(Micronesia), Turkey, United Kingdom, Western Samoa, Yugoslavia, Zaire

(20 C.F.R. § 404.463)

Treaty Obligation Countries

The following countries meet the “treaty obligation” exception in Section

202(t)(3) of the Social Security Act:

Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands*

(20 C.F.R. § 404.463)

*Treaties between the United States and the Netherlands preclude the application

of residency requirements for noncitizens with respect to monthly survivor

benefits only.

Totalization Agreement Countries

The following countries meet the “totalization agreement” exception in Section

202(t)(11)(E) of the Social Security Act. The effective date is shown for each

agreement.

Australia October 1, 2002

Austria November 1, 1991

Belgium July 1, 1984

Canada August 1, 1984

Chile December 1, 2001

Finland November 1, 1992

France July 1, 1988

Germany December 1, 1979

Greece September 1, 1994

Ireland September 1, 1993

Italy November 1, 1978

South Korea April 1, 2001

Luxembourg November 1, 1993

Netherlands November 1, 1990

Norway July 1, 1984

Portugal August 1, 1989

Spain April 1, 1988

Sweden January 1, 1987

Switzerland November 1, 1980

United Kingdom 1985/1988*

* Provisions that eliminate double taxation became effective January 1, 1985;

provisions that allow persons to use work in both countries to qualify for benefits

became effective January 1, 1988.

Note: Agreements with Austria, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland

permit the individual to receive benefits as a dependent or survivor while a

resident in those countries only if the worker is a U.S. citizen or a citizen of the

country of residence.

A description and the complete text of each agreement are available on SSA’s

website at [http://www.ssa.gov/international/agreement_descriptions.html]

[2711]

I asked the SS Office in my U.S. State about Thai wife being able to receive my SS survivor benefits and this is all they told me..

"We have to be married for 10 years and wife must be present here to qualify. The documents needed are our marriage certificate (I have that from Amphur in Udon) and my death certificate along with wife's birth certificate that happens to be a piece of paper witnessed by a family member in her birthplace Amphur in Thailand (a long ride to get that!)

No mention of any opting for survivor benefits or anything else for that matter.

The only clue I have to offer then is that the OP's friend had best get to the U.S. fast with the documentations, and a lawyer for the best. I hope her green card is still valid. But a run could possibly turn out ok even if stay has been over the year time or two year which should have involved paperwork, i.e forms required for extended stay and money paid to USCIS @ $500.

The question I have is if the wife gets the SSS benefits monthly then is she able to live in Thailand afterwards and withdraw from ATM there??

I would imagine if she has duel citizenship yes, but not sure, and not sure about the non-citizen plight of doing the same.

[wym]

And of course this only applies to assets that are actually going through probate - most wealthy people will have made prior arrangements, set up trusts etc that legally don't belong to them at the time of death anyway, and these are pretty untouchable if they had decent advisors.

This trust situation / alternative is one that desires closer scrutiny. I don't know enough about it yet, but its my intention to look more thoroughly.

I think it avoids a lot of this probate situation that arises with or without a will (and the associated attorney bills).?? I imagine it could even avoid the cross-country problems as the assets just pass (not ownership, but total access of) from one trustee to the other without 'state' jurisdiction,....I believe??

Yes very much worthwhile, but a complex and expensive area of the law, and once you get into international complications even more so.

Thai law doesn't recognize the whole concept for example, for Thai citizens the assets and administration of the trusts would need to be handled from offshore.

Not worth it in my opinion until you start getting up around the million dollar mark, but perhaps half that in certain circumstances.

For example, when the recipient isn't capable of managing their own affairs and the giver wants to ensure a long-term income. Drug addicts, chronic mongers/suckers, gamblers or just plain stupid people would definitely benefit.

[dighambara]

After the embassy stuff. Get a vicious american lawyer-i smell a big battle if there is lots of money involved.

If she knows he had a will but doesnt know whats in the will id be preparing the wife for the worst.................lol. not funny i know. but its real. seems like lady was left out of the LOOP regarding the guys finances.

Ever try to explain common western financial transactions to a Thai - nearly hopeless.

I have tried explaining common processes to bank personnel with college degrees and they don't have a clue...!!!

[Mike45]

Thanks for all your replies. Some extra info regarding the case. She is legally married in the US(10 years), has a green card . The kid has as an American passport.

Thanks,

She should simply call social security and talk to them about benefits. I am almost 100% sure the child gets some benefit and she may qualify or not. If she had obtained USA citizenship she would definitely get benefits.

Call his family about his will and try to find out the name of the lawyer and executor.

May he rest in peace.

Unfortunately he should have written out instructions and left an envelope with originals or copies for his wife to use after his death. Not doing that was wrong.

I wonder how many people have actually done that for their spouse.

Sent from my HUAWEI MT1-U06 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[MyFriend You]

Thanks for all your replies. Some extra info regarding the case. She is legally married in the US(10 years), has a green card . The kid has as an American passport.

Thanks,

Social Security provides monthly income to children and can be significant. How old was he? Each states laws are different but in general 1/2 of their estate is hers unless he made provisions prior to marriage to keep his and her money separate, and then his portion is divided according to the will and if no will, via state law. Get a lawyer based on references from her friends.

This is very true - I know several surviving children of a Social Security annuitant that have ben recv'g checks for years - he had survivor benefits plan and had his two children very late in life..............she really needs to take his SSAN to the SS representative - if he was retired military, contact the VFW in Udorn, or JUSMAG Bangkok - they can assist.

Wish her luck - and yes, I am also ticked off at the comments of her being the 'Thai Wife' and his child the 'Thai Kid' do you people refer your spouses as the Brit wife, Aussie wife or Danish wife???? That borders on racisim...................

[MyFriend You]

I asked the SS Office in my U.S. State about Thai wife being able to receive my SS survivor benefits and this is all they told me..

"We have to be married for 10 years and wife must be present here to qualify. The documents needed are our marriage certificate (I have that from Amphur in Udon) and my death certificate along with wife's birth certificate that happens to be a piece of paper witnessed by a family member in her birthplace Amphur in Thailand (a long ride to get that!)

No mention of any opting for survivor benefits or anything else for that matter.

The only clue I have to offer then is that the OP's friend had best get to the U.S. fast with the documentations, and a lawyer for the best. I hope her green card is still valid. But a run could possibly turn out ok even if stay has been over the year time or two year which should have involved paperwork, i.e forms required for extended stay and money paid to USCIS @ $500.

The question I have is if the wife gets the SSS benefits monthly then is she able to live in Thailand afterwards and withdraw from ATM there??

I would imagine if she has duel citizenship yes, but not sure, and not sure about the non-citizen plight of doing the same.

A lot of people trying to help - this is good. The Social Security Administratiion recently (past couple of years) has acknowledged the New York Branch of the Bangkok Bank as an authorized recipient of SS Checks, she can then have money transferred at no charge to a Thai branch of the bangkok Bank - this is why I am switching from SCB to the bangkok bank, so SS will send my checks there, rather than paying ................... otherwise she will need a US Bank account for the checks to be sent to. Lucky for her this, they used to only send SS Checks to the Embassy in Bangkok or Consulate in Chiang Mai and she would have to pick them up there every month. There would be a line a block long of Americans recv'g their checks at the back gate of the old embassy.

[sirineou]

smalltalk, on 09 Jan 2014 - 02:43, said:

Thanks for all your replies. Some extra info regarding the case. She is legally married in the US(10 years), has a green card . The kid has as an American passport.

Then no problem the wife as the guardian of the kid will receive survivors benefits until the kid reaches legal age, longer if some other provisions apply.

Then when the wife reaches retirement age, If she Hasn't already, would also be entitled to SS benefits.

[JimGant]

Does my spouse really have to have physically lived in the USA for 5 years to be eligible to collect my SS if I die first?

Yes, and you would have to be married for that entire 5 years (assuming survivor bennies just for the wife, i.e., no dependendt US citizen children involved).

"During those five years, the family relationship on which we base benefits must have continued to exist." SSA Admin

Now, the following quote seems to suggest an exception:

According to the lawyer I am about to quote, the wife has to have lived in the USA for a continuous 5 years part of which she must have being married to you.

All of which seems to be the stated requirement, but maybe there are some rare exceptions, like: married for two years in Thailand, move to the States, US husband dies 4 years later, and wife continues to live in the US for at least one more year (thus having 5 years continuous in the US, and 6 years total marriage). But, that's just a wag.

[JimGant]

This trust situation / alternative is one that desires closer scrutiny. I don't know enough about it yet, but its my intention to look more thoroughly.

I think it avoids a lot of this probate situation that arises with or without a will (and the associated attorney bills).?? I imagine it could even avoid the cross-country problems as the assets just pass (not ownership, but total access of) from one trustee to the other without 'state' jurisdiction,....I believe??

Hopefully, the deceased had all his US assets titled jointly, including jointly owned real estate (e.g., tenancy by the entirety). Or, in the case of individually owned assets, had the wife as beneficiary (e.g., his IRA), or had the wife named as Pay on Death (POD) beneficary for financial accounts. The latter are so-called Totten Trust situations, and usually can easily be set up (USAA allows this to be done via phone). [A side benefit of POD beneficiaries is that FDIC insurance increases per POD beneficiary added -- so if you have most of your assets in one bank, this can preclude under insuring. See: https://www.fdic.gov/edie/index.html]

So, if the above is the situation, the widow won't have to worry about a Will, as probate is not involved. At least for US assets.

Thailand is a different story. Unfortunately, in Thailand you can't designate a POD for your financial accounts. So, the accounts would need to be probated. Or, in the absence of a Will, and in accordance with Thai intestate law, the wife would get one-half, the child the other half. Even joint accounts (by some reports) would be sealed upon the death of one owner (that's why I told the wife to get on-line, before I'm cold, and move the joint assets to her individual account. Since she's named in my Will to get these assets, certainly no aggrieved party to raise a hackle).

Will be interesting to see how the subject of this thread plays out.........

[Mike45]

Does my spouse really have to have physically lived in the USA for 5 years to be eligible to collect my SS if I die first?

Yes, and you would have to be married for that entire 5 years (assuming survivor bennies just for the wife, i.e., no dependendt US citizen children involved).

"During those five years, the family relationship on which we base benefits must have continued to exist." SSA Admin

Now, the following quote seems to suggest an exception:

According to the lawyer I am about to quote, the wife has to have lived in the USA for a continuous 5 years part of which she must have being married to you.

All of which seems to be the stated requirement, but maybe there are some rare exceptions, like: married for two years in Thailand, move to the States, US husband dies 4 years later, and wife continues to live in the US for at least one more year (thus having 5 years continuous in the US, and 6 years total marriage). But, that's just a wag.

The other exception to the 5 year rule is obtaining USA citizenship. If she becomes a citizen the 5 years doesn't apply to her. Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Or, in the case of individually owned assets, had the wife as beneficiary (e.g., his IRA), or had the wife named as Pay on Death (POD) beneficary for financial accounts. The latter are so-called Totten Trust situations, and usually can easily be set up (USAA allows this to be done via phone). [A side benefit of POD beneficiaries is that FDIC insurance increases per POD beneficiary added -- so if you have most of your assets in one bank, this can preclude under insuring. See: https://www.fdic.gov/edie/index.html]

So, if the above is the situation, the widow won't have to worry about a Will, as probate is not involved. At least for US assets.

Jim, glad you mentioned POD... I have my fiance/soon-to-be legal wife listed as my beneficiary on almost all my U.S. financial accounts, except for a few that refused to list a beneficiary who didn't have a Social Security or ITIN # as my Thai fiance doesn't, at least for now.

But, the part I remain fuzzy about is, I've never been able to get any of them -- which admittedly, aren't for the most part international finance type institutions -- to explain just how exactly they'd proceed in terms of transferring the funds to my beneficiary in another country outside the U.S., in the event of my death.

I've given my fiance, to this point, a sealed envelope that she knows contains instructions for her should something bad happen with me. She doesn't know, for now, the detail of what's inside. But the envelope includes the paperwork and details on all the accounts where she's a beneficiary, along with some explanation of her needing to get the certificate of death-type document from the U.S. Consulate when that day comes, and then that she'll need that in dealing with my U.S. financial institutions in terms of getting them to perform the POD obligations.

But, over a period of time, I haven't seen much written here about any experiences with what's happened exactly in those kind of situations, presumably because the persons in question at that point are DEAD! I'm just trying to figure out how to make it as simple and uncomplicated as possible for my fiance/future wife.

And the banks, brokerages and insurance companies' staff haven't been very helpful in telling me just how their processes would work, come that day.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I'm assuming the upshot of all the info you posted below -- and thanks very much for pulling it together here -- is that Thailand isn't listed on any of those Social Security-related lists. So survivors living in Thailand don't qualify for any of the special exceptions entitled to the survivors of folks from those listed countries.

Ok I did some further research and if a non citizen dependent, living outside the US wanted to receive Social Security benefits , he or she IMO would need a lawyer familiar with the process, The requirements , conditions, and exceptions are so many, it would be difficult to negotiate the process on your own.

There treaties and agreements with many countries regarding payment of non citizen dependants living there But unfortunately as far as I can tell Thailand is not one of them

Here are the lists of qualifying countries. there might be others, that I could not find , but these lists come from an official US pdf.

http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/46681.pdf

Appendix A: Exception Countries

The following country lists, which are subject to change periodically, are taken

from the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R., revised through April 1, 2002) and

the Social Security Administration’s International Program web page.

Social Insurance or Pension System Countries

The following countries meet the “social insurance or pension system”

exception in Section 202(t)(2) of the Social Security Act:

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize,

Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta), Canada, Chile, Colombia,

Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic,

Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Gabon, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana,

Iceland, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico,

Monaco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland,

Portugal, San Marino, Spain, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Lucia, Sweden,

Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands

(Micronesia), Turkey, United Kingdom, Western Samoa, Yugoslavia, Zaire

(20 C.F.R. § 404.463)

Treaty Obligation Countries

The following countries meet the “treaty obligation” exception in Section

202(t)(3) of the Social Security Act:

Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands*

(20 C.F.R. § 404.463)

*Treaties between the United States and the Netherlands preclude the application

of residency requirements for noncitizens with respect to monthly survivor

benefits only.

Totalization Agreement Countries

The following countries meet the “totalization agreement” exception in Section

202(t)(11)(E) of the Social Security Act. The effective date is shown for each

agreement.

Australia October 1, 2002

Austria November 1, 1991

Belgium July 1, 1984

Canada August 1, 1984

Chile December 1, 2001

Finland November 1, 1992

France July 1, 1988

Germany December 1, 1979

Greece September 1, 1994

Ireland September 1, 1993

Italy November 1, 1978

South Korea April 1, 2001

Luxembourg November 1, 1993

Netherlands November 1, 1990

Norway July 1, 1984

Portugal August 1, 1989

Spain April 1, 1988

Sweden January 1, 1987

Switzerland November 1, 1980

United Kingdom 1985/1988*

* Provisions that eliminate double taxation became effective January 1, 1985;

provisions that allow persons to use work in both countries to qualify for benefits

became effective January 1, 1988.

Note: Agreements with Austria, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland

permit the individual to receive benefits as a dependent or survivor while a

resident in those countries only if the worker is a U.S. citizen or a citizen of the

country of residence.

A description and the complete text of each agreement are available on SSA’s

website at [http://www.ssa.gov/international/agreement_descriptions.html]