Dear Rusty: I am 90 and a long-time Social Security recipient – I signed up at age 62, which I now know was not wise, but I digress. We see from various sources that immigrants, legal and illegal, get Social Security benefits merely by attained age, regardless of contributions. Is that true? Signed: Curious Nonagenarian
This recording presents the viewpoints of the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Staff, trained and accredited under the National Social Security Advisors program of the National Social Security Association, LLC (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation are not affiliated with or endorsed by the United States Government, the Social Security Administration, or any other state government. To request additional information, contact our Advisory Staff at 888-750-2622, or email us at [email protected].
Where are all the people that are supposed to be working for us, All I ever hear is what the Left side is doing to destroy us. Tired of donating money with no results!!!
Dear Rusty:
I am a 62 year old Canadian who holds a green card here in the US. I have lived in the US going on twenty-three years. Given the US/Canada tax treaty, upon moving down here, I had the option of paying my taxes in either country and I chose the US. I am now contemplating retirement in the US and have been told that I can only draw my old age pension from either the US, or from Canada, but I cannot draw from both. I am all set up on the US SS website, where I can check the status of my benefits. However, as would be expected, I can only view my US contributions. My 19 years of Canadian contributions to the Canadian Pension Plan, or CPP (Canadian equivalent of the US SS) are not currently accounted for in the calculation of my US SS benefits.
Conversations with the US Social Security office suggested that my 19 years of contributions to to the CPP would “probably” be applied to my US SS pension upon application for benefits. However, the individual I spoke with was not 100% sure how that would work. Unfortunately, I received even less information from the Canadian government.
Would you happen to know what the process is for having my Canadian funds transferred to my US SS account and how I might find out what my combined benefits will be?
Thank you,
Anxious To Relax
Patrick,
Allow me to clarify how things work under the “totalization” agreement between the U.S. and Canada. Although you worked and contributed to CPP while living in Canada, your earnings in Canada do not count when computing your U.S. Social Security benefits (nor do your U.S. earnings contribute to your CPP benefit entitlement). The so-called “totalization agreement” permits eligibility credits in both countries to be combined (“totalized”) to gain eligibility for benefits in both, but computation of benefit amounts in each country uses only money earned in-country.
In your case, you did not need the totalization agreement to earn your U.S. benefits, and your U.S. entitlement is based only on your U.S. earnings. Because of your years contributing to the Canadian program, you are also eligible to separately collect a CPP pension, and you should be able to apply for your CPP pension through your local U.S. Social Security office by submitting SSA form CDN-USA1. Your local SS office can provide the form and needed guidance to apply for your CPP benefits. You should be aware, however, that collecting your CPP pension will impact the amount of benefits you get in the U.S. because of a U.S. regulation known as the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). WEP reduces the U.S. Social Security benefit for anyone who has a pension earned separately without contributing to U.S. Social Security (that includes some U.S. state & local government employees, as well as those who have a pension from another country). Here’s how WEP will affect your U.S. Social Security benefits:
Your U.S. SS benefit will be computed using a special WEP formula which considers the number of years you contributed to the U.S. program from “substantial earnings” as reflected in the chart at this link: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf. Assuming you have 23 years of substantial U.S. earnings from which you contributed to the U.S. SS program, your U.S. benefit will be reduced by approximately 35%. Your actual reduction amount is fairly difficult to predict, but this article may provide a better understanding: https://socialsecurityreport.org/ask-rusty-computing-benefits-when-wep-applies/. In any case, your CPP pension will cause WEP to apply, which will reduce your U.S. pension, but it cannot reduce your U.S. Social Security benefit by more than 50% of your CPP pension benefit amount.
FYI, WEP and international benefits are complex topics, and it’s not especially unusual that SS representatives you first encounter (e.g., on the phone) aren’t fully versed in how those benefits work. You may wish to make an appointment to apply for your CCP benefits in person at your local Social Security office and at the same time obtain more specific information on how WEP will affect your U.S. Social Security benefits. That may require speaking with a supervisor who is well versed in WEP and international pensions.
Finally, please be aware that at age 62, any U.S. benefits you receive will be significantly reduced because you haven’t yet reached your full retirement age (which is 66 years and 10 months). But your U.S. benefit, even with WEP, will continue to grow for as long as you delay claiming (maximum isn’t reached until age 70).
Russell Gloor
National Social Security Advisor
The AMAC Foundation