social security taxes

Greetings! We are students at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. We are working in collaboration with the U.S. Government Accountability Office to research retirement security, specifically on the potential effects of totalization agreements. Please answer the following questions if you would like to help us. Your responses will be kept confidential and will be used only for research purposes. Thank you for your time.

Totalization agreements are bilateral social security agreements. The U.S. has totalization agreements with 25 countries. The agreements aim to prevent dual taxation for Social Security benefits and make it easier for workers and their dependents to access benefits. If a person has worked in the U.S. and another agreement country for a period of time, but not long enough in one or both countries to be eligible to receive Social Security benefits, a totalization agreement enables them to add up (totalize) their time worked between the two countries to be able to more easily meet the eligibility requirements for receiving prorated benefits, both in the U.S. and in the agreement country. *

1. Are you aware if the United States has a totalization agreement with the country you are working or living in? Yes or no?

2. If yes, do you feel the agreement affects your retirement security? Yes or no?

How?
A. Avoid paying double taxes
B. Other _______

3. Where did you hear about totalization agreements and the benefits you can get from them?
A. Employer
B. Employer's tax or financial advisor
C. Personal tax or financial advisor
D. Just now
E. Other _____________________

4. Now that you know about totalization agreements, do you think you will change or modify your retirement plans? Yes or no?

5. If you think you may qualify for totalized benefits, do you plan to seek professional advice for your retirement benefits?
A. Yes, in the near future
B. Yes, when I am closer to retiring
C. Maybe
D. No
Comments________________________________

6. Are you a US. citizen?
7. In what country do you currently reside?
8. In what country do you plan to retire?

Feel free to leave any comments about your experiences as well.

Thank you for your time. 

*We are graduate researchers and are not official or professional authorities on taxes or Social Security benefits.

FYI there are web services that you can customize for such surveys. They provide an easy interface to answer the questions and I imagine will give you the data in a convenient format.

1. Are you aware if the United States has a totalization agreement with the country you are working or living in? Yes or no?

Yes

2. If yes, do you feel the agreement affects your retirement security? Yes or no?

No

How?
A. Avoid paying double taxes
B. Other _______

For people on short term foreign assignments the totalization agreements is convenient allowing them to keep paying SS taxes in their original country. As a long term UK expat in the working in the US the agreement isn't relevant to me as I pay FICA and Medicare and voluntarily pay UK Class 2 National Insurance so I will qualify for both US and UK social security pensions. So I choose to be doubly taxed to get additional benefits.

3. Where did you hear about totalization agreements and the benefits you can get from them?
A. Employer
B. Employer's tax or financial advisor
C. Personal tax or financial advisor
D. Just now
E. Other _____________________

Book I bought back in the UK in 1988 before I left for the US.

4. Now that you know about totalization agreements, do you think you will change or modify your retirement plans? Yes or no?

No

5. If you think you may qualify for totalized benefits, do you plan to seek professional advice for your retirement benefits?
A. Yes, in the near future
B. Yes, when I am closer to retiring
C. Maybe
D. No
Comments________________________________

I will not need to use the agreement to qualify for both US and UK SS pensions.

6. Are you a US. citizen?

Yes

7. In what country do you currently reside?

US

8. In what country do you plan to retire?

Not sure, but leaning towards the UK

May I complete this survey if I am already retired. If yes,

1. Are you aware if the United States has a totalization agreement with the country you are working or living in? Yes or no?

Yes

2. If yes, do you feel the agreement affects your retirement security? Yes or no?

The agreement was not required as I qualified in both the US (more than 40 quarters of contributions) and in the UK (more than 10 years contributions).

Neither US SS nor the UK State Pension are critical to my financial wellbeing, but any funds available contributes to overall retirement security.

3. Where did you hear about totalization agreements and the benefits you can get from them?

I enquired to US SSA in Baltimore in 1994 concerning my ability to collect US Social Security. Enclosed in the reply was a booklet describing the Totalisation Agreement (ICN444918).

4. Now that you know about totalization agreements, do you think you will change or modify your retirement plans? Yes or no?

No

5. If you think you may qualify for totalized benefits, do you plan to seek professional advice for your retirement benefits?

No (See note below)

6. Are you a US. citizen?

For now, yes.

7. In what country do you currently reside?

UK

8. In what country do you plan to retire?

Already retired in the UK, so if the question about professional advice (5) indicates future contact from a company wishing to sell retirement/investment advice, you're too late. Check the wording of your questions. One might believe this is an approach from a financial advisor.

Note for (5):
I worked in a 3rd country and contributed to its social security system, but did not have sufficient contributions to qualify for benefits from its social security pension. They also had a Totalisation Agreement with the US, but I did not use it. Instead, I used my UK qualification through an equivalent EU agreement to qualify for the 3rd country social security.


Could you pass on a question to the GAO relating to the Agreement?

In 2015 the UK will go to a single payer system for the UK State Pension. Under the US/UK Totalisation Agreement and Social Security agreement, the spouse of a qualified recipient also qualifies for a spousal benefit based on the qualified recipients pension, (applies in both countries if the qualified recipient is resident). What will happen regards the agreement after 2015 when the UK no longer allow spousal pensions based on the benefits of a qualified recipient? Or, is this questionnaire in some way related to this situation?

I hope you don't mind me saying that this survey shows enormous ignorance about the fearful and alienated feelings of many "US persons" living outside the USA today.

I believe you will find relatively few of us who will answer your questions, and admit to being US citizens, on a public forum. Being a US citizen outside the USA is to be a member of a unique taxation and penalty club. Please see www.isaacbrocksociety.ca to better understand this.

I and my family would like to give up US status, as my children were born abroad and have never lived in the US, and I moved from the States 30 years ago. However we cannot afford to give up citizenship as the price has just risen 400% from $450 to $2,350. This would be impossible for my family of five.

This survey is going to have a lot of selection bias. The folks on the Tax forum of UK-Yankee are not representative of most US expats in that they have probably already seen the Totalization Agreement mentioned.