International Programs
Totalization Agreement with Canada
Introduction
For Canada, the Agreement applies to the Old-Age Security program and the Canada Pension Plan. The United States has an Understanding with Quebec that applies to the Quebec Pension Plan.
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Eliminating dual coverage for self-employment
Self-employed workers who reside in the U.S. are assigned U.S. coverage. Self-employed workers who reside in Canada are assigned coverage under the Canadian or Quebec system.
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Canadian 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.
- If your work will remain covered by the Canada Pension Plan, request a certificate using form CPT56 available at Canada.ca. The form explains the information to provide and where to mail it.
- If your work will remain covered by the Quebec Pension Plan, request a certificate (form QUE/USA 101) from:
Bureau des ententes de sécurité sociale
Retraite Québec 1055, boulevard René-Lévesque Est, 13e étage
Montréal, (Québec)
CANADA H2L 4S5
- 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 U.S. Social Security number;
- Worker's Canadian Social Security number, if applicable;
- 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).
The Canadian system measures credits in years. To simplify the information in the table, U.S. requirements are also shown in years of credits.
Canada provides old-age, disability and survivors benefits through two different programs. The Old-Age Security (OAS) program is a non-contributory, residence-based program. The basic OAS pension is payable to individuals aged 65 or over who meet the residence requirements in Canada. The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) pay retirement, disability and survivors pensions based on a worker’s earnings and total years of contribution beginning January 1, 1966 (when CPP and QPP started).
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Retirement or old-age benefits |
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| Beneficiary | Social Security System | ||||||
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United States | Canada | Canada | Canada |
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| Old-Age Security (OAS) | Canada Pension Plan (CPP) | Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) | |||||
Worker |
Full benefit at full retirement age.* Reduced benefit as early as age 62. Required work credits range from one and one-half to 10 years (10 years if age 62 in 1991 or later). | An Old-Age Security pension is paid to anyone in Canada who is at least age 65 and has been a resident of Canada for at least 10 years after age 18. This pension is payable outside Canada for only six months following the month of departure from Canada unless the person has at least 20 years of Canadian residence after age 18. No work credits are required. A supplementary benefit called Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is paid to OAS beneficiaries living in Canada who have little or no income beyond the OAS pension. GIS is payable outside Canada for only six months following the month of departure from Canada. |
Worker can get full retirement pension at age 65 or reduced pension as early as age 60. Only one contribution to the Plan (one year coverage) required. CPP retirement pensioners who continue to work and are under age 70, can continue to contribute to the CPP. The CPP contributions will go toward post-retirement benefits (PRB), which will increase their retirement income. |
Same as CPP. |
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| Disability | Under full retirement age* can get benefit if unable to do any substantial gainful work for at least a year.1 ½ to 10 years credit required, depending on age at date of onset. Some recent credits also needed unless worker is blind. | No provision. | Worker under 65 must have a physical or mental disability which prevents any substantial gainful work and will be of long and indefinite duration or result in death. Worker must have contributions in four of the last six years before the start of the disability or three of the last six years with a long work history (25 or more contributory years). As of January 2019, retirement pension recipients under the age of 65 who are disabled may receive the post-retirement disability benefit. These individuals must meet the same medical and contributory requirements as the disability pension. |
Definition of disability same as CPP. Worker must have contributions in:
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*Full retirement age is 66 for people born in 1943-1954 and will gradually increase to age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
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Disability benefits |
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| Beneficiary | Social Security System | ||||||
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United States | Canada | Canada | Canada |
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| Old-Age Security (OAS) | Canada Pension Plan (CPP) | Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) | |||||
| Worker | Under full retirement age* can get benefit if unable to do any substantial gainful work for at least a year.1 ½ to 10 years credit required, depending on age at date of onset. Some recent credits also needed unless worker is blind. | No provision. | Worker under 65 must have a physical or mental disability which prevents any substantial gainful work and will be of long and indefinite duration or result in death. Worker must have contributions in four of the last six years before the start of the disability or three of the last six years with a long work history (25 or more contributory years). As of January 2019, retirement pension recipients under the age of 65 who are disabled may receive the post-retirement disability benefit. These individuals must meet the same medical and contributory requirements as the disability pension. |
Definition of disability same as CPP. Worker must have contributions in:
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*Full retirement age is 66 for people born in 1943-1954 and will gradually increase to 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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| Beneficiary | Social Security System | ||||||
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United States | Canada | Canada | Canada |
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| Old-Age Security (OAS) | Canada Pension Plan (CPP) | Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) | |||||
Spouse |
Full benefit at full retirement age* or at any age if caring for worker’s entitled child under age 16 (or disabled before age 22). Reduced benefits as early as age 62 if not caring for a child. | An allowance is paid to the spouse or common law partner (whether of the same or different sex who have lived together for at least one year) of an OAS pensioner when the couple has little or no income. The spouse or common-law partner must be age 60-64 and the OAS beneficiary must also be receiving GIS. The allowance is payable outside Canada for only six months following the month of departure from Canada. A supplementary benefit called Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is paid to OAS pensioners living in Canada who have little or no income beyond the OAS benefit. GIS is payable outside Canada for only six months following the month of departure from Canada. |
No provision for benefits. However, under certain conditions, retirement pensions can be shared by married spouses or common law partners if they are not legally separated. | Same as CPP. |
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| 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. | No provision. | No provision for benefits. However, total earnings credited to the couple during the marriage or common-law union (while they lived together) may be split equally upon a divorce or legal annulment that occurred after 1977. | No provision for benefits. Provision on earnings splitting similar to CPP. |
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| 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. | No provision. | No provision for children of retired worker. Children of disabled worker up to age 18 (or age 25 if in school full time). | No provision for children of retired worker. Children of disabled worker up to age 18 (or age 25 if in school full time and worker died or became disabled prior to 1/1/94). | |||
*Full retirement age is 66 for people born in 1943-1954 and will gradually increase to age 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
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Survivors Benefits |
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| Beneficiary/Type of benefit | Social Security System | ||||||
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United States | Canada | Canada | Canada |
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| Old-Age Security (OAS) | Canada Pension Plan (CPP) | Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) | |||||
Survivors benefits— surviving spouse |
Full benefit at full retirement age* or at any age if caring for the 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 child. Benefits may be continued if remarriage occurs after age 60 (or age 50 if disabled). | An allowance is payable to surviving spouses or common-law partners (whether of the same or different sex) age 60-64 with little or no income. The common- law partner must have lived with the deceased for at least one year. The allowance is payable outside Canada for only six months following the month of departure from Canada. |
A survivors benefit is payable to the spouse or common-law partner of the deceased contributor at the time of their death 1/98. The deceased worker must have made contributions to the CPP for at least one third of the years in the contributory period for a minimum of three years up to a maximum of 10 years. Remarriage will not affect entitlement. | Same as CPP, except no age requirement. |
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| Divorced Surviving Spouse | Same as surviving spouse if marriage lasted at least 10 years. | No provision. | No provision. However, see note under divorced spouse. | No provision. However, see note under divorced spouse. |
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| Surviving children | Same as for children of retired or disabled worker | No provision. | Same as children of disabled worker. Same contributory requirements as for surviving spouse. | Same as children of disabled worker. Same contributory requirements as for surviving spouse. | |||
| Lump-sum death benefit | A one-time payment not to exceed $255 payable on the death of an insured worker | No provision. | Same minimum contributory requirements as for other survivors benefits. One-time payment of CDN $2,500. | Same minimum contributory requirements as for other survivors benefits. One-time payment of CDN $2,500. | |||
*The full retirement age for survivors is age 66 for people born in 1945-1956 and gradually increases to age 67 for people born in 1962 or later.
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How benefits can be paid
If you have social security credits in both the United States and Canada, you may be eligible for benefits from one or both countries. If you meet all the basic requirements under one country’s system, you will get a regular benefit from that country. If you do not meet the basic requirements, the Agreement may help you qualify for a benefit as explained below.
- 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 Canadian (CPP/QPP) credits. However, to be eligible to have your Canadian credits counted, you must have earned at least six work credits (generally 1½ years of work) under the U.S. system. If you already have enough work credits under the U.S. system to qualify for a benefit, the United States cannot count your Canadian credits.
- Benefits from Canada—Canada provides retirement, disability and survivors benefits through two separate programs.
- Old-Age Security (OAS) Program—To receive an OAS pension, you must be age 65 or older and must have been a resident of Canada for at least 10 years after age 18 (or 20 years after age 18 to have the pension paid outside Canada).
Under the Agreement, Canada will consider your U.S. Social Security credits earned on or after January 1, 1952 and after age 18, along with periods of residence in Canada on or after January 1, 1952 and after age 18, to meet the OAS residence requirements. However, to be eligible to have your U.S. credits counted, you must have resided in Canada for at least one year after January 1, 1952 and after age 18.
- Canada Pension Plan and Quebec Pension Plan—The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) pay retirement, disability and survivors pensions based on your covered work performed on or after January 1, 1966 (when CPP and QPP started), and the amount of your earnings. The CPP operates throughout Canada, except in the Province of Quebec. Both plans require a minimum number of years of contributions to qualify for benefits. People who have contributed to both CPP and QPP receive one benefit based on their total contributions to both plans.
Under the Agreement, U.S. Social Security credits completed after 1965 may be considered along with CPP or QPP work credits, if necessary, to meet the minimum requirements for CPP or QPP disability or survivors benefits. However, to be eligible to have your U.S. credits counted, you must have earned at least one year of credit under the CPP or QPP. It is not necessary to consider U.S. Social Security credits in determining eligibility for CPP or QPP retirement benefits since anyone who has made at least one contribution to either plan can qualify for a retirement benefit at age 65 or a reduced retirement benefit as early as age 60.
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Claims for benefits
If you live in the United States and wish to apply for U.S. or Canadian 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.
- Apply for Canadian benefits (OAS, CPP or QPP) at any U.S. Social Security office by completing application Form CDN-USA 1 (for OAS and CPP benefits) or QUE/USA-1 (for QPP benefits), or mail the completed Form to your local Social Security Administration office.
If you live in Canada and wish to apply for U.S. benefits:
- Visit or write any U.S. Social Security office located along the U.S.-Canadian border.
- Visit any in-person Service Canada Centre or call the toll free number, 1-800-277-9914, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM local time, Monday to Friday. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the toll-free TTY number, 1-800-255-4786.
- Visit any in-person QPP office or call the toll free number, 1-800-463‑5185, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM local time, Monday to Friday.
If you live in Canada and wish to apply for Canadian or Quebec benefits, contact any Canadian or Quebec 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. In that case, you will be provided with an application form for the corresponding Canadian benefit. 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 Social Security number;
- Canadian Social Insurance Number;
- 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 Canadian 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 U.S. Department of Treasury each month and cover benefits for the preceding month. Benefits under Canada’s OAS and CPP systems and Quebec’s QPP system are paid near the end of each month and represent payment for that month. For more information, contact the Canadian authorities at the address in the section titled, “For more information.”
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For more information about Canada's social security programs
For more information about the Old-Age Security program or the Canada Pension Plan, see the website United States - Pensions and benefits, or contact any Service Canada office.
For more information about the Quebec Pension Plan, contact any office of the Régie des rentes de Québec or write to:
Retraite Québec
Case Postale 5200
Québec (Québec) G1K 7S9
CANADA