Totalization Agreement with France

An agreement, effective July 1, 1988, between the United States and France improves Social Security protection for people who work or have worked in both countries.  It helps many people who, without the agreement, would not be eligible for monthly retirement, disability or survivors benefits under the Social Security system of one or both countries.  It also helps people who would otherwise have to pay Social Security taxes to both countries on the same earnings.

The agreement covers Social Security taxes (including the U.S. Medicare portion) and retirement, disability and survivors insurance benefits.  It does not cover benefits under the U.S. Medicare program or the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

This document covers highlights of the agreement and explains how it may help you while you work and when you apply for benefits.

Before the agreement, employees, employers and self-employed persons could, under certain circumstances, be required to pay Social Security taxes to both the United States and France for the same work.

Under the agreement, if you work as an employee in the United States, normally you and your employer will pay Social Security taxes only to the United States and not to France. If you work as an employee in France, you normally will pay only French social security taxes and neither you nor your employer will have to pay U.S. Social Security taxes.

On the other hand, if your employer sends you from one country to work for that employer or an affiliate in the other country for five years or less, you will continue to be covered by your home country and you will be exempt from coverage in the other country. For example, if a U.S. company sends an employee to work for that employer or an affiliate in France for no more than five years, the employer and the employee will continue to pay only U.S. Social Security taxes and will not have to pay in France.

Special rules apply to self-employed persons who, without the agreement, would have to pay social security taxes to both countries (see the table below).

Summary of Agreement Rules

The following table shows whether U.S. or French social security covers your work. If U.S. Social Security covers your work, you and your employer (if you are an employee) must pay U.S. Social Security taxes. If the French system covers your work, you and your employer (if you are an employee) must comply with the French contribution requirements. The next section explains how to get a certificate of coverage from the country that will prove you are exempt in the other country.

A certificate of coverage issued by one country serves as proof of exemption from social security taxes on the same earnings in the other country.

Certificates For Employees

To establish an exemption from compulsory coverage and taxes under the French system, your employer must request a certificate of coverage (form SE 404-2) from the United States at this address:

Social Security Administration
Office of International Programs
P.O. Box 17741
Baltimore, Maryland 21235-7741
U.S.A.

If preferred, the request may be sent by FAX to (410) 966-1861. Please note this FAX number is only to request certificates of coverage.

To request a certificate, the request must be in writing and provide the following information:

Full name of worker (including maiden name for married woman);

Date and place of birth;

Citizenship;

Country of worker's permanent residence;

U.S. Social Security number;

Date of hire;

Country of hire;

Name and address of the employer in the United States and France;

Date of transfer and anticipated date of return; and

A statement, signed by your employer, certifying that you, and any family members who live with you in France, are covered by an employer-sponsored or other private health insurance plan while in France (see NOTE below).

In addition, your employer must indicate if you remain an employee of the U.S. company while working in France or if you become an employee of the U.S. company's affiliate in France.  If you become an employee of an affiliate, your employer must indicate if the U.S. company has an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service under section 3121(l) of the Internal Revenue Code to pay U.S. Social Security taxes for U.S. citizens and residents employed by the affiliate and, if yes, the effective date of the agreement.

Your employer also can request a certificate of U.S. coverage for you over the Internet using a special online request form available at www.socialsecurity.gov/coc. Only an employer can use the online form to request a certificate of coverage. A self-employed person must submit a request by mail or fax.

NOTE:In addition to retirement, disability and survivors benefits, French social security taxes cover several other benefit programs including France’s national health insurance program. As a result, a worker exempted from paying French social security taxes by the agreement cannot receive free health care services or other benefits under the French health insurance system. If you meet all of the other requirements for exemption from French social security taxes while working in France, you or your employer must arrange for private health insurance before the exemption may apply.

French certificates

To establish your exemption from coverage under the U.S. Social Security system, your employer in France must request a certificate of coverage (either form SE-404-1 or SE-404-2) from the local French agency for sickness insurance that collects your social security taxes in France.

The same information required for a certificate of coverage from the United States is needed to get a certificate from France except that:

• You must show your French social security number rather than your U.S. Social Security number; and
• Your employer doesn’t need to certify that you and your family are covered by private health insurance.

Certificates For Self-Employed People

If you are self-employed and would normally have to pay social security taxes to both the U.S. and French systems, you can establish your exemption from one of the taxes by writing to:

• If you will be covered by the United States (see table above), the U.S. Social Security Administration at the address in "Certificates For Employees" section; or
• If France will cover your work (see table above), the local French agency that collects your French Social Security taxes.

Be sure to provide the following information in your letter:

• Full name (including maiden name);
• Date and place of birth;
• Citizenship;
• Country of permanent residence;
• U.S. and/or French social security number;
• Nature of self-employment activity;
• Nates the activity was or will be performed;
• Name and address of your trade or business in both countries; and
• If you are requesting a certificate from the United States, a statement certifying that you, and any family members who live with you in France, are covered by a private health insurance plan while in France (see NOTE above).

Effective Date Of Coverage Exemption

The certificate of coverage you receive from one country will show the effective date of your exemption from paying social security taxes in the other country.  Generally, this will be the date you began working in the other country. 

The employer in the United States should retain a copy of the certificates of coverage issued by France in case of an audit by the IRS. Do not send a copy to the IRS. The employer should not send copies to the IRS unless specifically requested by IRS. However, a self-employed person must attach a photocopy of the certificate to his or her income tax return each year as proof of the U.S. exemption.

Social Security will provide copies of certificates of coverage issued by the United States for both the employee and the employer. It will be the employee/employer responsibility to present the certificate to the French authorities when requested to do so. To avoid any difficulties, your employer (or you, if you are self-employed) should request a certificate as early as possible, preferably before your work in the other country begins.

If you or your employer request a certificate of coverage, you should read the Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Statements below.

The following table shows the various types of social security benefits payable under the U.S. and French social security systems and briefly describes the eligibility requirements that normally apply for each type of benefit. If you don't meet the requirements for these benefits, the agreement may help you to qualify (see "How Benefits Can Be Paid" section).

This table is only a general guide. You can get more specific information about U.S. benefits here on our web site or at any U.S. Social Security office or by calling our toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213. You can get more detailed information about the French system by writing to the French address in "For More Information" section or by visiting the French social security system’s web site at www.cleiss.fr/.

Under U.S. Social Security, you may earn up to four credits each year depending on the amount of your covered earnings. The amount needed to earn a work credit goes up slightly each year. For more information, see How You Earn Credits (SSA Publication No. 05-10072).

The French system measures credits in calendar quarters. To simplify the information, the table shows requirements in years of credits.

Monthly Benefits and Eligibility Requirements

How Benefits Can Be Paid

If you have social security credits in both the United States and France, 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 don't 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 U.S. and French credits. However, to be eligible to have your French 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 French credits.
• Benefits from France––Under French law, a worker can qualify for an old-age pension based on as little as one calendar quarter of contributions but the benefit amount is reduced for workers with less than 150-160 quarters (depending on year of birth). Under the agreement, France will compute an old-age pension based on French credits alone as well as a prorated benefit based on U.S. and French credits, and then pay whichever is greater.

If you don’t have enough work credits under the French system to qualify for regular disability or survivors benefits, you may be able to qualify for a partial benefit from France based on both U.S. and French credits. However, to be eligible to have your U.S. credits counted, you must have at least one year of coverage under the French system.

How Credits Get Counted

You do not have to do anything to have one country count your credits in the other country. If we need to count your credits under the French system to help you qualify for a U.S. benefit, we will get a copy of your French record directly from France when you apply for benefits. If French officials need to count your U.S. credits to help you qualify for a French benefit, they will get a copy of your U.S. record directly from the Social Security Administration when you apply for the French benefit.

Although each country may count your credits in the other country, your credits do not actually transfer from one country to the other. They remain on your record in the country where you earned them and you can use them to qualify for benefits there.

If you live in the United States and wish to apply for U.S. or French benefits:

• Visit or write any U.S. Social Security office; or
• Phone our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778.

You can apply for French benefits at any U.S. Social Security office by completing an application form SSA-2490.

If you live in France and wish to apply for U.S. or French benefits, contact:

• The Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Paris (phone 1-43-12-4705) or the U.S. Consular Agency in Nice (4-9388-8955) to file for U.S. benefits; or
• Any French social security office to file for French benefits.

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. This includes:

• The worker’s U.S. and French social security numbers ;
• Proof of age for all claimants ; and
• Evidence of the worker’s U.S. earnings in the past 24 months and information about the worker’s coverage under the French system.

You may wish to call the Social Security office before you go there to find out if you will need to provide any other information.

Payment of Benefits

Each country pays its own benefit. The U.S. Department of the Treasury issues U.S. payments each month which covers benefits for the preceding month.

Under the French system, France makes payments at different times for different periods depending on the type of benefits. For more information, contact the French authorities at the address in the "For More Information" section.

Absence From U.S. Territory

Normally, persons who are not U.S. citizens may receive U.S. Social Security benefits while outside the U.S. only if they meet certain requirements.Under the agreement, however, you may receive benefits as long as you reside in France regardless of your nationality. If you are not a U.S. or French citizen and live in another country, you may not be able to receive benefits. The restrictions on U.S. benefits are explained in the booklet, Social Security—Your Payments While You Are Outside The United States (Publication No. 05-10137).