Article 7.1 provides that in the case of people who have periods of social security coverage in Brazil and the United States, but who do not have enough Brazilian coverage to qualify for Brazilian benefits, the Competent Institution of Brazil will add U.S. quarters of coverage to periods of Brazilian coverage to determine whether a person meets the minimum coverage requirements for OASDI benefits under Brazilian law.
Under the Brazilian social security system, a worker who stops contributing to the system before qualifying for a benefit can lose eligibility for benefits unless the worker resumes contributions for specified periods. As a result, a worker may contribute for many years to the Brazilian system, but fail to qualify for benefits because the worker has little or no recent coverage.
If a worker stops contributing to the Brazilian system, the worker may only retain the right to retirement and disability benefits for one to two years, depending on the length of the worker’s contribution history. To recover benefit rights, the worker must contribute again for a period equal to one-third of the minimum coverage requirement for entitlement to a benefit. For example, a worker who contributed for 15 years and then moved to the United States would remain insured for Brazilian retirement or disability benefits for only 2 years. Entitlement to a retirement benefit requires 15 years of contributions. After a 2 year period of non-contribution, the worker would have to resume paying Brazilian contributions for a period of 5 years to re-establish eligibility for a Brazilian retirement benefit. Article 7.1 provides that the Competent Institution of Brazil will consider U.S. periods of coverage to determine whether a worker meets Brazilian recent coverage requirements.
Additionally, Article 7.1 establishes the procedure that the Competent Institution of Brazil will follow in converting U.S. quarters of coverage into periods of coverage under the Brazilian system. In determining benefit eligibility based on combined periods of coverage, the Competent Institution of Brazil will credit three (3) months of coverage for each quarter of coverage certified by SSA. However, Brazil will not credit additional months of coverage based on U.S. coverage if Brazil has already credited those months under Brazilian laws.