Article 12.3 describes the method of computing U.S. benefit amounts where entitlement is established based on the totalization (i.e., combination) of U.S. and French coverage.  As stipulated in Article 12.1, persons who qualify for U.S. benefits based on their U.S. coverage alone are not eligible for totalization benefits from the United States.

Under the procedure outlined in Article 12.3, the amount of a worker’s benefit depends on both the level of his or her earnings and the duration of his or her coverage under U.S. Social Security.  This computation procedure is described in detail in regulations (20 CFR 404.1918 as revised July 24, 1984).  The first step in the procedure is to compute a theoretical benefit amount as thought the worker had worked a full coverage lifetime (i.e., full career) under U.S. Social Security at the same earnings level as during his or her actual periods of U.S. covered work.  The theoretical benefit is then prorated to reflect the proportion of a coverage lifetime completed under the U.S. program.  A coverage lifetime is defined in the regulations as the number of the worker’s benefit computation years, i.e., the years which must be used in determining a worker’s average earnings under the regular U.S. national computation method.