Article 19, paragraph 4 of the Act on Mandatory Pension Insurance provides for lump-sum refunds of contributions for foreign nationals upon their permanent departure from Iceland, unless an international agreement provides otherwise. Because it is generally more advantageous for a person to receive totalized monthly benefits instead of a lump-sum refund of contributions, Article 8.7 provides that U.S. nationals returning to the United States from Iceland must take the totalized benefit.