Redistribution at it's finest Subsidies have boosted Affordable Care Act’s enrollment

US News & Politics
41

In certain cases, individuals who immigrate to the United States when they’re age 65 or older may be entitled to draw Social Security benefits, just like any natural-born American citizen. In other cases, immigrants may only draw on their home country’s retirement programs. And some immigrants qualify for benefits from both countries. Here’s an overview of how the rules work.

  • People who immigrate to the United States at age 65 or older may be entitled to Social Security benefits.
  • They must either have 40 U.S. work credits (about 10 years’ worth) or come from a country that has a totalization agreement with the U.S.1
  • Totalization agreements allow immigrants to combine their work credits from both the U.S. and their home country.
  • The U.S. has totalization agreements with 30 other nations.2
  • If you live or retire abroad and are eligible for Social Security payments, you can still get them.

The U.S. has such agreements with the following countries:

Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
The United Kingdom
Uruguay

I stand partially corrected. Just immigrants admitted to the US.

Qualified Alien

A non-citizen may be able to collect Social Security benefits as a qualified alien if they meet one of seven categories, according to the Social Security Administration.

  1. Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence (LAPR) in the U.S., which includes “Amerasian immigrant” as defined in P.L. 100-202, with a class of admission AM-1 through AM-8;
  2. Granted conditional entry under Section 203(a)(7) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as in effect before April 1, 1980;
  3. Paroled into the U.S. under Section 212(d)(5) of the INA for a period of at least one year;
  4. Refugee admitted to the U.S. under Section 207 of the INA;
  5. Granted asylum under Section 208 of the INA;
  6. Deportation is being withheld under Section 243(h) of the INA, as in effect before April 1, 1997; or removal is being withheld under Section 241(b)(3) of the INA;
  7. A “Cuban and Haitian entrant” as defined in Section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 or in a status that is to be treated as a “Cuban/Haitian entrant” for SSI purposes.