Brazil-US Social Security Agreement Comes into Force

The more than 1.3 million Brazilians residing in the United States can already count the time worked in the United States when applying for age or disability retirement and bereavement benefits. The result of an international agreement between the two nations, the new policy entered into force on Monday (1 October) and applies to workers in the general social security system and special regime workers, such as public servants and military officials.

Similarly, every US citizen living in Brazil – a number estimated at more than 35 thousand – will have access to equivalent social security rights in the United States. The agreement states that each country is responsible for payment in its own currency.

In addition to facilitating the granting of these benefits, the measure also avoids double taxation for taxpayers who have worked in both countries. In the assessment of the coordinator of International Agreements of the National Social Security Institute (INSS), Renato Lopes, the initiative protects workers by avoiding economic harm.

“Many people are travelling to other countries and working there for significant periods. If they lose that time [as countable] even though they have contributed all those years and cannot use it later for retirement, they will be harmed. So, the agreement is to ensure that people have these social security protections even if they work in other countries,” he argued.

Agreements

Brazil has already signed international social security commitments with several nations around the world. Currently, the country is a signatory of the Multilateral Agreement on Social Security of the Southern Common Market (with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the Multilateral Ibero-American Social Security Convention (with Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, Peru , Paraguay, Portugal and Uruguay).

The country also has separate bilateral agreements with Germany, Belgium, Cape Verde, Canada, Chile, South Korea, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Portugal and Quebec (Canada).