Advising clients on Social Security issues is complicated enough. With the added complexity of a non-U.S. citizen as a client, the help you provide as a financial advisor must be even more specific. With 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:financial advisors serving🉐 a growing number of non-citizen clients, here are some issues to be aware of.

Who Is Eligible for Benefits?

For non-U.S. citizens to be 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:eligible for Social Secur༒ity benefits, they must be in the country legally and have a Social Security number.

Non-citizens who are immigrating to the U.S. can often apply for a Social Security number in their home country at the same time that they apply for an immigrant visa with the U.S. Department of State. They can also apply after they arrive in the U.S. by visiting a Social Security office.

Non-immigrants (those who are visiting the U.S. temporarily) can obtain a Social Security number by filling out an "Application for Employment Authorization" from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which, if approved, grants them permission to work legally in the U.S.

Types of Social Security Benefits

The Social Security Administration runs several different benefits programs. In addition to benefits for retirees and their spouses, it provides 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:survivor benefits for the spouses and children of deceased workers, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Social Security Disabiliಌty Insಌurance (SSDI) for disabled workers, and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for older and disabled people with little to no income or financial assets.

Eligibility requirements for these programs differ, but except for SSI, most require that the worker have earned at least 40 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Social Security work credits. That equates to 10 years of covered work in the U.S.

Combining U.S. and Foreign Work Credits

Workers who haven't earned 40 work credits in the U.S. may still be eligible for Social Security benefits if their home country has a totalization agreement with the United States. These agreements allow non-citizens to combine the credits they earned in both countries in order to qualify. The U.S. currently has such agreements with these countries:

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

You can find the details of each country's totalization agr💫eement on th💛e .

Receiving So⛎cial Security Benefits Outside the U༒S

With the exception of a few countries, workers can receive U.S. Social Security benefits regardless of where ෴i🐻n the world they live. In some limited instances, Social Security will stop payments to non-U.S. citizens who have been outside the United States for six full calendar months but resume them if the person returns to the U.S.

These rules are explained in depth by the Social Security Administration.

Tax Issues for Non-U.S. Citizens

Paying Social Security taxes

Resident aliens who work in the U.S. are subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes, just like U.S. citizens. Some non-resident aliens, however, are exempt. Those include, for example, employees of foreign governments who are in the U.S. on A-visas and certain teachers, students, and others, who are in the U.S. on other types of visas. The Internal Revenue Service lists all the exceptions and related rules on its website.

Taxes on Social Security benefits

As is the case for U.S. citizens, Social Security benefits are taxable if the recipient earns over a certain amount. Unless your client qualifies as a resident alien for tax purposes, the Social Security Administration will generally withhold money from their benefit check. The withholding, which takes the form of a 30% tax on 85% of their monthly benefit, results in a reduction of 25.5%. However, some non-resident aliens are exempt from this withholding or subject to a lower rate, depending on tax treaties between the U.S. and their home country.

The Social Security Administration has a on its websi🎐te that you can use to determine whether your client's benefits are subject to withholding or if they qualify f🌃or special tax treatment.