Spousal benefits with totalization agreement - husband has Canadian work credits but not enough US credits

You're right about the US-Canada totalization agreement! It's designed exactly for situations like yours. Your husband can qualify for benefits under this agreement even without the full 40 US credits. Here's what you need to know: 1. For your husband to receive spousal benefits, you need to file for your own retirement benefits first (he can't file for spousal only) 2. If you file at 62, your benefit will be reduced, and his spousal benefit would be reduced as well (up to 50% of your PIA, but reduced for early filing on his part) 3. If you wait until your FRA, his spousal benefit could be up to 50% of your full benefit amount 4. If you wait until 70, your benefit increases, but his spousal benefit doesn't increase beyond what it would be at your FRA To request Canadian credits, contact your local SSA office and ask about filing under the totalization agreement. They'll have you complete form SSA-2490-BK (Application for Benefits Under a Totalization Agreement). The US and Canadian agencies will communicate directly after that.

My husbadn and I went through something similiar!!! It took FOREVER to get everything sorted out. We had to request his work creddits from Germany though, not Canada. The SSA kept losing our paperwork and we had to submit everything THREE TIMES. Make sure you keep copies of EVERYTHING. And follow up every week! They wont tell you whats happening unless you call and bug them. Good luck!!!

I went through this exact situation with my Australian work credits! The totalization process is actually not as complicated as people make it sound, but it does take time. To answer your specific question about minimum credits - YES, your husband needs at least 6 US quarters of coverage for the totalization agreement to work. With 3 years of US work, he should have around 12 quarters, so that's not a problem for you. About timing your application - it really depends on your financial situation. If you wait until your FRA to file, his spousal benefit would be higher. But if you need the income sooner, filing earlier might make more sense even with the reduction. One thing no one mentioned - he might also be eligible for Canadian retirement benefits too! He should contact Service Canada about his Canadian Pension Plan entitlement. He can potentially receive both (though there might be some WEP reduction). Btw, trying to call SSA about this was impossible - I was on hold for 2+ hours multiple times. I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - it was so worth it for complicated situations like this.

just want to point out that timing is actually super important here. if your husband is already 65, he should apply for Medicare right away if he hasn't already, even if he's not getting SS yet. missing the enrollment period causes permanent penalties.

I disagree with some advice you've gotten here. The main thing to understand is that the US-Canada totalization agreement doesn't "transfer" credits - it allows each country to COUNT the other country's credits to determine eligibility, but benefits are calculated only on actual work in each country. In other words, SSA will use Canadian credits to help your husband qualify, but his SS benefit amount will be based ONLY on his US earnings. Since he only worked 3 years in the US, his own benefit will be very small. But the GOOD NEWS is that the spousal benefit doesn't depend on his work record! As a spouse, he can get up to 50% of your PIA (depending on when he claims). So you're asking the right question about when YOU should claim. If maximizing his benefit is the goal, you should wait until your FRA to claim. If maximizing your combined lifetime benefits is the goal, you might want to wait until 70 to claim your own benefit and have him claim spousal when you do. Totalization applications TAKE FOREVER. Start now even if you're not claiming benefits immediately.

The whole system is RIGGED against people who worked internationally!!! My husband worked in Canada too and the SSA gave us the runaround for YEARS. They claim there's this agreement but then make it impossible to actually use it. We finally gave up and just live on my SS and his Canadian pension. The amount he would have gotten from US was so tiny it wasn't worth the fight anymore. The caseworkers don't even understand their own rules!!! 😡

Has your husband looked into his Canadian pension yet? My uncle gets both his Canadian and US benefits, it's not one or the other. They're actually pretty generous up there!

Just to add one important detail - your husband should apply for his Canadian benefits first before the US application. This is because the SSA will ask for verification of his Canadian benefits as part of calculating any potential WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) adjustment. Also, there's a specific form for totalization claims: the SSA-2490-BK. Not all SSA representatives may be familiar with it, so ask specifically for someone experienced with totalization claims when you call or visit an office. One more tip: when you do apply, the SSA might initially deny the claim if they only look at US credits. Make sure they understand it's a totalization claim so they consider the combined credits from both countries.