Conclusion regarding foreign social insurance or pension system of Estonia – InsuranceNewsNet

Notice of finding concerning the foreign social insurance or pension scheme of Estonia.

Quote: “87 FR 29778”

Document number: “File No. SSA-2020-0042”

Page number: “29778”

“Notice”

Agency: “Social Security Administration.”

SUMMARY: We find that under the non-payment of aliens provision of the Social Security Act (the Act), citizens of Estonia can continue to receive Social Security Title II benefits, after 6 consecutive calendar months of absence from United States. This conclusion is based on the information and data we received on the social insurance system of Estonia and its laws. The commissioner of Social Security delegated the authority to make this finding to the Deputy Commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy.

DATES: We will implement this finding on May 16, 2022.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Here K. Allen, Income Security Programs Office, 2500 Robert Ball Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 965-8945.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: We are prohibited by law from paying benefits under Title II of the Act to non-WE citizens who stay away United States for more than 6 consecutive calendar months, except as provided by law. We call this part of the law the Alien Non-Payment Provision (ANP). /1/

FOOTNOTE 1 Section 202

We recently reviewed the Estonian social insurance system to determine whether it meets the criteria for an ANP exception. This is a new discovery concerning the social insurance system of Estonia under the ANP. Following this discovery, the citizens of Estonia may continue to receive the benefits of Title II of the law after 6 consecutive calendar months outside United States.

Background

The ANP, Section 202

FOOTNOTE 2 Section 202

To determine whether the social insurance or pension system meets the criteria for an exception under Section 202

Previously, we determined that the social insurance system of Estonia has not satisfied the exception provided for in section 202

FOOTNOTE 3 58 EN 11612 (February 26, 1993). END OF FOOTNOTE

The Estonian government has informed us that it has adopted an amendment, effective January 1, 2018which allowed the payment of all benefits apart from Estonia. In April 2018we received an SSA-142 report filled with Social assurance or pension system, submitted by the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia. We ran an analysis to arrive at the result we describe here.

Discovery

Section 202

(A) pays periodic benefits, or their actuarial equivalent, in the event of old age, retirement or death; and

(B) allows persons who are WE citizens but not citizens of that country and who are eligible for benefits to receive those benefits, or the actuarial equivalent thereof, outside the foreign country, regardless of the length of the absence.

We find that starting January 1, 2018, Estonia met all the required criteria of section 202

Our conclusion that the exception in section 202

(Federal Domestic Help Program Catalog No. 96.001, Social Security–Disability insurance; 96.002, Social Security–Retirement insurance; and 96.004, Social Security–Survivors insurance)

The Acting Commissioner of Social SecurityKilolo Kijakazi, having reviewed and approved this document, delegates the authority to electronically sign this document to Faye I. Lipskywho is the primary Federal Register liaison for the SSA, for publication in the Federal Register.

Faye I. Lipsky,

Link to the federal register, Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs, Social Security Administration.

[FR Doc. 2022-10440 Filed 5-13-22; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4191-02-P