Under the agreement, if an NH has at least 6 quarters of U.S. coverage but not enough to be insured for regular U.S. benefits, the NH's credits under the Norwegian social security system can be added to his or her U.S. coverage to permit the NH (or any dependents or survivors) to qualify for U.S. totalization benefits.

SSA will credit 4 U.S. quarters of coverage for each year of Norwegian coverage under the supplementary pension program. (Norwegian coverage is measured in years known as “pension point years.”) However, no credit will be given for:

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  any calendar quarter within a pension point year that is already credited as a U.S. quarter of coverage, or

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  more than 4 quarters of coverage for any calendar year.

When U.S. insured status is established based on combined U.S. and Norwegian coverage, the amount of the U.S. totalization benefit will be determined using the computation method described in GN 01701.200.

The Office of International Operations (OIO) is responsible for converting Norwegian coverage to U.S. QC's and adjudicating claims for U.S. totalization benefits when the NH has at least 6 QC's but is not insured based on U.S. coverage alone.