The agreement provides that Spain will count a worker's U.S. coverage when determining eligibility for Spanish benefits under the general system or special occupational systems if the worker:

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  is not insured based on Spanish coverage alone, and

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  has at least one year of Spanish coverage (See GN 01721.125D. for exception.)

Spain will credit 91 days of contributions for each U.S. QC. However, Spain will not credit any days of contributions that are already credited as days of contributions under the Spanish system.

Spain will add days of coverage based on the worker's U.S. coverage to the worker's Spanish coverage to determine whether the applicable minimum coverage and recency-of-work requirements are met.

Where necessary, workers can also meet the registration requirement that applies to certain categories of Spanish benefits (see GN 01721.020) based on U.S. coverage. The worker is deemed to meet this requirement if the worker entitled to U.S. Social Security benefits, or has a record of “current” U.S. coverage. The current coverage requirement is considered met if the worker:

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  has at least one QC during the 12-quarter period ending with the quarter in which the worker applies for a Spanish retirement benefit, dies, or becomes disabled as defined in Spanish laws, or

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  is insured for U.S. benefits based on U.S. coverage alone.

Although a worker must generally have at least one year of Spanish coverage to be eligible for Totalization benefits, there is one exception to this rule. The agreement provides that where a worker has less than one year of coverage in each country, but could qualify for a Spanish benefit if the coverage were combined, Spain will count the U.S. coverage. This can help certain survivors qualify for Spanish benefits.

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  GN 01721.020, Spanish Social Security Benefits - Eligibility Requirements

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  GN 01721.215, Application for Benefits under the Spanish Agreement