A Totalization benefit is a U.S. or foreign social security benefit for which entitlement is established
only as a result of a Totalization agreement.
All the agreements provide that the United States may use credits from the foreign
country to help a person meet the minimum coverage requirements for U.S. benefits.
Some agreements provide that the foreign country can count U.S. credits to help a
person meet the minimum length-of-work requirement for foreign benefits. However,
other agreements do not permit the foreign country to count U.S. quarters of coverage
to help an individual qualify for a foreign benefit. Rather, the length-of-coverage
requirements for the foreign benefit are simply reduced.