The rules of the agreement for eliminating dual coverage described in RS 02001.560 through RS 02001.570 cover the majority of situations where the United States and Portugal would both
cover and tax a worker in the absence of an agreement. However, sometimes the application
of the normal agreement rules would yield anomalous or inequitable results. For this
reason, the agreement includes a provision that permits the authorities in both countries
to grant exceptions to the normal coverage rules of the agreement if both sides agree.
The intent of the exception provision is not to provide workers or employers with
the freedom to elect coverage in conflict with normal agreement rules. The purpose
of the special exception provision is to allow a worker to continue coverage in the
country where the individual normally works and has coverage, in order to ensure that
the worker will meet eligibility requirements for retirement or disability benefits.