When you are a disabled worker who is no longer able to work, or have to substantially reduce your hours due to impairments that prevent you from fulfilling your job duties on a full-time basis, it may be time to look into applying for Social Security disability benefits. The process of applying usually starts with filing an initial application for disability benefits, which can be done online at www.ssa.gov or by contacting Social Security directly. There is a question on the initial application that asks if the applicant has worked outside the United States and if they are eligible for potential benefits in another country.
Many other countries have programs similar to Social Security that provide benefits to retired and disabled workers and agreements between countries provide easier access for an applicant to determine eligibility for the programs in each of the countries they worked in.
The latest country to enter into an agreement with the United States is Hungary, see here. This agreement is similar in nature to agreements the United States already has in place with most European Union countries, Australia, Canada, Chile, Northway, The Republic of (South) Korea and Switzerland. These types of agreements provide for “limited” coordination between the United States and foreign Social Security systems to eliminate duel benefit coverage and taxation, as well as help prevent the loss of benefit protection that can occur when workers divide their careers between two countries.
Essentially when a disabled worker applies for Social Security benefits and has also worked and paid into a benefit plan in one of the other countries the United States has agreements with, it allows the two countries to work together to prevent over or underpayment. The agreement between the two nations was signed in Budapest, Hungary Feb. 3, 2015.
