Totalization Agreement

A person who has a coverage period in two countries may acquire benefit eligibility by totalizing his/her periods of coverage in both countries. Without totalizing the periods, the person may not acquire benefit eligibility under one country's pension insurance system alone, as a result of insufficient periods of coverage.

The following agreements fall under the category of the totalization agreement: Canada (entry into force on May 1, 1999), the United States (entry into force on April 1, 2001), Germany (entry into force on January 1, 2003), Hungary (entry into force on March 1, 2007), France (entry into force on June 1, 2007), Australia (entry into force on October 1, 2008), Czech Republic (entry into force on November 1, 2008), Ireland (entry into force on January 1, 2009), Belgium (entry into force on July 1, 2009) Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria (entry into force on March 1, 2010), Romania (entry into force on July 1, 2010), Austria (entry into force on October 1, 2010), Denmark (entry into force on September 1, 2011), India (entry into force on November 1, 2011), Spain (entry into force on April 1, 2013), Turkiye (entry into force on June, 1, 2015), Sweden(entry into force on June, 1, 2015), Brazil (entry into force on November 1, 2015), Finland (entry into force on February 1, 2017), Quebec (entry into force on September 1, 2017), Peru(entry into force on January 1, 2019), Luxembourg(entry into force on September 1, 2019), Slovenia(entry into force on October 1, 2019), Croatia(entry into force on November 1, 2019), Uruguay( entry into force on November 1, 2021), New Zealand(entry into force on March 1, 2022), Vietnam(exemption agreement only entry into force on January 1, 2024), Philippines(entry into force April 1, 2024) and Norway(entry into force June 1, 2024).

Except the agreement with New Zealand, totalization agreement includes Exemption Agreement.

※ The agreement with Vietnam can only cover the elimination of double pension coverage until Vietnam’s national pension legislation is prepared to allow for totalizing the periods of coverage.

Exemption Agreement

This social security agreement covers the elimination of dual coverage of pension insurance systems.

A person from one contracting country who is employed or self-employed in the other contracting country for the short term, such as a detached worker, can normally be covered only under one contracting country's social security system during his/her working period. For example, an employee sent to work in a foreign country by his/her company, which is located in his/her home country, will only have to pay pension contributions into his/her home country's pension insurance system.

Provisions concerning benefits such as Totalization of Periods of Coverage, Protection for Entitlement to Benefits, Equal Treatment, and Payment of the Lump-sum Refund are generally not included in the agreement.

The agreements with the United Kingdom (entry into force on August 1, 2000), China (entry into force of provisional measures on February 28, 2003; Terminated on January 16, 2013), the Netherlands (entry into force on October 1, 2003), Japan (entry into force on April 1, 2005), Italy (entry into force on April 1, 2005), Uzbekistan (entry into force on May 1, 2006), Mongolia (entry into force on March 1, 2007), China (entry into force on January 16, 2013), Switzerland (entry into force on June, 1, 2015), and Chile (entry into force on February 1, 2017) focus on the elimination of dual coverage burdens.