Notice2024-00404
Finding Regarding Foreign Social Insurance or Pension System of Cambodia
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 11, 2024
Issuing agencies
Social Security Administration
Abstract
We find that, under the Alien Nonpayment Provision of the Social Security Act (Act), citizens of Cambodia may continue to receive Social Security benefits under title II, after 6 consecutive months of absence from the United States, without regard to length of absence, if they meet certain conditions. This finding is based on our analysis of information and data we received about the social insurance system of Cambodia and its laws. The Commissioner of Social Security delegated the authority to make this finding to the Deputy Commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 8 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 8 (Thursday, January 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1973-1975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00404]
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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA-2023-0005]
Finding Regarding Foreign Social Insurance or Pension System of
Cambodia
AGENCY: Social Security Administration.
ACTION: Notice of finding regarding foreign social insurance or pension
system of Cambodia.
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SUMMARY: We find that, under the Alien Nonpayment Provision of the
Social Security Act (Act), citizens of Cambodia may continue to receive
Social Security benefits under title II, after 6 consecutive months of
absence from the United States, without regard to length of absence, if
they meet certain conditions. This finding is based on our analysis of
information and data we
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received about the social insurance system of Cambodia and its laws.
The Commissioner of Social Security delegated the authority to make
this finding to the Deputy Commissioner for Retirement and Disability
Policy.
DATES: We will implement this finding on January 11, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Icie K. Allen, Office of Income
Security Programs, 2500 Robert Ball Building, 6401 Security Boulevard,
Baltimore, MD 21235-6401, (410) 965-8945. For more information on
eligibility or filing for benefits, call our national toll-free number,
1-800-772-1213 or TTY 1-800-325-0778, or visit our internet site,
Social Security Online, at <a href="https://www.socialsecurity.gov">https://www.socialsecurity.gov</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are prohibited, by law, from paying
benefits under title II of the Act to non-U.S. citizens who remain
outside the United States for more than 6 consecutive calendar months,
unless they meet an exception provided in the law. We refer to this
portion of the law as the Alien Nonpayment Provision (ANP).\1\
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\1\ Section 202(t) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 402(t).
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We recently reviewed the Cambodian social insurance system to
determine if it meets the criteria for an ANP exception. This is a new
finding about the social insurance system of Cambodia under the ANP. As
a result of this finding, citizens of Cambodia may continue receiving
benefits under title II of the Act after 6 consecutive calendar months
outside the United States if they meet one of the following conditions:
1. Their benefits are based on the earnings of an individual who
earned at least 40 quarters of coverage, or
2. Their benefits are based on the earnings of an individual who
had periods of U.S. residency that add up to at least 10 years.
Background
The ANP, section 202(t) of the Act, prohibits payment of title II
benefits to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or nationals for any
month after they have been outside the United States for more than 6
consecutive calendar months. Beneficiaries who meet one of the
exceptions described in the ANP may continue to receive benefits under
title II without regard to absence from the United States. Some of
these exceptions require that dependents and survivors meet a 5-year
U.S. residency requirement for benefits to continue after 6 consecutive
calendar months of absence from the United States.\2\
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\2\ Section 202(t)(2), (4), (11) of the Act, 42 U.S.C.
402(t)(2), (4), (11).
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To determine whether the social insurance or pension system meets
the criteria for an exception under section 202(t)(2) of the Act, we
review the foreign country's laws. In addition, we review information
and data that we receive from the administrators of the social
insurance or pension system of that country. The Commissioner of the
Social Security Administration publishes these findings in the Federal
Register.
On July 26, 1958, we published a list of countries that did not
meet the requirements of section 202(t)(2), which included Cambodia.\3\
Cambodia did not meet 202(t)(2) because it did not operate a social
insurance or pension system of general application. However, the
exceptions provided under section 202(t)(4)(A) and (B) did apply to
qualified citizens of Cambodia.
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\3\ 23 FR 5673 (July 26, 1958).
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The exceptions under section 202(t)(4)(A) and (B) no longer applied
to citizens of Cambodia from April 1975 through November 2001, because
the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed payment restrictions for
Cambodia.\4\ The U.S. Department of the Treasury lifted those payment
restrictions effective December 10, 2001 \5\ and we updated our
regulation in September 2009 \6\ accordingly.
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\4\ 40 FR 19202 (May 2, 1975).
\5\ 66 FR 63623 (Dec. 10, 2001).
\6\ 74 FR 48855 (Sept. 25, 2009).
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We requested information from Cambodia to make an updated finding
of Cambodia's status under section 202(t)(2) of the Act. In June 2014,
we received a completed Form SSA-142, Report of Social Insurance or
Pension System, from Cambodia. We initiated an analysis to reach the
finding we describe here.
On September 25, 2002, Cambodia enacted the Law on Social Security
Schemes for Persons Defined by the Provisions of the Labour Law. This
law contains provisions for the earned right to benefits based on
contributions from employment covered under Cambodia's social security
scheme. However, our review indicates that Cambodia's social insurance
system is not in effect because Cambodia does not currently collect
contributions or pay pension benefits as of the date of this Finding.
Finding
Section 202(t)(2) Exception
Section 202(t)(2) of the Act provides that the prohibition against
payment shall not apply to individuals who are citizens of a foreign
country that the Commissioner of Social Security finds has a social
insurance or pension system that is in effect and of general
application in such country, and that:
(A) pays periodic benefits, or the actuarial equivalent thereof, on
account of old age, retirement, or death; and
(B) permits individuals who are U.S. citizens but not citizens of
that country and who qualify for benefits to receive those benefits, or
the actuarial equivalent thereof, while outside the foreign country
regardless of the duration of the absence.
We find that Cambodia does not meet the conditions in section
202(t)(2) of the Act because the social insurance system of Cambodia is
not in effect. This finding is effective January 1, 2002, the first
month after the U.S. Treasury restriction was lifted. This finding
under section 202(t)(2) does not preclude consideration of section
202(t)(4)(A) and (B).
Section 202(t)(4) Exception
We find that the ANP exceptions in 202(t)(4)(A) and (B) below apply
to citizens of Cambodia in specific instances, as discussed in the next
two paragraphs.
Section 202(t)(4)(A) of the Act provides that the prohibition
against payment shall not apply to the benefits payable on the earnings
record of an individual who has at least 40 quarters of coverage under
Social Security.
Section 202(t)(4)(B) of the Act provides that the prohibition
against payment shall not apply to the benefits payable on the earnings
record of an individual who has resided in the United States for a
period or periods aggregating 10 years or more.
Both exceptions are subject to residency requirements: Section
202(t)(11) requires that dependent and survivor beneficiaries must have
resided in the United States for 5 years or more while in a qualifying
relationship with the individual on whose earnings the benefits are
based.
Moreover, the exceptions in section 202(t)(4)(A) and (B) will not
apply if:
<bullet> The individual is a citizen of a foreign country that has
in effect a social insurance or pension system that is of general
application and that pays periodic benefits (or the actuarial
equivalent) on account of old age, retirement, or death; but the social
insurance or pension system does not pay benefits to qualifying U.S.
citizens without regard to the duration of the absence from the foreign
country; or,
<bullet> The individual is a citizen of a foreign country that has
no social insurance or pension system of general application and at any
time within 5 years before January 1968 (or the first month after
December 1967 in which
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benefits are subject to ANP suspension), the individual was residing in
a country to which payments were withheld by Treasury under 31 U.S.C.
3329(a) and 3330(a).
We apply this finding from January 1, 2002, the first month after
the U.S. Department of Treasury lifted the statutory restriction on
foreign payments.
Our finding that section 202(t)(4)(A) and (B) apply to citizens of
Cambodia is subject to section 202(t)(11). Section 202(t)(11) requires
that dependent and survivor title II beneficiaries must also have
resided in the United States for a total period of 5 years or more
while in a qualifying relationship with the individual on whose
earnings the benefits are based.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 96.001, Social
Security--Disability Insurance; 96.002, Social Security--Retirement
Insurance; and 96.004, Social Security--Survivors Insurance)
The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Martin
O'Malley, having reviewed and approved this document, is delegating the
authority to electronically sign this document to Faye I. Lipsky, who
is the primary Federal Register Liaison for SSA, for purposes of
publication in the Federal Register.
Faye I. Lipsky,
Federal Register Liaison, Office of Legislation and Congressional
Affairs, Social Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024-00404 Filed 1-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 11, 2024.
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