SCHEDULE
AGREEMENT ON SOCIAL
SECURITY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND
NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Government of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and
The Government of the
United States of America,
Being desirous of
regulating the relationship between their two countries in the field of Social
Security, have agreed as follows:
PART I
General Provisions
Article 1
For the purpose of this Agreement:
(1) “Territory”
means as regards the United States, the States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam and
American Samoa, and as regards the United Kingdom, England, Scotland and Wales,
Northern Ireland, and also the Isle of Man and the Islands of Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, Herm and Jethou; and references to the “United Kingdom”
or to “territory” in relation to the United Kingdom shall include
the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Herm and Jethou where appropriate;
(2) “Law” means
the laws specified in Article 2 of this Agreement, or regulations or
Orders emanating from those laws, which are applicable in the territory of a
Party or in any part thereof;
(3) “Competent
Authority” means, as regards the United States, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, and as regards the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State
for Social Services, the Department of Health and Social Services of Northern
Ireland, the Isle of Man Board of Social Security, the Social Security Committee
of the States of Jersey or the States of Guernsey Insurance Authority, as the
case may require;
(4) “Agency”
means, as regards the United States, the Social Security Administration, and as
regards the United Kingdom, the Departmental and independent authorities duly
appointed to decide the matter in question;
(5) “Period of
coverage” means, as regards the United States, a period of payment of
contributions or a period of earnings from employment or self-employment, as
defined or recognised as a period of coverage under the laws of the United
States, or any similar period insofar as it is recognised by such laws as
equivalent to a period of coverage, and as regard the United Kingdom, it means an
insurance period;
(6) “Benefit”
means any benefit, pension or allowance provided for in the laws of either
Party, including any increase of, or any additional amount payable with a
benefit, pension or allowance;
(7) As regards the United
Kingdom:
(a) “insurance
period” means a contribution period or an equivalent period;
(b) “contributions
period” means a period in respect of which contributions appropriate to
the benefit in question are payable, have been paid or treated as paid;
(c) “equivalent
period” means a period for which contributions appropriate to the benefit
in question have been credited;
(d) “survivor’s
benefit” means widow’s allowance, widowed mother’s allowance
and widow’s pension;
(e) “child’s
survivor benefit” means guardian’s allowance and child’s
special allowance;
(f) “laws
on coverage” means the laws and regulations relating to the imposition of
liability for the payment of social security contributions.
Article 2
(1) For the purpose of this
Agreement, the applicable laws are:
(a) As
regards the United States, the laws governing the Federal Old-Age, Survivors
and Disability Insurance Program;
(i) Title II of the Social
Security Act and regulations pertaining thereto, except sections 226, 226A and
228 of that title and regulations pertaining to those sections; and
(ii) Chapter
2 and Chaper 21 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and regulations pertaining
to those chapters;
(b) as
regards the United Kingdom;
(i) the Social
Security Acts 1975 to 1982 and the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Acts 1975
to 1982;
(ii) the
Social Security Acts 1975 to 1982 (Acts of Parliament) as applied to the Isle
of Man by Orders made under the provisions of the Social Security Act 1982 (an
Act of Tynwald);
(iii) the Social
Security (Jersey) Law, 1974;
(iv) the Social
Insurance (Guernsey) Law, 1978;
and the laws which were consolidated by those Acts, Laws or Orders
or repealed by legislation consolidated by them.
(2) The agreement shall
apply also to any law which supersedes, replaces, amends, supplements or
consolidates the laws specified in paragraph (1) of this Article.
(3) Unless the Parties
agree otherwise, as regards the United Kingdom, this Agreement:
(a) shall
apply only to benefits described in the laws specified in paragraph (1)(b)
of this Article at the date of entry into force of this Agreement and for which
specific provision is made in this Agreement; and
(b) shall
not apply to any laws which relate to a branch of Social Security not covered
by the laws specified in paragraph (1)(b) of this Article unless the two
Parties make an agreement to that effect.
(4) This Agreement shall
not apply to Regulations on Social Security of the institutions of the European
Communities or to any convention or other international agreement on social
security which either Party has concluded with a third party or to any laws or regulations
which amend the laws specified in paragraph (1) of this Article for the
purpose of giving effect to such a convention of agreement but shall not
prevent either Party from taking into account under its laws the provisions of
any other convention or agreement which that Party has concluded with a third
Party.
Article 3
A person who is or has
been subject to the laws of one Party and who resides within the territory of
the other Party shall, together with his dependants, receive equal treatment
with nationals of the other Party in the application of the laws of the other
Party regarding the payment of benefits.
PART II
Provisions on Coverage
Article 4
(1) Except as otherwise
provided in this Part, a person employed within the territory of one of the
Parties shall, with respect to that employment, be subject to the laws on
coverage of only that Party. Where a person is subject only to the laws on
coverage of the United Kingdom in accordance with this paragraph, those laws
shall apply to him as if he were ordinarily resident in the territory of the
United Kingdom.
(2) Where a person who is
covered under the laws on coverage of one Party and is employed by an employer
in the territory of that Party is sent by that employer to work in the
territory of the other Party, the person shall be subject only to the laws on
coverage of the former Party, as if he were employed in the territory of the
former Party, provided that the period of work in the territory of the latter
Party is not expected to exceed 5 years, or such longer period as may be agreed
upon by the Competent Authorities in a particular case. This paragraph does not
apply to employment as an officer or member of a crew on a ship or aircraft.
(3) A person who would
otherwise be covered under the laws on coverage of both Parties with respect to
self-employment performed in the territory of either Party shall be subject
only to the laws on coverage of the Party in whose territory he ordinarily
resides.
(4) Where a person is
employed under the laws on coverage of one Party and self-employed under the
laws on coverage of the other Party for the same activity, he shall be subject
only to the laws on coverage of the Party in whose territory he ordinarily
resides.
(5) A person who would
otherwise be covered under the laws on coverage of both Parties with respect to
employment as an officer or member of a crew on a ship or aircraft shall, in
respect of that employment, be subject only to the laws on coverage of the
United Kingdom if he ordinarily resides in the territory of the United Kingdom,
and only to United States laws on coverage if he ordinarily resides in the
territory of the United States.
(6) A person who ordinarily
resides in the territory of the United Kingdom and who is not employed or
self-employed shall be subject to the laws on coverage of only the United
Kingdom with respect to Social Security contributions.
Article 5
(1) This Agreement shall
not affect the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of
April 18, 1961, or of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of April 24,
1963.
(2) Notwithstanding Article 4,
nationals of one of the Parties who are employed by the National Government of
that Party in the territory of the other Party and to whom the provisions
mentioned in paragraph (1) of this Article do not apply, shall be subject
to the laws on coverage of only the first Party, as if they were employed in
the territory of that Party. For the purposes of the United States, employment
by the National Government shall include employment by an instrumentality of
the United States Government.
Article 6
The Competent Authorities of the two Parties may grant an exception
to the provisions in this Part, in respect of particular persons or categories
of persons, provided that the affected persons will be subject to the laws on
coverage of one of the Parties.
PART III
Benefit Provisions
Article 7
(1) Except as otherwise
provided in this Agreement, any provision of United States laws which restricts
entitlement to or payment of cash benefits for persons who are not nationals of
the United States solely because such persons reside outside or are absent from
the territory of the United States shall not be applicable to persons who
reside in the territory of the United Kingdom.
(2) Subject to the
provisions of paragraph (3) of this Article, a person who would be
entitled to receive an old age pension, a retirement pension or a
survivor’s benefit under the laws of the United Kingdom if he were in the
United Kingdom shall be entitled to receive that pension or benefit while he
ordinarily resides in the territory of the United States, as if he were in the
United Kingdom.
(3) A person who is
entitled to receive an old age pension, a retirement pension or a
survivor’s benefit under the laws of the United Kingdom and who would be
entitled to receive an increase in the rate of that pension or benefit if he
were in the United Kingdom shall, after the date of entry into force of Part
III of this Agreement, be entitled to receive any such increase prescribed
after that date by those laws if he ordinarily resides in the territory of the
United States; but nothing in this paragraph shall confer entitlement to
receive any such increases prescribed before that date by those laws.
(4) Where under the laws of
the United Kingdom, an increase of any of the benefits for which provision is
made in this Agreement would be payable for a dependant if the dependant were
in the United Kingdom, it shall be payable while the dependant is in the
territory of the United States.
CHAPTER A
Provisions Applicable to
the United States
Article 8
(1) Where a person has
completed at least six quarters of coverage under United States laws, but does
not have sufficient periods of coverage to satisfy the requirements for
entitlement to benefits under United States laws, the Agency of the United
States shall take into account periods of coverage which are creditable under
the laws of the United Kingdom and which do not coincide with periods of
coverage already credited under United States laws for the purpose of
establishing entitlement to benefits under this Article.
(2) In determining
eligibility for benefits under paragraph (1), the Agency of the United
States shall credit:
(a) one
quarter of coverage for every thirteen contributions or fraction thereof paid
or credited in any contribution year before April 6, 1975 under the laws
specified in Article 2(1)(b)(i) and (ii); and
(b) one
quarter of coverage for every thirteen contributions calculated in accordance
with Article 9(5) or fraction thereof, paid or credited in any United
Kingdom tax year beginning after April 5, 1975 under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(i)
and (ii); and
(c) one
quarter of coverage for each annual contribution factor of 0.25 or any part thereof
which has been derived under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(iii);
and
(d) one
quarter of coverage for every thirteen contributions or fraction thereof paid
or credited in any contribution year under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(iv);
provided, however, that periods of coverage credited under United
States laws shall not exceed four quarters of coverage in any calendar year.
(3) Where entitlement to a
benefit under United States laws is established according to the provisions of paragraph (1),
the Agency of the United States shall compute a pro rata Primary Insurance
Amount in accordance with United States laws based on the duration of a
worker’s periods of coverage completed under United States laws. Benefits
payable under United States laws shall be based on the pro rata Primary
Insurance Amount.
(4) Entitlement to a
benefit from the United States which results from paragraph (1) shall
terminate with the acquisition of sufficient periods of coverage under United
States laws to establish entitlement to an equal or higher benefit without the
need to invoke the provisions of paragraph (1)
CHAPTER B
Provisions Applicable to
the United Kingdom
Article 9
(1) For the purpose of
calculating entitlement to a retirement pension or a survivor’s benefit
under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(i) and (ii) of this Agreement,
for each quarter of coverage credited to a person under the laws of the United
States before 6 April, 1975 the person shall be treated as having paid thirteen
contributions under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(i) and (ii).
(2) For the purpose of
calculating entitlement to a basic retirement pension or a basic
survivor’s benefit provided under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(i)
and (ii) of this Agreement, for each quarter of coverage credited under the
laws of the United States after 5 April, 1975 a person shall be treated as
having paid thirteen contributions on earnings equivalent to the lower earnings
level under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(i) and (ii).
(3) For the purpose of
calculating the appropriate contribution factor to establish entitlement to old
age pension or survivor’s benefit under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(iii)
of this Agreement, a person shall be treated for each quarter of coverage
credited under the laws of the United States as having paid contributions which
derive an annual contribution factor of 0.25.
(4) For the purpose of
calculating entitlement to an old age pension or survivor’s benefit under
the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(iv) of this Agreement, each quarter
of coverage credited under the laws of the United States shall be treated as if
it had been a contribution period of thirteen weeks completed as an employed or
self-employed person under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(iv).
(5) For the purpose of
converting into periods of coverage any earnings-factor achieved in any tax
year commencing on or after 6 April, 1975, under the laws specified in Article 2(1)(b)(i)
and (ii) of this Agreement, the Competent Authority of the United Kingdom shall
divide the earnings-factor by that tax year’s lower earnings limit. The
result shall be expressed as a whole number, any remaining fraction being
ignored. The figure so calculated shall be treated as representing the number
of weeks in the insurance period completed in that tax under those laws.
Article 10
(1) Subject to the
provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article, where a person is entitled to
an old age pension or a basic retirement pension, as the case may be, under the
laws of the United Kingdom, otherwise than by virtue of the provisions of this
Agreement, that pension shall be payable and the provisions of Article 11,
except for Article 11(3) of this Agreement shall not apply under these
laws.
(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)
of this Article, a lower-rate Category B retirement pension payable to a
married woman by virtue of the contributions of her husband shall be treated as
it it were not a retirement pension and the words “old age pension or a
retirement pension” should be construed as referring only to a contributory
pension.
Article 11
(1) The provisions of this Article
shall apply for the purpose of determining entitlement to old age pension, or
basic retirement pension, as the case may be, under the laws of the United
Kingdom or under the laws of any one part of the territory of the United
Kingdom, under which there is no entitlement in respect of a person in
accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of this Agreement.
(2) In accordance with Article 9
of this Agreement, the relevant Agency of the United Kingdom shall determine:
(a) the
amount of the theoretical pension which would be payable if all the periods of
coverage completed by that person under the laws of both Parties had been
completed under its own laws;
(b) the
proportion of that theoretical pension which bears the same relation to the
whole as the total of the periods of coverage completed by him under its laws
bears to the total of all the periods of coverage which he has completed under
the laws of both Parties.
The proportionate amount thus calculated shall be the pension
actually payable to the person by the Agency of the United Kingdom.
(3) Where a person’s
periods of coverage completed under the Laws of Jersey total less than an
annual contribution factor of 1.00; or under the Laws of Guernsey total less
than 50 weeks; or, in all other cases, total less than one qualifying year (or
total less than 50 weeks if the periods all were before 6 April, 1975), then:
(a) these
periods shall be aggregated as if they had all been completed under the laws of
any part of the territory of the United Kingdom under which a pension is
payable or would be payable if the periods were aggregated; and
(b) where
two such pensions are or would be payable, the periods shall be aggregated
under the laws of that part of the territory of the United Kingdom under which
the pension is first payable or, if they are both first payable on the same
date, under the laws of that part which pays the greater amount on that date.
(4) For the purpose of
applying the provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article, the Agency of
the United Kingdom shall take account only of periods of coverage, completed
under the laws of either Party, which would be taken into account for the
determination of pensions under its laws if they were completed under its laws
and, in relation to a woman, shall, where appropriate, take into account in
accordance with those laws periods of coverage completed by her husband.
(5) Where a period of
coverage credited to a person under the laws of the United States after 5
April, 1975 falls within a relevant United Kingdom tax year which is not a
qualifying year, those periods of coverage may be reallocated to any other tax
year commencing on or after 6 April, 1975 if this would be to the advantage of
that person.
(6) The provisions of paragraph (2)
of this Article shall not apply to any graduated pension payable under the laws
of the United Kingdom, or to any increase of pension payable in respect of
deferred retirement, or to any increase of benefit payable in respect of a
dependent child, but any such pension or increase, or increases, shall be added
to the amount of pension which has been calculated and has become payable in
accordance with paragraph (2).
(7) Where a period of
coverage completed under the laws of the United Kingdom overlaps with a period
of coverage credited under the laws of the United States, the United Kingdom
shall take account only of the period of coverage completed under its laws.
Article 12
The provisions of Articles 10 and 11 of this Agreement shall
apply also in a claim for basic survivor’s benefit under the laws of the
United Kingdom, with such modifications as the differing nature of the benefits
may require.
Article 13
Where a person in the United Kingdom is entitled to a child’s
survivor benefit in respect of a child in the United Kingdom, that benefit
shall not cease to be payable solely because that person and, or, the child is
in the territory of the United States.
Article 14
(1) The provisions of paragraphs (2)
to (5) of this Article shall apply to claims for invalidity benefit under the
laws of the United Kingdom other than under the laws of Jersey.
(2) Subject to the
provisions of paragraph (4) of this Article, a person in the territory of
the United States, other than a person who is entitled to disability insurance
benefits under the laws of the United States solely by virtue of his United
States coverage, shall be entitled to receive invalidity benefit under the laws
of the United Kingdom as if he had received sickness benefit for 168 days under
those laws, provided that:
(a) he
has been credited with at least four quarters of coverage under the laws of the
United States during the two years preceding the onset of his incapacity and he
has been credited with a period of coverage under those laws since his last
arrival in the territory of the United States; and
(b) he
has completed a period of coverage in any one tax year under the laws of the
United Kingdom which amounts to at least fifty times the lower earnings level
for that year and, at the date on which he last left the United Kingdom, he
satisfied the minimum contribution conditions applicable to sickness benefit
under the laws of the United Kingdom, or, in a case where the claim for benefit
is made under the laws of Guernsey, he has completed a period, or periods, of
coverage which amount to at least fifty weeks under the laws of Guernsey and,
at the date on which he left Guernsey, he satisfied the minimum contribution
conditions applicable to sickness benefit under those laws; and
(c) at
the date on which his incapacity commenced he had not been absent from the
territory of the United Kingdom for a period of five years from the end of the
United Kingdom tax year in which he last completed a compulsory period of
coverage under the laws of the United Kingdom; and
(d) he
is incapacitated for work and has been so incapacitated for a continuous period
of 168 days, excluding Sundays.
The rate of invalidity benefit payable by virtue of this paragraph
shall be ascertained in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (3) of
this Article.
(3) Taking account of sub-paragraphs (a)
and (b) of this paragraph, the relevant Agency of the United Kingdom shall
ascertain the proportion of the standard rate of invalidity benefit provided
under the laws of the United Kingdom in the same ratio as the total of the
periods of coverage completed under its laws bears to the total periods of
coverage completed under the laws of both Parties. For the purpose of this paragraph,
“standard rate of invalidity benefit” means the standard rate of
benefit including any age allowance and any additional amount or amounts
payable in respect of a dependant or dependants, but does not include the
amount of any additional component or graduated pension which shall be payable,
where appropriate, in addition to any invalidity benefit calculated in
accordance with this paragraph:
(a) the
provisions of paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7) of Article 11 and the
provisions of Article 9 of this Agreement shall apply to periods of
coverage credited under the laws of the United States as if the references in
those Articles to an old age pension, a retirement pension or a pension were
references to invalidity benefit;
(b) for
the purposes of calculating the proportion of benefit referred to above, no
account shall be taken of any period of coverage completed after the day on
which his incapacity commenced.
The amount of benefit calculated in accordance with the above
provisions of this paragraph shall be the amount of invalidity benefit actually
payable to that person.
(4) Invalidity benefit
under the laws of the United Kingdom shall not be payable to a person in the
territory of the United States by more than one part of the territory of the
United Kingdom for the same period. Where such benefit would otherwise be
payable by more than one such part, that benefit shall be payable only under
the laws of the territory under which that person last completed a period of
coverage, or, where two such periods have been completed simultaneously, under
the laws of the territory in which he is, or last was, resident.
(5) Subject to the
provisions of paragraph (11) of this Article, invalidity benefit shall not
be payable under the laws of the United Kingdom to a person in the United
Kingdom if he is entitled to receive disability insurance benefits under the
laws of the United States solely by virtue of his coverage under those laws.
(6) The provisions of paragraphs (7)
to (9) of this Article shall apply to claims for sickness benefit or invalidity
benefit, as the case may be, under the laws of Jersey.
(7) Subject to the
provisions of paragraph (4) of this Article, a person in the territory of
the United States, other than a person who is entitled to disability insurance
benefits under the laws of the United States solely by virtue of his United
States coverage, shall be deemed to have received sickness benefit for 168 days
under the laws of Jersey and shall be entitled to receive sickness benefit for
a further 144 days provided that:
(a) he
has been credited with at least four quarters of coverage under the laws of the
United States during the two years preceding the onset of his incapacity and he
has been credited with a period of coverage under those laws since his last
arrival in the territory of the United States; and
(b) he
has completed a period of coverage under the laws of Jersey which amounts to at
least an annual contribution factor of 1.00 and, at the date on which he last
left Jersey he satisfied the minimum contribution conditions applicable to
sickness benefit under the laws of Jersey; and
(c) at
the date on which his incapacity commenced he had not been absent from Jersey
for a period of five years from the end of the quarter in which he last was
liable to complete a period of coverage under the laws of Jersey; and
(d) he
is incapacitated for work and has been so incapacitated for a continuous period
of 168 days, excluding Sundays.
The rates of sickness benefit payable by virtue of this paragraph
shall be ascertained in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (8) of
this Article.
(8) Taking account of sub-paragraphs (a)
and (b) of this paragraph, the Agency of Jersey shall ascertain the proportion
of the standard rate of sickness benefit provided under the laws of Jersey in
the same ratio as the total of the periods of coverage completed under its laws
bears to the total of the periods of coverage completed under both its laws and
the laws of the United States. For the purpose of this paragraph,
“standard rate of sickness benefit” means the standard rate of
benefit including any additional amount payable therewith in respect of a
dependant:
(a) the
provisions of paragraphs (4) and (7) of Article 11 and the provisions
of Article 9 of this Agreement shall apply to periods of coverage credited
under the laws of the United States as if the references in those Articles to
an old age pension, a retirement pension or a pension were references to
sickness benefit;
(b) for
the purpose of calculating the proportion of benefit referred to above, no
account shall be taken of any period of coverage completed after the day on which
his incapacity commenced.
The amount of benefit calculated in accordance with the above
provisions of this paragraph shall be the amount of sickness benefit actually
payable to that person.
(9) A person entitled to
sickness benefit under the laws of Jersey by virtue of the provisions of paragraphs (7)
and (8) of this Article, shall, if still incapacitated for work after he has
received sickness benefit for 144 days, be deemed to have received sickness
benefit for 312 days under the laws of Jersey and shall be entitled to receive
invalidity benefit under those laws while he is in the territory of the United
States, provided that he remains incapacitated for work. The rate of invalidity
benefit payable by virtue of this paragraph shall be ascertained by applying
the provisions of paragraph (8) of this Article as if the references
therein to sickness benefit were references to invalidity benefit.
(10) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (11)
of this Article, a person in the territory of Jersey shall not be entitled to
receive invalidity benefit or sickness benefit under the laws of Jersey if he
is entitled to receive disability insurance benefits under the laws of the
United States solely by virtue of his coverage under those laws.
(11) A person in the territory of
the United Kingdom shall be entitled to receive invalidity benefit under its
laws, or sickness benefit under the laws of Jersey, without regard to paragraph (5)
or paragraph (10) of this Article provided that he satisfies the
conditions applicable to that benefit under those laws and he was resident in
the territory of the United Kingdom for a period of five years prior to the
onset of the incapacity which gives rise to the invalidity benefit entitlement,
or, as the case may be, sickness benefit entitlement.
(12) Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Article, a person in the territory of the United States who
is subject to the laws on coverage of the United Kingdom by virtue of any of
the Articles 4 to 6 of this Agreement and who satisfies the contribution
applicable to sickness benefit under those laws shall, for the purpose of
determining his entitlement to invalidity benefit under those laws:
(a) be
treated as if he were in the territory of the United Kingdom; and
(b) each
day of incapacity for work while in the territory of the United States may,
where appropriate, be treated as if it were a day for which he had received
sickness benefit under the laws of the United Kingdom.
(13) Any restriction which would
otherwise be applicable under the laws of the United Kingdom in the rate of
benefit payable to persons who are not ordinarily resident in the territory of
the United Kingdom shall not apply to persons in the territory of the United
States who are in receipt of invalidity benefit under the laws of the United
Kingdom by virtue of the provisions of this Agreement.
PART
IV
Miscellaneous Provisions
Article 15
The Competent Authorities of the two Parties shall:
(a) make
such administrative arrangements as may be necessary for the application of
this Agreement;
(b) designate
liaison agencies for the implementation of this Agreement;
(c) communicate
to each other information concerning the measures taken by them for the
application of this Agreement; and
(d) communicate
to each other, as soon as possible, all information concerning changes in their
respective laws insofar as these changes affect the application of this
Agreement.
Article 16
The Competent Authorities and Agencies of the Parties, within the
scope of their respective authorities, shall assist each other in implementing
this Agreement. This assistance shall be free of charge subject to any
exceptions to be agreed upon in an administrative agreement.
Article 17
(1) Where the laws of one
Party provide that any certificate or other document which is submitted under
the laws of that Party shall be exempt, wholly or partly, from taxes, fees or
charges, including consular and administrative fees, the exemption shall also
apply to any certificate or document which is submitted under the laws of the
other Party or under the provisions of this Agreement.
(2) Copies of documents
which are certified as true and exact copies by the Agency of one Party shall
be accepted as true and exact copies by the Agency of the other Party, without
further certification. The Agency of each Party shall be the final judge of the
probative value of the evidence submitted to it from whatever source.
Article 18
(1) A written application
for benefits filed with an Agency of one Party shall protect the rights of the
claimants under the laws of the other Party if the applicant (a) requests that
it be considered an application under the laws of the other Party, or (b) in
the absence of a request that it not be so considered, provides information at
the time of application indicating that the person on whose record benefits are
claimed has completed periods of coverage under the laws of the other Party.
(2) An applicant may
request that an application filed with an Agency of one Party be effective on a
different date under the laws of the other Party within the limitations of and
in conformity with the laws of the other Party.
(3) For the purposes of
United States laws, the provisions of Part III of this Agreement shall apply
only to an application for benefits which is filed on or after the date on
which Part III enters into force.
Article 19
(1) A written appeal to, or
against, a determination made by the Agency of one Party may be validly filed
with an Agency of the other Party. The appeal shall be dealt with according to
the appeal procedure of the laws of the Party which has jurisdiction.
(2) Any claim, notice or
written appeal which, under the laws of one Party, must have been filed within
a prescribed period with the Agency of that Party, but which is instead filed
within the same period with the Agency of the other Party, shall be considered
to have been filed on time.
Article 20
In any case to which the provisions of Article 18 or Article 19
apply, the Agency to which the claim, notice or written appeal has been
submitted shall transmit it without delay to the Agency of the other Party.
Article 21
(1) Disagreements between
the two Parties regarding the interpretation or application of this Agreement
shall, as far as possible, be resolved through agreement of the Competent
Authorities.
(2) If a disagreement
cannot be resolved by the Competent Authorities, it shall be submitted, at the
request of either Party, for arbitration in accordance with procedures to be
agreed upon by the Competent Authorities.
Article 22
This Agreement may be amended in the future by supplementary
agreements which, from their entry into force, shall be considered an integral part
of this Agreement.
PART V
Transitional and Final Provisions
Article 23
Upon the entry into force of Part III of this Agreement, the Notes
exchanged between the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
of the United Kingdom and the Ambassador of the United States of America on 23
and 25 September, 1969 shall cease to have effect and shall be replaced by this
Agreement; provided, however, that any right to benefit outside the territory
of the United Kingdom acquired by a person in accordance with the provisions of
the Notes exchanged shall be maintained; and provided that no person shall
suffer any loss of rights outside the territory of the United Kingdom which he
had under the Notes exchanged or any such rights he would have had if those
Notes exchanged had not been replaced by this Agreement.
Article 24
(1) In the application of Part
III of this Agreement, consideration shall be given to periods of coverage and
other events which occurred prior to the entry into force of Part III, insofar
as they are relevant to rights under the laws specified in Article 2(1).
However, neither Party shall take into account periods of coverage occurring
prior to the earliest date for which periods of coverage may be taken into
account under its laws.
(2) No provision of this
Agreement shall confer any right:
(a) to
receive a benefit for any period before the date of entry into force of Part
III of the Agreement; or
(b) to
receive a lump-sum death benefit under the laws of the United States if the person
died before the date of entry into force of Part III of the Agreement.
(3) Determinations made
before the entry into force of Part III of this Agreement concerning
entitlement to benefits shall not affect rights arising under Part III.
(4) The period of work
referred to in Article 4(2) shall be measured beginning on the date on
which Part II of this Agreement enters into force.
(5) Notwithstanding the
provisions of Article 27 concerning the effective date of Part III of this
Agreement, Article 7(1) shall enter into force on the date on which Parts
I, II, IV and V of this Agreement enter into force.
Article 25
The application of this Agreement shall not result in any reduction
in the amount of a benefit to which entitlement was established prior to its
entry into force.
Article 26
(1) This Agreement shall
remain in force and effect until the expiration of one calendar year following
the year in which written notice of its denunciation is given by one Party to
the other Party.
(2) If this Agreement is
terminated by denunciation, rights regarding entitlement to or payment of
benefits acquired under it shall be retained; the Parties shall make
arrangements dealing with rights in the process of being acquired.
Article 27
(1) This Agreement, except
for Part III, shall enter into force on the first day of the second month
following the month in which each Government has received from the other Government
written notification that all statutory and constitutional requirements have
been complied with for the entry into force of this Agreement.
(2) Part III of this
Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the thirty-sixth month
following the month in which Parts I, II, IV and V of this Agreement enter into
force.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto
by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done in duplicate at London this 13th day of February, 1984.
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For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland:
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For the Government of the United States of
America.
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BARONESS YOUNG
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CHARLES H. PRICE
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