Social Security 'Totalization' Agreement with Mexico would cost $207 billion, new study says...Study uncovers millions of Mexican beneficiaries who could receive billions
 

Based on Illegal Work The Social Security "Totalization Agreement" between the U.S. and Mexico, which has already been signed between the two nations and is awaiting the President's signature, would cost the United States an estimated $207 billion through 2040, according to a new study conducted by TREA Senior Citizens League.

  

The majority of Social Security benefits would go to Mexicans who

performed illegal work in the United States. However, their dependents --

possibly including a spouse, divorced spouse, widows or widowers, minor and disabled adult children, and dependent parents -- are also eligible for

benefits, and could increase the cost of totalized retiree benefits by as

much as 50 percent.

   

In December 2006, TREA Senior Citizens League received the first known

public copy of the U.S.-Mexico Totalization Agreement, 3 1/2 years after

its initial request under the Freedom of Information Act.

   

A Totalization Agreement is intended to eliminate dual taxation for

persons who work outside their country of origin. Under the U.S.-Mexico

agreement, a Mexican worker would be able to receive "totalized" Social

Security benefits with as little as 18 months of work; American workers

must work at least 10 years to qualify for benefits.

   

"To put this in context, $207 billion is more than half of what we've

spent on the Iraqi war -- and instead of giving these billions to illegal

workers, we should be preserving it for Americans who were promised that it would be there for their retirement years," said Shannon Benton, executive director of TREA Senior Citizens League.

   

There are at least three ways Mexican workers who perform illegal work in the U.S. could benefit from such an agreement:

    1. "Non-work" Social Security Numbers: Between 1974 and 2003, the Social        Security Administration issued more than seven million "non-work" Social Security numbers; an estimated 827,200 Mexican citizens used those numbers to work illegally and would be eligible for benefits

under a Totalization Agreement by 2040.

 

    2. Visa Overstayers: Non-citizens who were granted temporary work authorization but then overstayed their visas and continued to work in

the United States could receive credit for their illegal work under a

Totalization Agreement.

 

    3. Illegal Aliens: Mexican workers who entered the United States illegally on or after January 1, 2004 and work for at least 18 months would

receive totalized credits for their unlawful work if immigration

estimates that another 809,175 Mexicans would become entitled to totalized benefits under immigration amnesty.

   

The agreement between the U.S. and Mexico was signed in June 2004, and is awaiting President Bush's signature. Once President Bush approves the agreement, which would be done without Congressional vote, either House of Congress would have 60 days to disapprove the agreement by voting to reject it.