POMS Reference

RS 02001: International Agreements

TN 11 (09-92)

A. PROCESS

This is how the United States and Finland process requests for certificates of coverage.

1. U.S. Certificates

  • SSA sends two copies of the certificate to the person requesting the certificate (only one copy sent to self-employed person)

  • The employer in Finland or self-employed person receives the certificate and retains in files

  • The employer in Finland or self-employed person presents the certificate to the Finnish authorities if requested to do so.

2. Finnish Certificates

  • The Finnish agency sends a copy to the person requesting the certificate.

  • If the person is employed, employer in the U.S. retains in files and presents it to the IRS upon request.

  • If the person is self-employed, the worker attaches a photocopy of the certificate to the schedule SE that is filed with the income tax return each year.

B. PROCEDURE — WHERE TO WRITE

To obtain a certificate of coverage, the employer or self-employed person should take the following action:

  • To obtain a certificate from the United States, write to SSA at the address in RS 02001.740A.

  • To obtain a certificate of coverage from Finland , write to:

    Central Pension Security Institute
    Section for Foreign Pension Affairs
    P.O. Box 11
    SF-00521 Helsinki
    FINLAND

C. PROCEDURE — REQUIRED INFORMATION

When writing to obtain a certificate of coverage, provide the following information:

  • full name,

  • Social Security number (U.S. number for U.S. certificate and Finnish number for Finnish certificate)

  • country of citizenship

  • date and place of birth

  • country of permanent residence

  • name and address of employer in both countries (if self-employed, address of trade or business in both countries)

  • date and place of hire by sending company, if employed

  • beginning date and ending date (if known) of employment or self-employment in the other country

NOTE: If the worker will be an employee of a Finnish affiliate of an American employer, the request must indicate whether the American employer has entered into an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service under section 3121(l) of the Internal Revenue Code and, if yes, the effective date of such an agreement.