I lived and worked in USA for 9 years and paid taxes 1995 t0 2004. I now live in Canada as a citizen and have worked for 12 years here. I am due for retirement in 2 years. Can I be eligible to file for Totalization to earn retirement benefits from both countries

Hi. I can't tell you about the Canadian Pension Program, but as long as you have at least 6 U.S. Social Security quarters of coverage (QC) but less than 40 QCs then you can potentially qualify for a U.S. totalization benefit if you have enough foreign earnings credits to give you the equivalent of 40 QCs (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0201701125). You must also be at least age 62 to potentially qualify for retirement benefits.

For more information about how to go about applying for totalization benefits refer to the following Social Security publication: https://www.ssa.gov/international/Agreement_Pamphlets/canada.html#claims.

Best, Jerry