A treaty preventing double Social Security taxation between two countries.
A totalization agreement is a bilateral treaty that stops workers from paying social-security-style taxes to two countries on the same earnings and helps combine work credits across borders to qualify for benefits. The U.S. has such agreements with many countries — notably not with India — which affects how cross-border workers plan retirement benefits.
Without a U.S.–India totalization agreement, some workers pay into both systems with limited ability to combine credits.