§418a Voluntary Agreements for Coverage of Indian Tribal Council Members

Summary

The Social Security Commissioner must, if an Indian tribe asks, make an agreement to let tribal council members be covered by Social Security for the work they do as council members. The agreement covers every council member and all their council duties. For Social Security rules, that covered work counts as "employment." Definitions: "Member" means a person chosen or elected to the tribal council or its leader. "Tribal council" means the tribe’s appointed or elected governing body for a federally recognized tribe. The agreement starts on a date the parties choose, but not earlier than the first day of the next month after both sign. At the tribe’s request, the agreement can cover earlier work if amounts equal to the taxes under sections 3101 and 3111 were paid on time, in good faith, and not refunded to the Treasury; no one can be forced to pay those taxes after the agreement’s start date for earlier work. Once the agreement’s start date arrives, it cannot be ended.