Social Security Benefits U.S. Citizens Outside the United States
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: March 17, 2021
Over half a million people who live outside the United States receive some kind of Social Security benefit, including retired and disabled workers, as well as spouses, widows, widowers, and children.
If you’re a U.S. citizen, you may receive your Social Security payments outside the United States as long as you are eligible. When we say you are “outside the United States,” we mean you’re not in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa. Once you’ve been outside the United States for at least 30 days in a row, we consider you to be outside the country.
If you are traveling outside the U.S. for an extended amount of time, it’s important that you tell Social Security the date you plan to leave and the date you plan to come back, no matter how long you expect your travel to last. Then we can let you know whether your Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will be affected.
You can use this online tool to find out if you can continue to receive your Social Security benefits if you are outside the United States or are planning to go outside the United States at www.socialsecurity.gov/international/payments_outsideUS.html.
This tool will help you find out if your retirement, disability, or survivor’s payments will continue as long as you are eligible, stop after six consecutive calendar months, or if certain country specific restrictions apply.
When you live outside the United States, periodically we’ll send you a questionnaire. Your answers will help us figure out if you still are eligible for benefits. Return the questionnaire to the office that sent it as soon as possible. If you don’t, your payments will stop. In addition to responding to the questionnaire, notify us promptly about changes that could affect your payments.
You can also read the publication titled Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs.
Social Security is with you through life’s journey, even if that journey takes you outside the United States.
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Tags: Disability, retirement, Social Security benefits, SSI
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Doug Walker, Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Deputy Commissioner, Office of Communications
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laura l.
I am currently in South Africa (really want to get home to Florida but Dollar/Rand exchange causing problems for me) and am receiving SSN benefits as a retired person. My questionaire was obviously sent some time in June/July 2018 but as there was a postal strike here it was not received by me. A second notification was mailed out early October…received by me yesterday, December 17th 2018 more that the stipulated time of 45 days. Today I rushed to the post office to mail off my completed form but am really concerned that I won’t receive my benefit. I live on this income so this will be devastating for me. I wish there was some alternative method of responding to this document. It appears that because I am outside the USA I cannot create a Social Security Account. Please let me know how to proceed.
Regards and Happy Hols,
Laura L. Layton
layton.laura46@gmail.com
071(352 2556)
V.V.
Hello Laura, beneficiaries living abroad receive the SSA-7162 annually or biannually depending upon the countries in which they reside.
We recommend that individuals living outside the United States contact the nearest Federal Benefit Unit or U.S. embassy in the area for any assistance related to Social Security programs and benefits. Also, our Office of International Operations home page provides more information to assist our customers living abroad.
Levi B.
I’m 59 yrs old planning to take early retirement can I file my retirement outside the country like in the Philippines
V.V.
Hi Levi, thank you for your question. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions web page on the many filing options available, including if you live outside the United States.
Mike
Their email address is: FBU.Manila@ssa.gov
Stephen B.
There does not seem to be an option to contact the US Embassy/Social Security Section in Manila via email anymore. I need a Social Security income verification. I live in Thailand. How do I request it?
Mike
Their email address is: FBU.Manila@ssa.gov
AFSANEH M.
I would like to know if a person could live outside the US but still have all parts of Medicare, because I often visit my daughters in the US and I would like to be fully insured when I am there. My file was sent to Germany and a Mr Muller got in touch me with saying that my file is going to be handled by the international section of the social security which is Germany. So I am confused now and do not know how to contact that department. I would appreciate it very much if you could put me in touch with him or tell me how I should go about this.
Thanking you,
Afsaneh M. Bayat
Tel.: 98 912 0211259
edgar r.
I live in Guatemala (with my wife). This country DO NOT use mail service. I have never received any questionnaire from SSA to verify if I still qualify. I am searching now for the “bi-annual form” I need to submit to the SSA by the end of 2018. I wish you can create a way to communicate with Americans who live in situations like this. Quadruple password or something?
V.V.
Hello Edgar, beneficiaries living abroad receive an SSA-7162 annually or biannually depending upon the countries in which they reside.
We recommend that individuals living outside the United States contact the nearest Federal Benefit Unit or U.S. embassy in the area for any assistance related to Social Security programs and benefits. Also, our Office of International Operations home page provides more information to assist our customers living abroad.
Solveig M.
You suspended my benefits because you want my address in Costa Rica. I use a courier service to bring mail from the USA, Star Box, with a collection warehouse in Miami. But you say I cannot have a US address. Costa Rica mail service is slow and unreliable, and foreign postage is expensive. I gave my Costa Rica address to the man at the US Embassy — This means I will probably not receive any future mail from SS — but am not hearing anything back from him.
V.V.
Hi Solveig. You are required to report your change of address to Social Security, even if we are sending your payments to a bank or other financial institution.
Our publication, “Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States”, explains how being outside the United States may affect your Social Security payments.
If you are a U.S. citizen, you may continue to receive payments outside the United States as long as you are eligible for payment and you are in a country where we can send payments. If you aren’t a U.S. citizen, you must meet one of the conditions for payment described in this publication.
You may use our Payments Abroad Screening Tool to see if your benefits will continue indefinitely, stop after six consecutive months or if certain country specific restrictions apply.
We recommend that you continue to work with the nearest Federal Benefit Unit or U.S. embassy in the area for any assistance related to Social Security programs and benefits. Also, our Office of International Operations home page provides more information to assist our customers living abroad.
david m.
yes i live in thailand every month on the 3rd i have always got my money into my bangkok bank account in new york city it isnt in there yet what is the problem
V.V.
Hi David. Please contact your bank or financial institution first. They may be able to determine if your direct deposit failed. If you still need to report a late, missing or stolen Social Security payment and you reside outside the United States, you will need to contact your nearest Federal Benefits Unit for assistance.
Marc O.
Can you help me out please? I have been living in Australia since 1991. And I am 66 years old. I worked in the USA the years between 1967 and 1991. And I have been receiving Social Security Statements in the Mail at my Australia address. I have tried several times to Register myaccount.socialsecurity.gov on-line but have been unable to complete it due to not having a home address in the US. How can I register? I have been unable to find any helpful information any place I look on-line.
R.F.
We are sorry for the inconvenience, Marc. The “my Social Security” authentication system requires address verification as one of the essential criteria for issuing an account. People with APO/FPO/DPO addresses can create an account overseas, but our system does not support registration and account creation for users with a foreign address yet.
For assistance related to your Social Security benefits, you may contact the nearest Federal Benefit Unit or U.S. Embassy in your area, you can contact them by phone or email.
Also, our Office of International Operations home page provides more information to assist our customers living abroad.
Please visit our web page on the Totalization Agreement between the United States and Australia for more on this topic.
We hope this information helps!
William R.
When will the Social Security Administration get around to setting up the My Social Security Account online service for the those of us who live Outside the USA, since every answer you get from SSA says “you can get this or that done on the “My Social Security Account online”.