The short answer
Moving to another state affects benefits in two different ways. Federal benefits, including Social Security retirement, disability and survivor benefits, the federal SSI payment and Original Medicare, continue wherever you live in the United States; you only need to report your new address. Benefits run by states, including SNAP, Medicaid, TANF and a state SSI supplement, do not transfer: you close the old case and apply in the new state, under its rules. A few programs sit in between. WIC honors your current certification in the new state, a housing voucher can often move with you, unemployment is still paid by the state where you earned the wages, and Medicare Advantage, Part D and Marketplace plans give you a special enrollment period to choose a plan in the new area. Planning the move program by program is the surest way to avoid a gap.
Why moving needs a plan
A move across a state line can end some benefits without any notice to you, while others carry on as if nothing happened. The difference is who runs the program. Federal agencies pay the same benefit in every state. State agencies run their own programs, with their own income limits and rules, even when federal money pays for them. This guide sorts the main programs into three groups: those that move with you, those you must apply for again, and those in between. It ends with a checklist for the weeks before and after a move.
Benefits that move with you
Social Security retirement, disability and survivor benefits are paid by the federal government, so the amount does not change when you move. The same is true of Original Medicare, Parts A and B, which works with any provider in the country that accepts Medicare, and of Extra Help with drug costs, which Social Security decides.
The federal SSI payment also continues without a new application, but SSI is the exception that needs care: your payment can change if your living arrangement or a state supplement changes, as explained below. For all of these, tell Social Security your new address as soon as you know it. You can update it in your my Social Security account, by calling 1-800-772-1213, or at a local office. Moving does not change the deposit date or the bank account unless you change them too.
Benefits you must apply for again
SNAP
SNAP does not transfer. You can receive it only from the state where you live, and you cannot receive it in two states in the same month. Benefits.gov suggests closing the old case a week or two before you move and asking for a closing notice to include with the new application, which helps prove that the old case has ended. Any balance left on your old EBT card stays yours and can be spent in any state. Apply in the new state as soon as you have an address; most states let you apply online, and households with very little money may qualify for expedited benefits within seven days. Our SNAP guide covers the income limits and deductions.
Medicaid and Medicare Savings Programs
Medicaid is run by each state, and you qualify in the state where you live. Coverage in the old state ends after you move, and the new state's income limits and covered groups may differ, especially between states that did and did not expand Medicaid to adults. Medicare Savings Programs, which pay Medicare premiums for people with limited income, are also run through state Medicaid agencies, so they must be applied for again too. See our guide to Medicare and Medicaid.
TANF
Cash assistance under TANF is a state program with state-set amounts and rules, so you apply in the new state. Months of federally funded TANF you received in another state generally count toward the 60-month federal lifetime limit, and the new state may contact the old one to confirm them. Our TANF guide explains the limits.
State SSI supplements
Many states add a supplement to the federal SSI payment. A supplement is paid under the rules of the state that pays it, so it usually ends when you leave. The new state may pay its own, a different amount, or nothing at all. Report the move to Social Security before you go, ask what your new state pays, and read our SSI guide for how living arrangements affect the federal amount.
Benefits that follow you, with conditions
- WIC: if you move during a certification period, ask the old clinic for a Verification of Certification. The new state must accept it and keep serving you until that certification ends, even if its own criteria differ. See our WIC guide.
- Housing Choice Vouchers: a voucher can usually move with you to any area with a housing agency that runs the program, a feature called portability. If you did not live in the issuing agency's area when you applied, it may require you to stay there for the first 12 months. Talk to both housing agencies before you sign a new lease; our Section 8 guide explains the process.
- Unemployment insurance: benefits are paid by the state where you earned the wages, not the state where you live. You keep filing with that state after you move, update your address, and follow its work-search rules, which may include registering with the workforce agency where you now live. See our unemployment guide.
Health and drug plans that serve an area
Medicare Advantage and Part D drug plans cover specific service areas. If you move out of your plan's area, you get a special enrollment period. If you tell your plan before you move, it begins the month before the move and lasts for two full months after it; if you tell the plan after you move, it begins the month you tell it and lasts two more full months. If you do not choose a new plan, you can be returned to Original Medicare when the old plan ends your coverage, and you may be left without drug coverage. Compare plans with Medicare's plan finder using your new ZIP code.
Marketplace coverage works the same way. Moving to a new ZIP code or county usually opens a 60-day special enrollment period, provided you had qualifying health coverage for at least one day in the 60 days before the move, with exceptions for people moving from abroad and a few others. The new area's plans and premium tax credits may differ. See our guide to special enrollment periods.
A moving checklist
- List every benefit you receive and the agency that pays it.
- Report your new address to Social Security, and update your unemployment claim if you have one.
- Ask the old SNAP and Medicaid offices to close your cases as of your move, and keep the closing notices.
- Ask your WIC clinic for a Verification of Certification and your housing agency about portability.
- Apply for SNAP, Medicaid and any state supplement in the new state as soon as you have an address.
- Choose a new Medicare Advantage, Part D or Marketplace plan within your special enrollment period.
- Update your bank, mailing address and phone number with every agency, so that renewal letters reach you.
Example (hypothetical): a retiree moving to be near family
Rosa receives Social Security, SSI with a state supplement, Medicaid, SNAP and a Medicare Advantage plan. She reports the move to Social Security a month ahead and tells her plan the same day, which opens her plan-change window. Her Social Security and federal SSI payments continue. Her old state's supplement, Medicaid and SNAP end, so she applies for all three in the new state the week she arrives, and she picks a new plan with her new ZIP code before the window closes.
Common mistakes
- Leaving a SNAP or Medicaid case open in the old state, which can lead to an overpayment you must repay.
- Waiting to apply in the new state until the old benefits run out, which creates a gap.
- Assuming that telling Social Security updates every other program. Report to each agency; see our guide to reporting changes.
- Missing the plan-change window and losing drug coverage.
- Signing a lease in a new area before the housing agency has approved the move.
If you are applying for several programs at once in the new state, our guide to applying for benefits lists the documents most offices ask for.
Common questions
Do my Social Security benefits change if I move to another state?
No. The amount does not depend on the state where you live. Report your new address to Social Security so that notices and payments reach you.
Can I use my SNAP benefits in a different state?
You can spend your EBT balance in any state, but you can receive new SNAP benefits only from the state where you live, so close the old case and apply in the new one.
Will my state SSI supplement move with me?
Usually not. The federal SSI payment continues, but a state supplement is paid by the state, so you would need to qualify under the new state's rules, if it pays one.
Can I keep my unemployment benefits if I move?
Usually, yes. The state where you earned the wages keeps paying your claim. Update your address with it and follow its work-search rules, which may include registering where you now live.
What this does not tell you
This article describes federal rules and the general pattern in the states. The forms, waiting times and income limits in the state you move to are set there.
Moving abroad follows different rules, especially for SSI and Medicare, and is not covered here.
Official sources
What you can do next
Before you move, list every benefit you receive and who pays it, then work through the checklist above. Once you have an address, estimate your SNAP benefit in the new state and apply without waiting for the old benefits to end.
