The short answer
U.S. citizens can generally receive Social Security retirement, survivor and disability benefits while living in most other countries, for as long as they remain eligible. Payments cannot be sent to anyone living in Cuba or North Korea, and Social Security restricts payments to residents of seven more countries, including Belarus and Uzbekistan, with some exceptions. Noncitizens face an extra test: payments generally stop after six full calendar months in a row outside the United States unless an exception applies, and Social Security's online screening tool shows which ones fit. SSI is different: it stops after a full calendar month or 30 days in a row abroad. Medicare generally does not pay for care outside the United States. And if you are under full retirement age, working abroad can stop your benefit under a separate foreign work test.
The situation: a move overseas after claiming
The question usually arrives in this form: the benefit has started, the move is planned, and nobody is sure whether the checks will keep coming. For most retirees the answer is yes, but the rules sort people by citizenship, by country and by program, and each sort has a trap.
Example (hypothetical): one couple, two sets of rules
Linda is a U.S. citizen who claimed her retirement benefit at 67. Her husband, Tomás, is a lawful permanent resident who receives a benefit on his own work record. They plan to move abroad to live near their daughter.
Linda's benefit can follow her to most countries for as long as she is eligible. Tomás's benefit is different: as a noncitizen, his payments stop after six full calendar months abroad unless an exception covers him, and whether one does depends on his citizenship and the country they choose. Social Security's Payments Abroad Screening Tool answers that question for his case before they sign a lease.
Citizens: payments generally follow you
If you are a U.S. citizen, you can generally travel or live in most foreign countries without affecting your Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits. You still have to meet the program's usual rules, such as the earnings rules described below, and you still report changes that affect eligibility, starting with your new address.
Payments can go to a U.S. bank account or, in many countries, to a local bank through international direct deposit, which Social Security arranges under agreements it lists by country. Your benefit amount does not change with the move; it is figured from your earnings record and the age you claimed, as our guide to how Social Security is calculated explains.
Nine countries where payments stop
Two kinds of restriction apply, and the difference matters if you plan to live in one of these places.
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| Restriction | Countries | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Treasury regulations bar payments | Cuba and North Korea | No payments while you live there. A U.S. citizen can collect the withheld amounts after moving to a country where payments can be sent. |
| Social Security restricts payments | Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan | Payments are generally not sent, but Social Security can make exceptions for some eligible beneficiaries. |
A noncitizen cannot qualify for any month spent living in Cuba or North Korea, so the catch-up payment described above is a citizen's rule.
Noncitizens: the six-month rule
If you are not a U.S. citizen, your payments generally stop after you have been outside the United States for six full calendar months in a row, unless you meet an exception. Exceptions depend on your citizenship, the country where you live, the type of benefit and whether the United States has a Social Security agreement with that country, which is why the screening tool asks about each of them. It asks a short series of questions and tells you whether your payments can continue past six months, so run it before you move rather than after the sixth month.
The clock has its own counting rules. Once you have been away for 30 days in a row, Social Security treats you as outside the country until you have been back for 30 days in a row. And if payments stop, they do not restart until you return and stay in the United States for a full calendar month.
Benefits paid to a noncitizen's family members can have conditions of their own, so check each person's eligibility rather than assuming it follows the worker's.
SSI does not travel
Supplemental Security Income works differently from Social Security. It is a needs-based payment for people who live in the United States, and it generally stops for any full calendar month you are outside the country, or once you have been away for 30 days in a row. It resumes only after you are back and meet the program's other rules again. Anyone who receives both SSI and Social Security can find that one payment stops while the other continues; our guide to SSI explains how the two programs differ.
Taxes depend on citizenship too
U.S. citizens who live abroad are still taxed by the United States, and up to 85 percent of their benefits can be taxable under the usual rules, which our guide to taxes on Social Security works through.
Noncitizens who are nonresident aliens for tax purposes are treated differently: Social Security withholds a flat 30 percent tax from 85 percent of the benefit, or 25.5 percent of the whole payment, unless a tax treaty with their country of residence lowers or removes it.
Medicare mostly stays home
Medicare generally does not pay for hospital or medical care outside the United States, with a few narrow exceptions. Plan for coverage in your new country before you go, because Medicare will not fill the gap.
For travel rather than a move, most Medigap policies sold today include foreign travel emergency coverage: 80 percent of the cost of medically necessary emergency care after a $250 deductible, up to a $50,000 lifetime limit, if the emergency begins in the first 60 days of a trip.
Whether to keep Part B is the harder call. Its premium continues while you live abroad, even though it pays for little there, but dropping it and signing up again later can bring a late enrollment penalty. Our guide to Medicare costs explains the premium and the penalty.
Working abroad before full retirement age
If you are under full retirement age and work outside the United States, a separate foreign work test applies. Your benefit is withheld for each month you work more than 45 hours in a job that is not subject to U.S. Social Security taxes, and that is true even if an international agreement exempts you from those taxes.
If the work is covered by U.S. Social Security, the ordinary annual earnings test applies instead, as our guide to the earnings test describes. Once you reach full retirement age, neither test applies.
Before you go
- Check the country against the restricted list, and, if you are not a citizen, run the Payments Abroad Screening Tool for your situation.
- Set up payment through international direct deposit or keep a U.S. account that you can reach from abroad.
- Decide on Part B and health insurance for your new country before you leave.
- Report your new address and any change in marriage, work or residence promptly; abroad, as at home, late reports can lead to overpayments.
- Keep a copy of your benefit letter for banks, landlords and visa applications.
Common questions
Can I keep a U.S. bank account while I live abroad?
Yes. Payments can keep going to a U.S. bank account, or to a local account in a country that offers international direct deposit. They cannot be sent to anyone living in Cuba or North Korea, and payments to the seven restricted countries need an exception.
Does a short trip abroad stop a noncitizen's benefit?
Not by itself. Payments stop only after six full calendar months in a row outside the United States, unless an exception applies. Once you have been away for 30 days in a row, though, you count as outside the country until you have been back for 30 days in a row.
Will Medicare pay for care in my new country?
Generally not. Medicare pays for care outside the United States only in a few narrow situations, so arrange health coverage in your new country before you move.
Official sources
- SSA — Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States (publication 05-10137)
- SSA — Payments to individuals in Treasury-barred and SSA-restricted countries (POMS VB 01201.015)
- SSA Handbook — Countries where payments are barred (section 2715)
- Code of Federal Regulations — Nonpayment of benefits to aliens outside the United States (20 CFR 404.460)
- Medicare.gov — Medicare coverage outside the United States
Run the numbers before you sign a lease
A move abroad usually rests on one figure: the monthly benefit you can count on. Estimate it with our retirement calculator at the age you plan to claim, then check the country, your citizenship status and your health coverage against the rules above. If you are still deciding when to start, our guide to choosing a claiming age shows how the timing changes the amount that follows you.
