Interested in Collecting Social Security Benefits Abroad? See If You Qualify

More than 760,000 people receive Social Security benefits while living abroad each year, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA). However, not every potential beneficiary is eligible to receive payments overseas. 

If you’re planning to retire or live abroad, you’ll want to know whether you can still collect your Social Security retirement, disability, or survivor benefits. The rules differ depending on the type of benefit, your citizenship status, and your country of residence. Here’s what you need to know.

Who Is Eligible To Collect Social Security Benefits Outside the U.S.?

Whether you’ll be eligible to collect Social Security benefits while living outside the United States can depend on whether you’re a U.S. citizen or a non-U.S. citizen. These are some of the basics:

If You’re a U.S. Citizen

The Social Security Administration (SSA) considers you “outside the United States” if you are 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 for at least 30 days in a row.

Generally speaking, if you are a U.S. citizen, you can collect retirement, disability, or survivor benefits while overseas as long as you meet the usual criteria for eligibility. However, Social Security won’t make benefit payments to recipients in certain countries, such as Cuba, North Korea, and some former Soviet republics. In many cases, if you reside in one of those countries, your unpaid benefits will be paid to you when you enter a country where payments can be sent.

The Social Security Administration’s Payments Abroad Screening Tool can help determine if you are eligible to collect benefits outside of the U.S.

If You’re Not a U.S. Citizen

Non-U.S. citizens can be subject to another set of rules, depending on the country they are citizens of, where they are living, and what kind of Social Security benefits they are claiming.

These rules are determined in many cases by so-called “totalization agreements” between the U.S. and 30 other nations. You can find a list of totalization agreements and links to them on the Social Security Administration website.

If you’re receiving dependent or survivor benefits, you may need to meet additional residency requirements. For example, you may need to show that you lived in the U.S. for at least five years and were in a qualifying family relationship with the primary beneficiary.

In some instances, Social Security will stop paying benefits to recipients who leave the United States for six months or more but will resume them if the person later returns for at least a full month.

Keeping Your Information up to Date

The Social Security Administration periodically sends questionnaires to beneficiaries who reside outside the U.S. These are designed to help the agency determine whether they are still eligible. The questionnaires ask for updated information about any work you are engaged in abroad, marriage, death, divorce, change of address, change of circumstances, and eligibility for a pension not covered under the Social Security program.

Failure to return the requested information will result in a cessation of benefits. You’re also required to report any of the listed events to Social Security when they occur regardless of whether you have received a survey.

The Bottom Line

If you’re considering a move abroad and you collect Social Security, research your eligibility and benefits carefully. Pay attention to the exceptions, including where you plan to live and how your citizenship status affects whether you can collect. And don’t forget to keep your information up to date.