U.S. citizens can generally keep receiving Social Security benefits while living abroad, in most countries, for as long as they remain eligible. Non-citizens can too, but with a hard six-month limit unless they qualify for an exception. A handful of countries are off-limits entirely, and Supplemental Security Income does not travel at all. The specifics depend on your citizenship, the country you live in, and which benefit you receive.
If You Are a U.S. Citizen
Collecting retirement, disability, or survivor benefits abroad is straightforward for citizens. Payments continue at the same amount as long as you remain eligible for the benefit itself. Moving to another country does not trigger a suspension or a recalculation. The only situations that stop payment involve living in a country the U.S. government has placed off-limits, covered further down.
If You Are Not a U.S. Citizen
Non-citizens face a rule that surprises people. After six consecutive calendar months outside the United States, monthly benefits stop. The SSA does not send a warning as the deadline approaches; payment is suspended the month after the sixth consecutive month abroad.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Payments Outside the United States
To keep payments running, you have to return to the United States and be physically present for at least 30 consecutive days before the sixth month ends. A short visit of a few days does not reset the clock.2Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404-0460 – Nonpayment of Monthly Benefits to Aliens Outside the United States
If your benefits have already been suspended, the requirement is stricter. You must return and remain in the U.S. for an entire calendar month, meaning every day from the first through the last day of that month, before payments restart.1Social Security Administration. Social Security Payments Outside the United States
Exceptions to the Six-Month Rule
Several exceptions keep payments flowing past six months abroad. The two most common: you are a citizen of a country that has a totalization agreement with the United States, or you are a dependent or survivor who lived in the U.S. for at least five years while your qualifying relationship to the worker existed.3Social Security Administration. 5-Year Residency Requirement for Alien Dependents/Survivors Outside the United States Additional exceptions apply based on military service and certain nationality categories. The SSA runs an online payment screening tool at ssa.gov/international/payments_outsideUS.html that will tell you whether an exception fits your situation.
The United States has totalization agreements with 30 countries, including most of Western Europe, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay.4Social Security Administration. Status of Totalization Agreements These agreements also let workers combine credits earned in both countries to qualify for benefits and prevent double Social Security taxation on the same earnings.5Social Security Administration. U.S. International Social Security Agreements
Countries Where Payments Cannot Be Sent
Two countries are barred outright by U.S. Treasury sanctions: Cuba and North Korea. A U.S. citizen living in either country has benefits withheld but not forfeited, and can collect all withheld payments after moving to an eligible country. A non-citizen cannot recover payments for any months spent in Cuba or North Korea, even after moving elsewhere.6Social Security Administration. Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States
The SSA separately restricts payments to several other countries because it cannot arrange orderly distribution there. Benefits are withheld unless you qualify for a specific exception. Those countries are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.7Social Security Administration. POMS – Payments to Individuals in Barred and SSA-Restricted Countries The conditions for an exception are not published; the SSA asks you to contact them or reach your nearest Federal Benefits Unit.6Social Security Administration. Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States
SSI Does Not Travel
Everything above applies to retirement, disability, and survivor benefits under Social Security. Supplemental Security Income is a separate program, and it cannot be paid outside the United States at all. Leaving the country for 30 consecutive days or a full calendar month stops SSI payments.8Social Security Administration. POMS SI 02301.225 – Absence From the United States
Restarting SSI requires returning to the U.S. and being physically present for 30 consecutive days. Payments resume on the 31st day after your return, provided you still meet all other eligibility requirements.8Social Security Administration. POMS SI 02301.225 – Absence From the United States If SSI is your main income, factor this in before any long trip abroad, let alone a permanent move.
How the Money Reaches You
The SSA’s preferred delivery method overseas is International Direct Deposit, which sends funds electronically to a bank account in your country of residence. The program covers more than 150 countries, including most of Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region.9Social Security Administration. Direct Deposit – Payments to Beneficiaries Outside the U.S.
If your country does not participate, keeping a U.S. bank account is the most reliable alternative. Payments land in the domestic account and you move the money yourself, absorbing any wire and conversion costs. In the remaining locations, paper checks mailed to a foreign address are the only option. Postal delays, theft, and lost mail are real risks. Use any alternative you have.
Taxes on Benefits You Receive Abroad
Moving abroad does not change how the IRS treats your Social Security benefits. U.S. citizens and green card holders owe federal income tax on worldwide income no matter where they live, and Social Security is part of that income.
Whether it is actually taxed turns on your combined income: adjusted gross income, plus nontaxable interest, plus half of your Social Security benefits. For individual filers, up to 50% of benefits become taxable once combined income reaches $25,000, and up to 85% above $34,000. For married couples filing jointly, the thresholds are $32,000 and $44,000.10Internal Revenue Service. Publication 915 – Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits
One trap for expats: the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion cannot shelter Social Security benefits. The IRS lists pension and annuity payments, including Social Security, as items that do not qualify as foreign earned income.11Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Earned Income Exclusion
If you are not a U.S. citizen or green card holder, the SSA withholds a flat 30% federal income tax on 85% of your benefit, an effective 25.5% withholding on your monthly payment. A tax treaty between the U.S. and your home country may reduce or eliminate that withholding.12Social Security Administration. Nonresident Alien Tax Withholding
Medicare Generally Will Not Cover You Abroad
This is the largest financial blind spot for Americans retiring overseas. Medicare almost never pays for care received outside the United States. If you get sick or injured in a foreign country, you are usually paying out of pocket.13Medicare.gov. Travel Outside the U.S.
The narrow exceptions require a genuine emergency where a foreign hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat you, or travel through Canada between Alaska and another state. Medicare Part D drug plans do not cover prescriptions filled outside the U.S. at all.13Medicare.gov. Travel Outside the U.S.
The Part B Late Enrollment Penalty
If you do not enroll in Medicare Part B when you first become eligible, usually at age 65, and you do not have qualifying employer-based coverage, you face a late enrollment penalty of 10% added to your monthly premium for every full year you were eligible but did not sign up. That penalty lasts as long as you have Part B. The standard Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90 per month, so a two-year delay adds roughly $40.58 per month, pushing your premium to about $243.50.14Medicare.gov. Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties
Living abroad does not exempt you from the penalty, and foreign health insurance does not count as employer-based coverage for Medicare. If you expect to return to the U.S. someday, delayed enrollment means a permanently higher premium. When you do move back, you can join a Medicare Advantage or drug plan within two months of your return.15Medicare.gov. Special Enrollment Periods Some expats enroll in Part B while overseas purely to avoid the penalty, even though they cannot use it abroad. Whether that trade makes sense depends on how long you expect to stay overseas and how confident you are that you will never need U.S.-based care again.
What You Have to Report to Keep Payments Coming
Receiving benefits abroad comes with a continuing duty to keep the SSA informed. Failing to report changes is one of the fastest ways to trigger a suspension or an overpayment you will have to pay back.
You must notify the SSA of any change of address, marriage, divorce, death of a spouse, and work activity. For beneficiaries under full retirement age, the foreign work test withholds your monthly benefit for any month in which you work more than 45 hours in a job not covered by U.S. Social Security.16Social Security Administration. SSA Handbook 1823 – The Foreign Work Test That is a different test from the domestic earnings limit and is based on hours worked, not dollars earned.
You can report changes by phone at +1-410-965-0160, by mail to the SSA’s Baltimore office, or in person at a Federal Benefits Unit if one operates in your country. When you contact the SSA, include your name, Social Security number, what you are reporting, and the date the change happened.6Social Security Administration. Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States
The SSA also mails a periodic questionnaire, form SSA-7161 or SSA-7162, to beneficiaries with a foreign address. It asks about your current address, citizenship, marital status, work activity, and living arrangements.17Social Security Administration. Form SSA-7162-OCR-SM Beneficiaries with a representative payee and those aged 90 and older receive it every year; others may receive it on a biennial cycle tied to their Social Security number.18Social Security Administration. POMS RS 02655.005 – Preparation and Mailing Schedule Return the form by the printed deadline. Ignoring it will get your payments suspended.