You can handle a change of address with Social Security and Medicare in a single update through the Social Security Administration. SSA passes the new address to Medicare directly, so there is no separate Medicare form to file. The fastest way is the my Social Security account at ssa.gov; you can also call 1-800-772-1213 or make an appointment at a local field office.
Update the address quickly. SSA mails benefit statements, the SSA-1099 tax form, and cost-of-living adjustment notices to whatever address is on file, and a missed notice can mean a missed deadline.
Before You Start
Have your Social Security number, the address SSA currently has for you, and your new full address including apartment or unit number and ZIP code. Know the date the move takes effect.
If your bank is changing too, update direct deposit in the same place. Both live under the My Profile tab in your online account.1Social Security Administration. How Can I Change My Address or Direct Deposit Information for My Social Security Benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Payments? Doing them together avoids the situation where a payment lands in a closed account while the paper notice sits at your old mailbox.
Updating Your Address Online
Sign in to my Social Security at ssa.gov. If you don’t have an account, you’ll create one through Login.gov or ID.me; either works.2Social Security Administration. Go Digital! Create Your Personal My Social Security Account Today
Once you’re in, open the My Profile tab at the top of the page.3Social Security Administration. Update Contact Information You’ll see your current address, phone, and email. Edit the address fields, confirm the change applies to Social Security, Medicare, or both, and submit. One submission updates both programs. An on-screen confirmation tells you the update has entered the system.
One limit to know about: the online change is available only if you receive Social Security retirement, survivors, or disability benefits, or you’re enrolled in Medicare. If you receive Supplemental Security Income, you cannot change your address online.4Disasterassistance.gov. Social Security Update Contact Information SSI recipients have to call or visit a field office.
By Phone or at a Local Office
Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday.5Social Security Administration. Contact Social Security by Phone Wait times run shorter in the morning, later in the week, and later in the month. A representative will verify your identity before taking the new address. This route works for every benefit type, SSI included.
For an in-person visit, make an appointment first rather than walking in.6Social Security Administration. Make or Change an Appointment SSA’s own appointment page suggests handling an address change online to skip the trip, but if you’d rather go in, schedule ahead and bring a government-issued photo ID along with your Social Security number.
Deadlines and Penalties for SSI Recipients
If you receive SSI, the reporting rules are stricter. You must report a change in your mailing or home address no later than the tenth day of the month after the change.7Social Security Administration. Report Changes to Your Situation While on SSI Move on March 20 and SSA needs to know by April 10.
The deadline exists because SSI payments turn on your living arrangement. What you pay toward housing and who else contributes can change the benefit amount.8Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Living Arrangements
Miss the window and SSA can suspend benefits for withholding information that affects eligibility or payment amount. A first offense is six consecutive months of ineligibility, a second is twelve months, and a third or later offense is twenty-four months.9Social Security Administration. Code of Federal Regulations 416.1340 – Penalty for Making False or Misleading Statements or Withholding Information These penalties reach any Social Security benefits you receive alongside SSI.
After You Submit the Change
SSA syncs the update to Medicare, so billing and coverage notices should follow. If you have a Medicare Advantage or Part D plan and you’re staying inside its service area, confirming the address directly with the plan is a reasonable extra step, but no separate form is required for the address itself.
Check your my Social Security profile a few days later to make sure the new address is showing. If something went wrong and mail keeps going to the old address, you could miss your SSA-1099, which is sent between January 3 and January 24 each year.10Social Security Administration. POMS GN 05002.220 – Replacement Social Security Benefit Statement A replacement can be requested through the online account or by calling SSA.
USPS Forwarding Isn’t Enough
A change-of-address form with the post office is a reasonable backup, not a substitute. Treasury benefit checks that can’t be delivered to the address on file at SSA are returned to Treasury rather than forwarded.11Social Security Administration. Title II Undeliverable Mail – Change of Address (COA) If you still receive paper checks, updating the address with SSA directly is the only reliable path. Direct deposit sidesteps the whole issue.
If Your Move Crosses a Medicare Plan Service Area
Updating your address with SSA changes where mail goes. It does not, by itself, change your Medicare Advantage or Part D coverage. Those plans work within defined service areas, and moving outside your plan’s territory means you need to switch plans or return to Original Medicare.
A move outside the service area opens a Special Enrollment Period. You get two full months after the move to join a new Medicare Advantage Plan, enroll in a new Part D plan, or go back to Original Medicare.12Medicare. Special Enrollment Periods Tell your current plan before you move and the window opens the month before you relocate, giving you an extra month to compare options.
Let the window close and your Medicare Advantage Plan will drop you once you’re outside its area, placing you in Original Medicare with Part A and Part B but no drug coverage unless you enroll in a Part D plan on your own. Going without Part D and picking it up later can trigger a late enrollment penalty.
If You’re Moving Outside the United States
An international move is not a routine address change. U.S. citizens can still update the address online through my Social Security.13Social Security Administration. Service Around the World – Office of Earnings and International Operations Non-citizens living outside the U.S. cannot use the online tool and must write to SSA’s Office of Earnings and International Operations at P.O. Box 17769, Baltimore, Maryland 21235-7769.
Retirement, survivors, and disability benefits generally continue for U.S. citizens living abroad. Non-citizens face a time limit: benefits stop after the sixth consecutive calendar month outside the United States unless an exception based on your country of citizenship or a treaty applies.14Social Security Administration. International Programs – SSA Payments Outside US SSA doesn’t start counting until you’ve been outside the country 30 consecutive days, and returning to the U.S. for a full 30 days before the end of the sixth month resets the count.
Medicare is the harder problem overseas. Original Medicare generally does not cover care received outside the United States, with narrow exceptions such as emergencies near the Canadian or Mexican border.15Medicare. Travel Outside the U.S. Medicare drug plans won’t pay for prescriptions filled abroad. Part B premiums keep running until you actively disenroll, so decide whether keeping Medicare makes sense during a long stay away, especially if you plan to come back.
SSA also mails annual verification questionnaires (forms SSA-7161 and SSA-7162) to beneficiaries abroad. Not returning them promptly can suspend your benefits.13Social Security Administration. Service Around the World – Office of Earnings and International Operations Before you leave, read SSA’s publication “Your Payments While You Are Outside The United States” (Publication No. 05-10137) for the full list of reporting duties.