To change your address for Social Security and Medicare, update it with the Social Security Administration first. That single update also changes your address for Original Medicare (Parts A and B), because SSA maintains those records. It does not reach a Medicare Advantage plan or a standalone Part D drug plan; those are run by private insurers with their own files, and you have to call each one separately.1Medicare.gov. How Do I Change My Address With Medicare?
How to Update Your Address With Social Security
You have three ways to report a new address to SSA.
The fastest is your my Social Security account at ssa.gov. Sign in, open the contact information section, and enter the new mailing address. One limit: the online option only works if you’re already receiving benefits. If you have Medicare but haven’t started collecting Social Security yet, you’ll need one of the other two methods.2Social Security Administration. Update Contact Information
You can call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. Wait times are usually shorter in the morning, later in the week, and toward the end of the month.3Social Security Administration. Contact Social Security By Phone Or visit a local Social Security office in person. Call ahead, since many offices run on appointments.
A few days after you submit the change, log back into your my Social Security account and confirm the new address is showing. Watch mail at both the old and new addresses for a couple of weeks. If SSA or Medicare correspondence is still going to the old address after that, call back to follow up.
Why Social Security Handles Medicare Addresses
You sign up for Medicare Part A and Part B through SSA, and SSA continues to manage your enrollment records afterward, including collecting premiums from your monthly benefit.4Social Security Administration. Plan for Medicare Medicare.gov states it directly: “To change your official address with Medicare, you have to contact Social Security.” There is no way to update Original Medicare through Medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE. This is true even if you have Medicare but aren’t yet drawing a Social Security check.1Medicare.gov. How Do I Change My Address With Medicare?
Medicare Advantage and Part D Need a Separate Call
Medicare Advantage (Part C) and Medicare Part D drug plans are offered by private insurers approved by Medicare, and each company keeps its own member records.5U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). What Is Medicare Part C?6Medicare.gov. What’s Medicare Drug Coverage (Part D)? SSA does not pass your new address to them.
Call the member services number on the back of your plan card and report the new address directly. Do it the same day you update SSA, not weeks later. Delays create real problems: the plan may not reach you about formulary changes, prior authorization requirements, or premium billing. And if the plan discovers through the postal service or CMS that you’ve moved before you tell them, it can start disenrolling you on its own.
Moving to a New County or State
An address change within the same city is straightforward. A move to a different county or state is not, because Medicare Advantage and Part D plans each cover a specific geographic service area. If your new home falls outside your current plan’s service area, you cannot stay enrolled. The plan is required to remove you, and it will, whether you notify them or not.7CMS. Medicare Advantage Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
There is a cushion for temporary absences. Most plans allow you to remain enrolled for up to six consecutive months outside the service area. Beyond six months, the plan treats it as a permanent move and must disenroll you.7CMS. Medicare Advantage Enrollment and Disenrollment Guidance
The Special Enrollment Period for Movers
A permanent move triggers a Special Enrollment Period that lets you join a new Medicare Advantage or Part D plan in your new area. If you notify your plan before you move, the window opens the month before your move and lasts two full months after. If you notify after the move, the window starts the month you tell the plan and runs two months from there.8Medicare.gov. Special Enrollment Periods Don’t sit on this. Once the window closes, you’re waiting for the next Annual Enrollment Period in the fall, and in the meantime you’d have only Original Medicare with no drug coverage.
Before You Pack
Check whether your new ZIP code falls inside your current plan’s service area. You can search plans by ZIP code on Medicare.gov. If you’re leaving the service area, use the same tool to compare plans available at the new location so you can enroll quickly once the Special Enrollment Period starts. Notify your current plan of your move date in writing if possible, so there’s a record.
Special Situations
Railroad Retirement Beneficiaries
If you receive benefits from the Railroad Retirement Board rather than Social Security, you do not update through SSA. The RRB handles address changes, lost Medicare cards, and Medicare enrollment for railroad retirees.9CMS. Railroad Retirement Board Retired employees receiving a monthly RRB annuity can update their address through the myRRB online portal. Spouses and other annuitants need to contact a local RRB field office.10RRB.Gov. About Change My Address The RRB’s toll-free number is 1-877-772-5772 (TTY 1-312-751-4701). If you need a replacement Medicare card and you’re an RRB beneficiary, call that same number rather than 1-800-MEDICARE.11Medicare.gov. Your Medicare Card
Moving Abroad
If you’re relocating outside the United States, report your new foreign address to SSA before you leave. This applies even if your benefits go to a bank account and you don’t receive paper checks. Contact your nearest SSA field office to provide the new address.12Social Security Administration. Instructions for a Beneficiary Leaving the U.S. Original Medicare generally does not cover healthcare services outside the United States. Some Medicare Advantage plans offer limited foreign coverage, but most don’t.
Dual-Eligible With Medicaid
If you have both Medicare and Medicaid, updating SSA only handles the Medicare side. Medicaid is administered by your state and has its own reporting rules. Most states require you to report an address change within 10 to 30 days. A move to a different state is harder because Medicaid doesn’t transfer: you’d close enrollment in the old state and apply fresh in the new one. Contact your state Medicaid office directly to avoid coverage gaps or overpayment issues.
Getting a Replacement Medicare Card
Changing your address does not generate a new card, and your Medicare number stays the same wherever you live. If the card was lost or damaged during the move, log into your Medicare.gov account to print or order a replacement. You can also call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048) and request one by mail.11Medicare.gov. Your Medicare Card If your legal name has also changed, update the name with Social Security first. Your Medicare card reflects whatever name SSA has on file.
What an Outdated Address Can Cost You
Several Medicare processes depend on reaching you by mail, and missing those notices carries real financial consequences.
IRMAA Surcharge Notices
Higher-income beneficiaries pay an Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount on top of standard Part B and Part D premiums.13Medicare.gov. 2026 Medicare Costs SSA mails the determination notice to your address on file. You have 60 days from receipt to appeal, and SSA presumes you received it five days after the date on the notice.14Social Security Administration. Overview of the Appeals Process for the Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount A notice sitting in a mailbox you no longer check doesn’t pause that clock. By the time the surcharge shows up on your benefit statement, the appeal window may have already closed.
Involuntary Plan Disenrollment
Medicare Advantage and Part D plans can discover your move independently through CMS or postal service forwarding data. If the plan learns you’ve relocated before you’ve told them, the disenrollment process can begin without any warning you’d actually receive, because the notices are going to an address you left behind.
Annual Notices
Every fall, Medicare Advantage and Part D plans mail an Annual Notice of Change detailing premium changes, formulary updates, and provider network adjustments for the coming year. The Medicare & You handbook also arrives by mail annually. Miss these and you might not learn that a prescription is no longer covered, or that your premium is increasing, until after the Annual Enrollment Period has passed.