Social Security payments abroad: which countries, and what to report

August 20, 2026MoneyGlobalBy the OCONUS Veterans team

For many veterans, Social Security becomes part of the monthly picture at some point, either your own benefit, a spouse's benefit on your record, or survivor benefits down the road. The good news is that for U.S. citizens, Social Security generally travels well. The catch is in the details: which country you live in, whether the person getting the benefit is a U.S. citizen, and what you are required to tell SSA while you live abroad.

This guide covers retirement, survivors and disability benefits under Social Security (Title II). It does not cover Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which follows much stricter residency rules. For a quick overview, see our Social Security abroad page.

The basic rule for U.S. citizens

SSA puts it simply: if you are a U.S. citizen, you may receive your Social Security payments outside the U.S. as long as you are eligible for them. There is no time limit for citizens in most countries. You can live in Thailand for twenty years and keep getting paid.

The exception is a short list of countries.

Countries where payments are restricted

None of the main countries where our readers live is on that list. If you are planning a move somewhere unusual, run SSA's Payments Abroad Screening Tool first.

Noncitizen spouses and survivors: the six-month rule

This is where veteran families abroad most often get surprised. Many of us are married to citizens of the country we live in, and that spouse may be receiving, or will someday receive, a spouse's or survivor's benefit on our record.

SSA's general rule is that it cannot keep paying noncitizens once they have been outside the U.S. for six full calendar months in a row, unless they meet an exception. The most common exceptions depend on the beneficiary's citizenship, using SSA's country lists:

• Country List 1: Citizens of these countries keep getting paid no matter how long they stay outside the U.S., as long as they are eligible. The list includes Japan, South Korea, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and others.
• Country List 2: Citizens of these countries keep getting paid while outside the U.S., but people receiving benefits as a dependent or survivor must meet additional requirements. The list includes the Philippines, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and the Dominican Republic.
• Country List 4: Citizens of these countries keep getting paid past six months only if the worker whose record the benefit is based on lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years or earned at least 40 credits. Dependents and survivors face additional requirements. The list includes Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Taiwan and China.

Some countries are on none of these lists. Vietnam and Cambodia, for example, do not appear on Country Lists 1, 2 or 4. For a spouse who is a citizen of one of those countries, the six-month rule matters a great deal. Don't guess. Use SSA's Payments Abroad Screening Tool, which asks about citizenship, residence and benefit type, and then confirm with SSA or the Federal Benefits Unit at your U.S. embassy.

SSA also says that if you are not a U.S. citizen and you leave the U.S. for at least 30 days in a row, you must complete Form SSA-21, Supplement to Claim of Person Outside the United States.

The "additional requirements" for dependents and survivors usually involve U.S. residency, and they are where most of the fine print sits. If your spouse is not a U.S. citizen, ask SSA now how the rules would apply to them as a survivor, before anyone needs to know.

Before you leave the U.S.

1. Report your new address. SSA says beneficiaries moving abroad should report the change of address before they leave, even if payments go to a bank.
2. Sort out direct deposit. SSA's International Operations office lists changing direct deposit as one of the services you cannot do online from outside the U.S. Get your payment set up the way you want before you go.
3. Set up my Social Security. SSA says many people without a U.S. mailing address can now create an online my Social Security account using an ID.me wallet. If you had an account before moving, you will need to create an ID.me wallet to use it from an international address.
4. Save your documents. SSA says it cannot mail benefit verification letters or replacement tax statements (SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S) to a foreign address. You can view and print them through your online account, so make sure that account works.
5. Get off paper checks. SSA says federal law and Executive Order 14247 require electronic payment, and it plans to complete its full transition to electronic payments in 2026. If you face real barriers, such as living somewhere without access to financial institutions, SSA says you can request a waiver through Treasury at 1-877-874-6347.

If you are deciding where your payment should land, our guide to banking abroad covers the pros and cons of keeping a U.S. account versus using a local one.

What you have to report while living abroad

SSA's publication Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States (Publication 05-10137) lists the events beneficiaries abroad must report. Read it in full. The ones that come up most for veteran families:

• A change of address, including a move to another country.
• Work outside the U.S. SSA says that if you are under full retirement age and receive retirement benefits, or disability benefits as the worker, spouse, survivor or dependent, you must report if you work 45 hours or more a month or become self-employed outside the U.S. The report is due before you receive and accept the benefit for the second month after the month you worked. For example, work in January must be reported before you accept your March benefit. Report it to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
• Marriage, divorce or a death in the family.
• Improvement in your condition or a return to work, if you get disability benefits. SSA's disability regulations (20 CFR 404.1588) say to tell SSA promptly about either one.
• A change in citizenship.

When you report, SSA asks for the name of the person the report is about, what is being reported and the date it happened, and the claim number from SSA's letters.

The foreign enforcement questionnaire

Every so often, a form will arrive in the mail from SSA. This is part of the Foreign Enforcement Program, which SSA uses to confirm that beneficiaries abroad are alive and to catch events that could affect benefits, such as a change in citizenship, marriage or divorce. Beneficiaries complete Form SSA-7162. People receiving benefits on behalf of a child or an adult who cannot manage funds complete Form SSA-7161. SSA says these contacts happen annually or every two years.

Fill it out completely and return it promptly using the envelope provided. SSA also lists a courier address for returns: Social Security Administration, Wilkes-Barre Direct Operations Center, Attention: FEQ Analyst, Courier Service, 1150 E. Mountain Dr. Room 341, Wilkes Barre, PA 18702-7997. If your local mail service is unreliable, a courier with tracking is worth the cost.

How to contact SSA from abroad

SSA has no offices outside the U.S. Instead, its International Operations office works with State Department embassies and consulates, many of which have Federal Benefits Units. Find yours through SSA's "Service Around the World" page.

Always include your Social Security number on mail. SSA currently warns that some countries have suspended mail service to the U.S., so documents sent from abroad may be delayed or undelivered. Check with your local postal service, and use fax or a tracked courier for anything time-sensitive.

Medicare is a separate question

Getting Social Security abroad does not mean Medicare follows you. Medicare.gov says Medicare usually doesn't cover health care while you're outside the U.S. The exceptions are narrow, such as an emergency in the U.S. when a foreign hospital is closer than the nearest U.S. hospital. Whether to keep paying Medicare Part B premiums while living abroad is a real decision with long-term consequences, especially if you rely on TRICARE For Life. See TRICARE and CHAMPVA overseas and our planned guide on the Medicare gap abroad.

Example (hypothetical): A Marine veteran draws Social Security in Udon Thani, and his Thai wife may one day receive a survivor benefit on his record. Because Thailand is on SSA's Country List 4, her payments abroad would depend on his U.S. residence or credits and on the additional survivor requirements. He calls SSA's international line and asks how those rules apply to her, writes down the answer, the date and the agent's ID, and files it with his other survivor paperwork.

Social Security rules for families abroad are detailed and depend on your facts. When in doubt, contact SSA or the Federal Benefits Unit at your embassy. OCONUS Veterans is not affiliated with SSA. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

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Published August 20, 2026. Information only, not legal, tax, immigration or medical advice. Confirm with the official sources.