Social Security
Will you be able to collect Social Security from abroad in 2025? This is what you’ll have to do starting January
Planning to go abroad next year? More than 760,000 Americans claim Social Security payments from overseas. Here are the requirements to get them.
Every month, the Social Security Administration issues more than 72 million payments to beneficiaries of its program. The majority of these, which number around 65 million recipients, are retired workers.
Payments are automatically issued to your linked bank account or mailed to a pre-registered mailing address, but what happens when you need to spend time outside the country? Can you collect your benefits even when you are abroad?
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How to claim Social Security payments when you are abroad
The government agency indicates a stay abroad is when the beneficiary is “not in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa for at least 30 consecutive days. We consider you ‘outside the U.S.’ until you return and stay in the U.S. for at least 30 consecutive days.”
Under this provision, the law establishes that its citizens can collect Social Security benefits from anywhere in the world, with the exception of a few cases. People who reside in or travel to Cuba or North Korea, cannot collect their money while they are outside the United States.
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The SSA will hold the payments until you return to U.S. territory or another country where you are authorized to make the payments, as long as you are a U.S. citizen.
Currently, about 760,000 Americans are claiming Social Security payments from abroad, according to official SSA figures.
Here’s what you need to do to collect payments
If you plan to move or take a long trip in 2025, you must meet the following requirements to claim Social Security payments from abroad:
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Reside in or visit one of the countries allowed by the United States: list of countries where Social Security payments are available
- You already received Social Security benefits based on your income, OR you were eligible for Social Security benefits since December 1956, OR the worker on whom your benefits are based died while in the military or was disabled incapacitated for his/her participation in military service
To claim payments, you simply submit your application for Social Security benefits and pensions through the official SSA website and answer a questionnaire that will determine your eligibility. If approved, the Administration will send you the money via direct deposit.
For more information, please contact the Social Security Revenue and International Operations Office at 410-965-0160.
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