Does Retiring Abroad Impact My Social Security?

Moving abroad is a temptation for myriad Americans as they move toward and into retirement, and for many it's become a reality. And since Social Security monthly benefits are such a significant source of income, a natural first question to ask about such a move is whether retiring abroad will impact those payments. The answer? Generally, no.

Here's what the Social Security Administration (SSA) itself says about that: "If you are a United States citizen, you may continue to receive payments while outside the U.S. as long as you are eligible for payment and you are in a country where we can send payments."https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf

That might sound restrictive, but really that list of countries where benefits can't be sent is quite short. North Korea and Cuba, for instance, are the only two that the SSA flat out won't send money to, and even then they'll send you all the withheld payments if and when you move to one of the permitted places.

The current rules also say Social Security payments generally can't be sent to Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. "However, we can make exceptions for certain eligible persons in these countries," the rules say.

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Source Fool.com