Country List 1 | International Programs (2024)

FAQs

Country List 1 | International Programs? ›

Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.

Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.

If you leave the U.S., we will stop your benefits the month after the sixth calendar month in a row that you are outside the country. You can make visits to the United States for specific periods of time, depending on how long you've been outside, to continue receiving your benefits.

Key Takeaways. U.S. retirees can receive Social Security benefits while living abroad, with some exceptions. There is no time limit on how long a person can live outside the country and receive benefits. Foreign citizens with a U.S. work history may also qualify for Social Security benefits under certain agreements.

Many countries offer excellent health care, infrastructure and amenities at a fraction of the cost compared to the U.S. The cheapest places to retire abroad include Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam.

If you earned Social Security benefits, you can visit or live in most foreign countries and still receive payments. Look up the country on the SSA Payments Abroad Screening Tool to be sure you can receive your payments.

Plus, it is helpful to note that the top 10 most popular countries among U.S. expats in order of most to least popular are: Mexico, Canada, the U.K., Germany, Australia, Israel, South Korea, France, Japan, and Spain. 2 Many of these countries offer below-average costs of living.

Which country has the best Social Security in the world? ›

That's the conclusion of the 2023 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, which ranks the Netherlands' retirement system as the world's best. The U.S. system comes in 22nd among the 47 countries rated.

The United States generally considers a person with dual U.S. and foreign citizenship a U.S. citizen for Social Security purposes. This does not apply if you are a U.S. citizen and a citizen of a country the United States has an international social security agreement with.

In most cases, non-US spouses can claim Social Security benefits. Your foreign spouse will typically qualify for survivor benefits and may also qualify for spousal or dependent benefits.

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. However, there are certain countries to which we are not allowed to send payments.

There's No Time Limit For Receiving Social Security Benefits Abroad. Luckily, there is no time limit on how long you can live outside the U.S. and still receive monthly Social Security payments. As long as proof of life documents are signed and returned annually, you'll still get paid.

You can live outside the USA and collect Social Security insurance benefits either as a retiree or a disabled person. However you may not collect welfare from the USA outside the country.

The Social Security five-year rule is the time period in which you can file for an expedited reinstatement after your Social Security disability benefits have been terminated completely due to work.