RELOVA JOURNAL

Blog/Published April 18, 2026 · Updated September 19, 2026

How to Move Abroad as a Retiree on Social Security in 2026

By Anna Moore

How US Social Security works once you retire abroad: countries the SSA won't send checks to, totalization agreements, and Medicare's gap.

Retiring abroad on Social Security is legal and common for the vast majority of American retirees, but "vast majority" isn't "all," and the mechanics of how payments actually reach you overseas are worth understanding before you commit to a destination.

Which countries the SSA won't pay into

The Social Security Administration generally continues paying retirement benefits to U.S. citizens living almost anywhere in the world, but there are firm exceptions. Cuba and North Korea are the clearest cases — SSA cannot send payments to beneficiaries residing in either country, full stop, regardless of citizenship. Beyond those two, a handful of other countries (several former Soviet states, for instance) have historically required beneficiaries to arrange for payment through a different country or via direct deposit to a U.S. account rather than receiving funds locally, because the U.S. lacks the banking or diplomatic infrastructure to pay directly there. This is exactly why SSA built its Payments Abroad Screening Tool — plugging in your specific destination country gives a direct answer rather than relying on general rules of thumb, since restrictions and workarounds do shift over time as banking relationships change. Average U.S. Social Security retirement benefits are running close to $2,071 monthly as of early 2026 SSA estimates — a useful planning floor, but one that varies enormously based on your individual earnings history and the age you claimed, and one that should be treated as a baseline income layer rather than a comfortable standalone retirement budget in most popular expat destinations.

Totalization agreements: avoiding double Social Security taxation

If you worked partly in the U.S. and partly abroad, or if you're still doing some paid work after moving, the U.S. has bilateral totalization agreements with around 30 countries designed to prevent double taxation into two countries' social security systems for the same work, and to let you combine (totalize) contribution credits from both systems to qualify for benefits you might otherwise fall short of under either system alone. Portugal, the UK, most of the EU, and several popular Latin American and Asian retirement destinations are covered; notably, some major expat destinations — including much of Southeast Asia and parts of Latin America — are not covered by a totalization agreement with the U.S., meaning self-employed retirees doing consulting work there could face contributions into a local system with no offsetting credit or relief on the U.S. side. Check whether your specific destination has an agreement before assuming totalization protects you.

The Windfall Elimination Provision, resolved

For years, the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) reduced Social Security benefits for retirees who also received a pension from work not covered by Social Security — a rule that hit many former teachers, police officers, firefighters, and federal employees particularly hard, including many who'd later moved abroad. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed into law on 5 January 2025, repealed WEP along with the related Government Pension Offset (GPO), applying retroactively to benefits payable from January 2024 onward. Most people affected by the repeal received a lump-sum back-payment around April 2025, plus a higher ongoing monthly benefit going forward. If you were subject to WEP or GPO reductions and haven't seen your benefit recalculated, it's worth contacting SSA directly rather than assuming the adjustment happened automatically.

Medicare's hard stop at the border

The single most consequential gap for retirees moving abroad is that Medicare, with very limited exceptions, does not cover routine healthcare outside the United States. This surprises people who assume decades of Medicare premiums translate into some form of portable coverage — they don't. Practically, this means budgeting for private international health insurance or enrolling in your destination country's public healthcare system (where residency-based access is available, as it often is in much of Europe and parts of Latin America) rather than relying on Medicare as a fallback. Some retirees choose to keep paying Medicare Part B premiums anyway, as a hedge in case they return to the U.S. for extended periods or permanently — worth weighing against the ongoing premium cost given your travel plans.

FBAR: a compliance requirement that surprises retirees

Once you're living abroad and managing local bank accounts, FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Report, FinCEN Form 114) becomes relevant the moment your aggregate foreign account balances exceed $10,000 at any point during the year — a threshold that a checking account plus a modest savings buffer clears easily for most retirees. FBAR is filed separately from your regular tax return, directly with FinCEN, and it applies regardless of whether you owe any additional U.S. tax — it's a reporting requirement, not a tax bill by itself, but penalties for failing to file can be severe if the omission is found to be willful.

Continue with these closely related guides:

Turn research into a checklist you can execute week by week with Relova.