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Will Your Social Security Check Follow You If You Move Overseas?

Anyone planning to retire abroad should read the booklet published by the Social Security Administration.
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Will Your Social Security Check Follow You If You Move Overseas?
As an American citizen, you can get your Social Security benefits almost anywhere in the world. rSnapshotPhotos/Shutterstock
Tom Margenau
Updated:
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I’ve been getting more than a few emails lately from folks who say they plan to move overseas. Some told me they just want to escape the political turmoil in this country. Others probably have a bad case of wanderlust. I’m sure others are just thinking about retiring and returning to their ancestral home, or perhaps still others see some of the same websites I do that entice you with headlines like: “Live like royalty on your Social Security check in Costa Rica!”

But anyway, those writing to me want to know what happens with their Social Security benefits once they pack their bags and head to some foreign land to live.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]