Where payments cannot go
The SSA cannot send payments to Cuba or North Korea. Payments to Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are restricted, though exceptions exist and are handled case by case.
Everywhere else, payment continues. The SSA publishes a screening tool that answers this for a specific country and situation.
What changes for non-citizens
If you are not a US citizen, different rules apply: benefits generally stop after six consecutive calendar months outside the United States, unless an exception applies. Citizenship is the dividing line here, not where you worked.
Where Americans actually collect
These are counts, not estimates — the SSA knows because it sends the money. Figures as of December 2025.
| Country | Retired workers collecting | $2,086 is worth |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 36,095 | $3,535 |
| Germany | 23,679 | $2,747 |
| Philippines | 22,310 | $5,761 |
| Portugal | 12,185 | $3,449 |
| Colombia | 9,784 | $5,511 |
| Spain | 9,740 | $3,275 |
| Thailand | 7,680 | $6,750 |
| Ecuador | 2,541 | $4,633 |
| Panama | 2,239 | $4,082 |
| Malaysia | 459 | $6,587 |
What you still have to do
Report address changes, work abroad and family-status changes to the SSA. Keep a working US account or arrange direct deposit locally — and check that the receiving bank takes American customers before you rely on it, because many do not.
And the benefit remains taxable by the United States regardless of where you live. Whether the country you move to also taxes it depends on the treaty.