2023-05-20 21:52:09
Social Security Administration benefits (SSA) by retirement or retirement, correspond to all those people who have achieved a set amount of credits, in their working years. It applies to US citizens and also resident immigrants, although for the latter, since they receive lower benefits than natives, it may be more difficult to meet the eligibility requirements.
Many workers in the United States dream of spending their retirement years in another country. They imagine being able to be away from the daily hustle and bustle, worries about the high cost of living, services and housing, so present in North America. However, they all have a common question, as to whether they will be able to cash their retirement check if they are abroad.
According to the information published by the SSA, those who obtain the retirement benefit can access it even if they are outside the United States. However, there are certain restrictions depending on the country they decide to move to and also the immigration status they have at the time of departure.
Read more: The best cities in the US to live only with Social Security
To be eligible for the Social Security retirement payment, the person must have accumulated 40 credits. This is equivalent to a total of 10 years of work, which is the minimum time established by the administration. Additionally, the retirement age is also taken into account as a requirement, set at 67 years. Those who want to opt for an early pension can request it at age 62 but with the understanding that they will receive 30% less than the expected payment.
There are other cases in which people prefer to continue working after reaching the statutory retirement age. This action generates an 8% increase in payment for each additional year. However, after reaching age 70 there are no further increases. The average maximum amount that they can aspire to is $1,827.
Retired couple. Photo: Freepik
How to collect the pension abroad?
For the United States Social Security Administration to consider that a resident or citizen lives outside the country, they must have been abroad for more than 30 consecutive days. That is, outside any of the 50 US states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam or American Samoa.
Although payments can be sent electronically to different countries around the world, there are two important exceptions that make it impossible to receive the payment. This occurs if the beneficiary moves to countries such as Cuba or North Korea, where there are current sanctions by the Treasury Department.
There are other nations to which the North American country does not send withdrawal checks, although these are not completely blocked, so a review of the case can be requested. These are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Turkmenistan.
If the beneficiary is not in any of these places, they can normally access the payment in any country they reside. These are sent electronically to a US bank or a local bank with direct deposit arrangements from the United States. The vast majority of banking institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean have this.
Social Security checks. Photo: AARP
Other considerations
For those who cash retirement checks but are not US citizens, your benefit will depend on spending no more than six months outside the country. Otherwise, they expose themselves to having their payments discontinued.
In most cases, when check writing stops, Social Security requires the person to remain in the United States for a full month to resume.
Although the retirement check can be sent to your beneficiaries abroad, the same is not the case with Medicaid health insurance. People over the age of 65 who receive this benefit can recover it if they return to live in the United States.
In any case, there are tools that help the recipients of these payments to customize your apps. Social Security has an online information network, where you can enter to consult any questions.
You can also consult the Social Security page in Spanish, for more precise information. For its part, the Office of Income and International Operations of the SSA has a telephone line set up for this type of request. The number is 410-965-0160.
Those who want additional information can consult this Guide: Your payments while you are outside the United States.
#live #continue #receiving #Social #Security #pension