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The Social Security Act has a rule that many foreign beneficiaries do not know about and that can affect them if they travel or move away for a long time: if a person who is not a U.S. citizen stays outside the United States for six full, consecutive calendar months, the Social Security Administration (SSA) stops paying benefits.

That provision is Section 202(t) of the law, known as the “no-payment rule for foreign nationals.” However, it is a suspension, not a permanent loss, and there are numerous exceptions that allow many people to keep collecting payments abroad.

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What Section 202(t) says

Section 202(t) says that a foreign beneficiary, meaning a person who is a citizen of another country and not of the United States, cannot keep receiving Social Security benefits if they spend too much time outside the country.

The deadline is specific: six full, consecutive calendar months outside the United States. The rule applies both to the worker who earned the benefit and to dependent family members and survivors, as long as they are foreign nationals.

When Social Security payments are suspended

When a foreign beneficiary completes six full, consecutive calendar months outside the country, payments are suspended starting with the seventh month of absence. In other words, the payments do not stop as soon as the person leaves the United States, but only after that six-month period abroad.

Foreign nationals who travel or move abroad and go over a certain time limit outside the country cannot keep collecting Social Security benefits.

The exceptions: many foreign nationals keep getting paid

The SSA itself has a long list of exceptions, so many foreign beneficiaries can keep collecting even while living outside the United States. Situations that usually allow payments to continue include:

  • Being a citizen of a country that has a social security agreement (a totalization agreement) with the United States.
  • Being a citizen of a country that pays benefits to U.S. citizens who live there.
  • Having accumulated enough years of work under Social Security (usually the equivalent of 10 years of contributions) or a certain amount of time living in the country.
  • Certain cases tied to U.S. military service.
Deposits.By order of Section 202(y) of the Social Security Act, the SSA will stop paying monthly benefits to foreign nationals who do not meet this requirement

Countries where payments cannot be collected

There is a separate case that applies even to U.S. citizens. Because of Treasury Department restrictions, Social Security cannot send payments to beneficiaries living in certain countries, such as Cuba and North Korea. In those cases, payments are held and can generally be collected if the person moves to a country where the SSA is allowed to pay.