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Pension question, United States

Do I need to return a Social Security questionnaire if I live abroad?

A Social Security beneficiary living outside the United States who is sent form SSA-7162 must complete and return it to the Wilkes-Barre address within 60 days of receiving it. And once payment starts, SSA posts you a questionnaire every year or every two years depending on your country, with 45 days to answer the second notice before automatic suspension.

What to do next

  1. Keep the month the questionnaire usually arrives in your diary.
  2. Make sure SSA holds your current address abroad.
  3. Run our free check to see whether another country also holds a pension for you.

Check your own working life for free

Tell us where you worked. The free check shows which countries may hold a pension for you, and which can be ruled out and why. No sign in, no charge.

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Questions people also ask

Do people who are not US citizens face another rule abroad?

If you are not a US citizen there is a second clock: SSA generally cannot pay Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance benefits after your sixth calendar month outside the United States unless you fall within one of its specific exceptions, several of which turn on your exact nationality and country of residence.

  • Source: ssa.gov Handbook 1513, ssa.gov international payments, and SSA POMS, read 3 October 2026

Do you give advice on what to do?

No. We identify where a pension is likely held and the official route to it, and we name each source with the date we read it. We do not give financial, tax or legal advice.