When applying for a United States Social Security check there are certain minimum requirements that must be met. Among these requirements are a minimum age and a certain number of years of work.
Therefore, we must be 62 years old before applying for Social Security retirement payments. Also, it is indispensable to have worked for 10 years. With this in mind, there are other important aspects to consider as well. Whether or not you live in the United States is crucial.
If we are thinking of living abroad, we should know that there are certain restrictions for cashing Social Security checks. Not all SSA payments can reach all U.S. beneficiaries who want to apply abroad. For that reason, we must be very careful when moving to a different country.
Can I live outside the United States and collect Social Security?
To get an answer to this question there are several elements to take into consideration. The first is whether or not we qualify for Social Security. If yes, we must check the second of these elements, which is none other than to check if it is possible to receive the cheque in the country of our destination.
It is common that we can receive the cheque while living abroad. In fact, there are countries outside the United States that are ideal for living with just a Social Security check. However, we cannot receive the money in every foreign country we go to.
What happens to my retirement check if I can’t receive it overseas?
Within most countries we will be able to cash our Social Security check, but not all of them. If we are planning to live in Cuba or North Korea, the Social Security Administration will not send us a check on a monthly basis. Instead, the Administration will hold the money until we leave the country.
Therefore, we will find ourselves in a foreign country without the possibility of collecting our retirement benefits. In this sense, we must think very well the step to take before doing it. In any case, you can check the list of other countries where you can collect through the official source of Social Security.
In conclusion, you should also keep in mind that there may be exceptions. So try to contact the Social Security Administration before making your final decision. The offices will be able to help you find out if you will actually be able to cash the cheque or not.