Changes Retirement and Survivor Beneficiaries Must Report to Social Security

This guide presents selected U.S. government consumer education from Social Security Administration. References to “we” or “us” in the source material refer to the issuing agency. Source dates and links appear below.

What you need to report to us

Your responsibilities

Let us know as soon as possible when any of the changes listed in this section occurs. NOTE: Failure to report a change may result in an overpayment. If you’re overpaid, we’ll recover any payments not due to you. If you fail to report changes in a timely way or you intentionally make a false statement, we may stop your benefits. For the first violation, your benefits will stop for six months; for the second violation, 12 months; and for the third violation, 24 months.

You can call, write, or visit us to make a report. Have your Beneficiary Notice Control Number (BNC) handy. Your BNC will be on any letter we send you about your benefits.

Another government agency may give us Social Security information you reported to them, but you must also report the change to us.

If your estimated earnings change

If you work, we usually ask you to estimate your earnings for the year. If later you realize your earnings will be higher or lower than you estimated, let us know as soon as possible so we can adjust your benefits. See the section titled, “Work and receive Social Security at the same time” for help to make accurate estimates.

If you move

When you plan to move, tell us your new address and phone number as soon as you know them. Even if you receive your benefits by direct deposit, we must have your correct address so we can send letters and other important information to you. We’ll stop your benefits if we can’t contact you. You can change your address or phone number with your personal my Social Security account. Or you can call 1-800-772-1213 and use our automated system.

If any family members who receive benefits move in with you, please tell us their names. Be sure you also file a change of address with your post office.

If you change direct deposit accounts

If you change financial institutions or open a new account, you can change your direct deposit online with a personal my Social Security account. Or, we can change your direct deposit information by phone after we confirm your identity. Have your new and old bank account numbers handy when you call us. These numbers are printed on your personal checks or account statements. This information takes about 30 to 60 days to change. Don’t close your old account until after you make sure your Social Security benefits are deposited into the new account.

If a person isn’t able to manage funds

Sometimes a person can’t manage their own money. If this happens to you, you or a concerned party should let us know. We can arrange to send benefits to a relative, other person, or organization that agrees to use the money for your well-being. We call this person or organization a “representative payee.” For more information, read A Guide for Representative Payees (Publication No. 05-10076). NOTE: People who have “legal guardianship” or “power of attorney” for someone don’t automatically qualify to be a representative payee.

To help protect what’s important to you, we now offer you the option to choose a representative payee in advance. In the event that you can no longer make your own decisions, you and your family will have peace of mind knowing you have already chosen someone you trust to manage your benefits. If you need a representative payee to assist with the management of your benefits, we will first consider your advance designees. We must still fully evaluate them and determine their suitability at that time. You can submit an Advance Designation request online when you apply for benefits, with your personal my Social Security account, by phone, or in person.

You should tell us if you start to receive a retirement or disability pension from a job for which you did not pay Social Security taxes — for example, from the federal Civil Service Retirement System or some state or local pension systems. Your Social Security benefits may need to be recalculated and they may be reduced. Also, tell us if the amount of that retirement or disability pension changes.

If you get married or divorced

If you get married or divorced, your Social Security benefits may be affected, based on the kind of benefits you receive.

If we stop your benefits because of marriage or remarriage, we may start them again if the marriage ends.

The chart below includes examples.

If you change your name

If you change your name — by marriage, divorce, or court order — you need to tell us right away. If you don’t give us this information, your benefits will come under your old name and if you have direct deposit, payments may not reach your account.

If you receive benefits because you care for a child

You may receive benefits because you care for a child who is younger than age 16 or who has a disability. You should notify us right away if the child is no longer in your care or changes addresses. Give us the name and address of the person with whom the child is living.

A temporary separation may not affect your benefits if you continue to exercise parental control over the child. However, your benefits will stop if you no longer have responsibility for the child. If the child returns to your care, we can start to send benefits to you again.

Your benefits will end when you no longer have a child in your care who is under age 16 or who has a disability and receives Social Security child’s benefits. Your child’s benefits can continue as explained on the following pages.

If someone adopts a child who receives benefits

When a child who receives benefits is adopted, let us know the child’s new name, the date of the adoption decree, and the adoptee’s parent’s name and address. The adoption won’t cause benefits to end.

If you become a parent after you begin to receive benefits

If you become the parent of a child (to include an adopted child) after you begin to receive benefits, let us know so we can decide whether the child is eligible for benefits.

If you have an outstanding felony or arrest warrant

You must tell us if you have an outstanding felony or arrest warrant for any of the offenses as follows:

• Flight to avoid prosecution or confinement
• Escape from custody
• Flight-escape

You can’t receive regular retirement, survivors, disability benefits, or any underpayments you may be due for any month in which there is an outstanding felony or arrest warrant for any of these offenses.

If you’re convicted of a criminal offense

If you receive Social Security benefits and are convicted of a crime and spend more than 30 continuous days in a correctional institution, notify us immediately. Benefits generally aren’t paid for the months a person is confined, but other family members who are eligible may continue to receive benefits.

If you’ve committed a crime and are confined to an institution

Benefits usually aren’t paid to persons who commit a crime and are confined to an institution by court order and at public expense for more than 30 continuous days. This applies if the person has been found:

• Incompetent to stand trial
• Sexually dangerous
• Guilty, but insane
• Not guilty by reason of insanity or similar factors (such as mental disease, mental defect, or mental incompetence)

If you leave the United States

If you’re a U.S. citizen, you can travel to or live in most foreign countries and not affect your Social Security benefits. There are, however, a few countries where we can’t send Social Security benefits. These countries are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. However, we can make exceptions for certain eligible persons in these countries. For more information about these exceptions, please contact your local Social Security office.

Let us know if you plan to go outside the United States for a trip that lasts 30 days or more. Tell us the name of the country or countries you plan to visit and the date you expect to leave the United States. We’ll send you special report submission instructions and tell you how to arrange for your benefits while you’re away. Be sure to let us know when you return to the United States.

If you aren’t a U.S. citizen and you return to live in the United States, you must provide evidence of your noncitizen status to continue to receive benefits. If you work outside the United States, different rules apply in the decision on whether you can get benefits.

For more information, read Your Payments While You Are Outside the United States (Publication No. 05-10137).

If your citizen status changes

If you aren’t a citizen, let us know if you become a U.S. citizen or your noncitizen status changes. If your immigration status expires, you must give us new evidence that shows you continue to be in the United States lawfully.

If a beneficiary dies

Let us know if a person who receives Social Security benefits dies. We can’t pay benefits for the month of death. That means if the person died in July, the check received in August (which is payment for July) must be returned. If the payment is by direct deposit, notify the financial institution as soon as possible so it can return any payments received after death.

Family members may be eligible for Social Security survivors benefits when a person dies.

If you receive Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits

If you receive both Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits based on your spouse’s work and your spouse dies, you must tell us immediately. You’ll no longer be eligible to receive both benefits. You’ll be notified which survivor benefit you’ll receive.

Sources and publication details

• What You Need To Know When You Get Retirement Or Survivors Benefits — Social Security Administration; source date: January 2026; selected sections: What you need to report to us.

The federal agency source text is U.S. government work in the public domain. Fynoptic selected, adapted, and formatted it for this guide. No agency endorsement is implied. Follow the linked sources for current program details and the rules applicable to your circumstances.