Social Security Benefits: 3 Ways Moving Could Impact Your Check

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Receiving Social Security from the federal government may seem like something set in stone that you get once you retire, but the truth is that the program has many moving parts.

Your projected benefit can change every year, for example, based on what you earn, and after you retire, the amount you receive can also change based on the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. However, even those who are familiar with these aspects of Social Security might be surprised to learn that simply moving, even from state to state, may have some effects on your benefit as well.

Keep reading for a look at three ways moving can affect your benefit check.

Quick Take: Can Moving Affect Your Social Security Benefits?

The bottom line is that your benefits won’t change, but the amount you take home might. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses the same formula to calculate your benefit check no matter where you live.

Here are the factors considered:

• The number of years you have worked
• The income you made during those years
• Your age when you start claiming benefits

Though moving to another state won’t impact the amount you make in benefits, it can affect how much you take home. For example, moving to a state that taxes your Social Security disability benefits or standard Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits differently. Here are three ways moving could impact your Social Security check.

Taxation

Let’s get the good news out of the way right up front — moving to another state, or even another country, won’t affect the federal taxation of your Social Security benefits. These rules apply wherever you live, so if you owe federal tax on your benefits living in California, you’ll owe the same federal taxes living in Texas, for example. 

That being said, depending on where you move, you still might owe more in taxes on your benefits. This is because nine states impose taxes to at least some degree on Social Security benefits.

However, it’s important to note that Missouri and Nebraska, though previously on this list, ended their taxation of Social Security benefits after the 2024 tax season so this won’t continue in 2025 and after.

Those states are as follows:

• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Kansas
• Minnesota
• New Mexico
• Rhode Island
• Utah
• Vermont
• West Virginia

SSI Benefits

Supplemental Security Income benefits are a lesser-known part of the Social Security system. In one way, they are totally distinct, because they are funded by the general funds of the U.S. Treasury, rather than the payroll taxes that go towards Social Security retirement benefits. But for Americans with limited resources who are blind, over 65 or with a qualifying disability, SSI benefits are critical.

If you are receiving SSI and you move, it’s important to note that your benefits may be affected — not on a federal level, but on the state level. This is because most states supplement SSI benefits, and the amounts they provide are not the same. In fact, these seven states (and U.S. territories) don’t pay any SSI supplement at all:

• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Mississippi
• North Dakota
• Northern Mariana Islands
• Tennessee
• West Virginia

Among the states that do supplement SSI payments, the amount can vary greatly. In some cases, this means moving to a different state may actually increase your benefits. 

Medicare Benefits

Medicare Parts A and B, also known as “Original Medicare,” cover hospital care and doctor visits everywhere in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; Guam; the U.S. Virgin Islands; American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

However, coverage for Medicare Advantage Plans, or Medicare Part C, may vary from state to state. In other words, you might lose Part C coverage if you move to another state. You’ll have to check with your provider for more details.

If you move overseas, you will likely lose all of your Medicare coverage, Parts A, B, C and D. The exception is very specific medical emergencies including the following:

• Emergency services in Canada if you’re traveling between Alaska and another state “without unreasonable delay” and the only nearby hospital is located in Canada
• Non-emergency inpatient services in a foreign hospital that is closer to your home than the nearest U.S. hospital that can treat you
• Medical care on a ship while in a U.S. port or within six hours of arrival or departure from a U.S. port

You may be able to cover any gaps in coverage with a Medicare Supplement Insurance policy, also known as Medigap insurance. This type of policy can cover things like deductibles, coinsurance and copayments that Medicare itself does not cover. Depending on the policy, it might also provide coverage internationally.

Final Take To GO

The bottom line is that your federal Social Security retirement payments won’t change if you move from state to state, or even from the U.S. to a foreign country. Still, this doesn’t mean there won’t be any impact on the overall benefits you take home.

For example, you may have to pay more tax on your benefits if you move to a new state, and if you receive SSI payments, those might be adjusted as well. 

Be sure to check with your insurance provider and the SSA about any changes in coverage or benefits, particularly if you decide to live abroad. While your federal Social Security payments will remain the same no matter where you are domiciled, your Medicare and/or SSI coverage may change or even vanish. 

Caitlyn Moorhead contributed to the reporting for this article.

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