Already on Social Security? What to report and what changes

Applying for Social Security feels like the finish line, but the first payment is really the start of an ongoing relationship with the Social Security Administration. Once benefits begin, you take on a set of responsibilities: changes you have to report, rules about work and travel, and deadlines that matter if you ever disagree with a decision.

SSA spells all of this out in a booklet it sends to new beneficiaries, What You Need to Know When You Get Retirement or Survivors Benefits (Publication No. 05-10077). The agency suggests reading it and keeping it somewhere safe. This guide goes through what that booklet covers, in plain order, with the 2027 earnings limits from SSA's cost-of-living fact sheet where the numbers have changed. If you also get Supplemental Security Income (SSI), SSA has a separate booklet for that program.

How and when you are paid

Social Security pays monthly, and each payment is for the month before. Your July benefit, for example, arrives in August. The day it arrives depends on the birth date of the person whose record you are paid on: your own if you get retirement benefits, your spouse's if you are paid as a spouse.

The exact dates for each month are on our 2027 payment schedule, and the payment schedule guide explains the exceptions.

Payments go electronically. You can start or change direct deposit with a personal my Social Security account, through your bank, or by calling SSA at 1-800-772-1213. If you do not have a bank account, the Treasury's Direct Express card program puts federal payments on a card; its contact center is 1-800-333-1795, or you can sign up at godirect.gov.

If a payment does not arrive on its due date, SSA asks you to contact your bank first, since the bank may be slow to post it. If it is still missing, call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or your local office, and SSA will replace it if it is due. And if you receive a payment you know is not yours, have the bank return it to the Treasury; the booklet warns that knowingly accepting payments that are not due to you can lead to criminal charges.

Taxes on your benefits

According to SSA, about 40% of people who get Social Security have to pay income tax on their benefits. You will owe tax on part of your benefits if you file as an individual and your total income is more than $25,000, or if you file jointly and your combined income is more than $32,000. If you are married and file separately, SSA says you probably will pay tax on your benefits. Our taxable benefits calculator works through the IRS worksheet with your numbers.

You can have federal tax withheld from your benefit. Voluntary Tax Withholding can be started, changed or stopped online in your my Social Security account, or you can file IRS Form W-4V, available from irs.gov or by calling the IRS at 1-800-829-3676, and return it to your local Social Security office.

The changes you must report

This is the heart of the booklet. SSA asks you to report each of the changes below as soon as possible. You can call, write or visit, and you should have your Beneficiary Notice Control Number (BNC) handy; it is printed on any letter SSA sends you about your benefits. Telling another government agency is not enough: even if that agency shares the information, you must also report the change to SSA.

The consequences of not reporting are spelled out. A change you fail to report can cause an overpayment, and SSA will recover payments that were not due. If you fail to report on time or intentionally make a false statement, SSA may stop your benefits: for six months on the first violation, 12 months on the second and 24 months on the third.

Your work and earnings

If you work while receiving benefits, SSA usually asks you to estimate your earnings for the year. If you later see they will be higher or lower, tell SSA as soon as possible so it can adjust your payments. The earnings rules are covered in their own section below.

Your address and bank account

Report a move, including a new phone number, as soon as you know it. Even with direct deposit, SSA needs a correct address to send letters, and it will stop benefits if it cannot reach you. If family members who get benefits move in with you, give SSA their names.

If you change banks, you can update direct deposit online or by phone after SSA confirms your identity. The change takes about 30 to 60 days, so the booklet's advice is not to close the old account until you see your benefit arrive in the new one.

A pension from work not covered by Social Security

The booklet asks you to tell SSA if you start receiving a retirement or disability pension from a job where you did not pay Social Security taxes, such as the federal Civil Service Retirement System or some state and local systems, and to report changes in that pension's amount. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed in January 2025, ended the two provisions that used to reduce benefits for many of these retirees; our Social Security Fairness Act guide explains what changed.

Marriage, divorce and a name change

Getting married or divorced can change your benefits, depending on the kind of benefit you receive. SSA gives these examples:

A name change, whether by marriage, divorce or court order, should be reported right away. Otherwise benefits keep coming under your old name, and a direct deposit may not reach your account.

Children and caring for a child

If you are paid because you care for a child under 16 or a child with a disability, tell SSA right away if the child leaves your care or moves, and give the name and address of the person the child lives with. A temporary separation may not matter if you still exercise parental control, but your benefits stop if you no longer have responsibility for the child. Also report it if a child who receives benefits is adopted (the adoption does not end the benefits), and if you become a parent, including by adoption, after your own benefits start, so SSA can decide whether the child is eligible.

Leaving the country

A U.S. citizen can travel to or live in most foreign countries without affecting benefits. SSA cannot send payments to a short list of countries, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, though it can make exceptions for certain eligible people. For any trip outside the United States lasting 30 days or more, tell SSA the countries and your departure date, and let it know when you return. If you are not a citizen, report a change in citizenship or immigration status, and give new evidence if your status expires.

Warrants and confinement

Benefits are not paid for any month in which you have an outstanding felony or arrest warrant for flight to avoid prosecution or confinement, escape from custody, or flight-escape, and you must report such a warrant. If you are convicted of a crime and spend more than 30 continuous days in a correctional institution, tell SSA immediately; benefits generally are not paid for those months, though eligible family members may keep theirs. Similar rules apply to people confined by court order at public expense for more than 30 days after certain findings, such as being found incompetent to stand trial.

A death

Report the death of anyone who receives benefits. SSA cannot pay benefits for the month of death, so if a person dies in July, the payment received in August, which is the July benefit, must be returned. With direct deposit, notify the bank as soon as possible so it can return any payment received after the death. Family members may be eligible for survivors benefits; see Social Security survivor benefits explained. If you receive both Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits on your spouse's work and your spouse dies, tell SSA immediately, since you can no longer receive both.

If someone can no longer manage money

If you, or someone you look after, can no longer manage benefits, SSA can pay them to a representative payee: a relative, another person or an organization that agrees to use the money for the beneficiary's well-being. A power of attorney or legal guardianship does not automatically qualify someone. You can name your preferred payees in advance, through my Social Security, by phone or in person, and SSA will consider them first, though it still evaluates them when the time comes.

Working while you collect

You can work and still collect retirement benefits. Earnings in and after the month you reach full retirement age (67 for anyone born in 1960 or later) do not affect your benefits at all. Before that, SSA withholds benefits when your earnings pass an annual limit:

Withheld benefits are not simply lost. About a year after you reach full retirement age, SSA recalculates your benefit to account for the months you received no benefit or a reduced one, and increases it. Wages you earn after you start benefits can also raise your average earnings, which, SSA says, probably will increase your benefit.

The first year of retirement has a special monthly rule, because people who retire mid-year have often already earned more than the annual limit. For that one year, you get a full benefit for any whole month your earnings stay under a monthly limit, $2,130 in 2027 ($2,040 in 2026). SSA's booklet gives an example: someone retires at 62 at the end of August 2026 after earning $45,000, then takes a part-time job paying $500 a month. Even though the year's earnings are far above the annual limit, they are paid for September through December because each of those months is under the monthly limit. From the next year on, only the annual limits apply.

For the self-employed, income counts when you receive it, not when you earn it, with one exception: money paid after you become entitled to benefits for work done before then does not count against the limit. SSA usually learns your earnings from W-2s and tax returns, but you need to report after the year ends in a few situations, for example if you qualify for the monthly rule and earned under it, if your W-2 includes pay earned in another year, or if SSA withheld benefits but you earned less than you estimated. One more point: if family members are paid on your record, your earnings can reduce the family's benefits, but if you are paid as a family member, your earnings affect only your own benefit. Our earnings limit calculator and the guide to working while collecting go further.

Surviving spouses and children

A surviving spouse can switch to a retirement benefit on their own work if it is higher than the survivor benefit. SSA says that higher benefit may be available as early as 62 or as late as 70, and that the rules are complex, so it suggests talking with a representative if you have not discussed it yet or your situation has changed.

Children paid on your record have their own rules:

• At 18. Benefits stop with the month before the 18th birthday, unless the child has a disability or is a full-time elementary or secondary school student. About three months before, the person receiving the child's benefits gets a form explaining how they can continue.
• Students. A full-time elementary or secondary student can be paid until 19. If the 19th birthday falls during a school term, benefits can continue to the end of the term or for two months after the birthday, whichever comes first. Report a drop to part-time, leaving or changing schools, a suspension or expulsion, or an employer paying for school.
• Disability. A child with a disability can keep receiving benefits at 18, and benefits that stopped at 18 can restart at any age if the disability began before 22.
• Stepchildren. If you divorce the parent of a stepchild paid on your record, the stepchild's benefit ends the month the divorce is final, and you must report it.

Medicare

If you already receive Social Security when you become eligible for Medicare, SSA contacts you a few months ahead and, if you live in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., or most U.S. territories, enrolls you automatically in Parts A and B. Because Part B has a premium, you can turn it down; the standard premium was $202.90 a month in 2026 (see our Part B premium page). Residents of Puerto Rico or foreign countries must sign up for Part B themselves. Part D drug coverage is never automatic. Skipping Part B or Part D when you are first eligible can mean a lifelong late enrollment penalty.

One trap concerns health savings accounts. You cannot contribute to an HSA once Medicare starts, and premium-free Part A begins up to six months before the date you apply for Medicare or Social Security, though not before you were first eligible. To avoid a tax penalty, SSA says to stop HSA contributions at least six months before you apply.

Help if your income is limited

The booklet points to several programs. SSI pays monthly benefits to people 65 or older, blind or disabled who have low income and few resources, and it is funded by general revenues, not Social Security taxes; your house and car usually do not count as resources (see SSI payment amounts). SSI recipients may also qualify for Medicaid and SNAP food assistance. For Medicare costs there is Extra Help with Part D, applied for through SSA, and Medicare Savings Programs run by your state, which can pay premiums and sometimes deductibles and coinsurance.

If you disagree with a decision

You have the right to ask SSA to reconsider any decision. The request must be in writing and filed with any Social Security office within 60 days of the date you receive the letter you are questioning. If you are still not satisfied, there are further steps. You can handle the appeal yourself with SSA's free help or choose a representative.

Protecting yourself from scams

SSA usually contacts people by mail. A representative may occasionally call if you have ongoing business, or visit your home and show identification, and if you doubt someone at your door, call the office to check. The booklet is clear that SSA employees will never threaten you, or promise a benefit approval or increase in exchange for information or money. If a call seems suspicious, hang up, do not give personal information, money or gift cards, and report it to SSA's Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov. Keep your Social Security card at home with your important papers. And services like a replacement card are free from SSA, so do not pay a business for them.

Reaching SSA

Much of this can be done online at ssa.gov, and a my Social Security account adds more: your benefit verification letter, address and direct deposit changes, a replacement Medicare card, and your SSA-1099 for taxes. By phone, the number is 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. SSA's own tip is to call early (8 to 10 a.m. local time) or later in the day, and later in the week and the month, when lines are less busy. Documents you send must be originals or copies certified by the agency that issued them.

A quick checklist

• Keep your BNC from any SSA letter, so reports go quickly.
• Report changes promptly: earnings estimates, moves, bank changes, marriage or divorce, children, trips abroad of 30 days or more, and deaths.
• Watch the earnings limit if you are under full retirement age: $25,560 in 2027.
• Decide on tax withholding if your income is above $25,000 single or $32,000 joint.
• Plan Medicare and your HSA at least six months ahead.
• Mark appeal deadlines: 60 days from the date you receive a letter.
• Name a representative payee in advance if you want a say in who would manage your benefits.