How long do you have to report address change to social security

If you’re receiving Social Security benefits or Medicare and have recently moved, your Social Security change of address needs to be high on your priority list.

The Social Security Administration makes it clear how important this is in their publication What You Need to Know When You Get Retirement or Survivors Benefits.

“Even if you receive your benefits by direct deposit, Social Security 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.”

Ouch! You don’t want that to happen.

Thankfully, it’s pretty easy and painless to get your address changed. You just have to choose which of these three approaches will work best for you.

Approach #1) Visit Your Local Social Security Office

If you’d like to see someone face to face when making the address change, your best bet will be visiting your local Social Security office. You’ll be able to verify the information was recorded properly and ask for a printout that will serve as your proof of the update.

However, you should be aware that this will not be your fastest option! The wait times can be more than an hour on busy days.

Approach #2) Call The Social Security Administration

If killing time in a waiting room is not your idea of efficiency, you may want to consider making a simple phone call. In my past experience, I’ve found that the Social Security Administration will change your address over the phone. This is easier than visiting your local office and waiting.

If you choose this route, here’s a tip. Call your local office instead of the main Social Security line. In many cases this will cut the wait times in half.

You can find their number by visiting this link: Social Security Office Locator

Approach #3) Use Your Social Security Online Account

If you have a computer, you should consider simply using my SSA to change your address. It only takes a few steps and you’ll be able to confirm the change immediately. (If you don’t have an online account with Social Security, I’ve created a step-by-step guide to setting one up HERE.)

This is by far the easiest approach. With just a few clicks you can make the address change and move on to more pressing issues.

Here’s a step-by-step guide.

If you want to see a step-by step video guide, go to the bottom of this article. 

STEP 1:

Visit www.ssa.gov/myaccount to get started.

Feel free to click the link. It will open Social Security’s website in a separate page so you can keep using this guide.

Once the page loads, simple click on the button labeled “Sign In or Create an Account.”

STEP 2:

Type your username and password and click the button labeled “Sign In.”

STEP 3:

In the third step, you need to read and agree to the my Social Security Terms of Service. Be sure to carefully read this page before clicking in the “I agree” box and then clicking “Next.”

Although you need to understand this information for yourself, here’s a summary of what you are agreeing to.

-You will never share your information with anyone or use anyone’s account
-Once you open an account, you will no longer receive an paper statement in the mail. Instead, you’ll receive an annual email reminding you to login and check your information.

STEP 4:

Now that you are on the home page, you just need to find and click on “My Profile” tab in the top right.

STEP 5:

On the profile page you’ll see the option to update things such as your contact information, email address and direct deposit. For the purposes of changing your address, you should click on the “Update Contact Information” tab in the middle of your screen.

STEP 6:

This is where you put your new information in. Double check to make sure it is correct and click “next.”

The next screen is simply a review and confirmation of the provided address and phone number. From this point, you’ve successfully changed your address. All without leaving the comfort of your home too!

I hope this guide has been a helpful resource for your Social Security change of address.

Now I’d like to ask a favor from you. When you visit this site, please let me know if the screens you see are different from what I have in this guide. The Social Security Administration changes things up occasionally and I want to keep this how-to guide as updated as possible. You can just let me know in the comments below.

As a parting thought, if you are getting ready to retire, I’d highly encourage your to take charge! And one of the best ways to be in charge of your retirement plan is to engage in self education. There are some excellent books on the market now that are designed specifically for those in your situation. They are not heavy literary works but easy readers that contain valuable pieces of information that can help you make great decisions, keep you protected and potentially change the trajectory of how you spend the best years of your life.

I’ve culled through many of the books available and curated a list of books that anyone should read who is getting ready to retire.

Check out my recommended retirement planning books now.

Questions?

If you still have questions, you could leave a comment below, but what may be an even greater help is to join my FREE Facebook members group. It’s very active and has some really smart people who love to answer any questions you may have about Social Security. From time to time I’ll even drop in to add my thoughts, too. Also…if you haven’t already, you should join the 100,000+ subscribers on my YouTube channel!

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