The United States Embassy in San José stated that if you receive Social Security benefits and live in Costa Rica, you may need to contact the embassy’s Federal Benefits Unit to continue receiving benefits.

Even though, beneficiaries (a retired person or family member) should report events that may affect their benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) also contacts all beneficiaries residing in Costa Rica every two years, to verify their status.

Every beneficiary and representative payee needs to complete, sign, date and return the Foreign Enforcement Questionnaires (forms SSA-7161 and SSA-7162) in the envelope provided by Social Security Administration. The SSA does not accept forms submitted electronically.

This process was resumed in late June 2022, by mailing the forms to individuals whose last two digits of their Social Security or claim number end in 00-49, Representative Payees (person receiving benefits on behalf of a minor or other person), individuals over 90 years old and anyone who did not respond in 2019.

According to the US Embassy, if the first form was not received, a second form was mailed in late October 2022 and should have been returned by mail before December 2022. If you have not submitted these forms, your benefits may be suspended as of March 3, 2023. You can only reinstate your payments, once your form is received and processed.

Remember that you may also lose some of your benefits if you do not report changes promptly, and if you fail to report or deliberately make a false statement, you could be penalized by a fine or imprisonment.

You can visit the The Regional Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) page or contact the Federal Benefits Unit directly at FBU.CostaRica@ssa.gov for more information.

Mail the original form directly to one of the following addresses:

Social Security Administration

P.O. Box 7161

Wilkes Barre, PA 18767-7161

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Social Security Administration

P.O. Box 7162

Wilkes Barre, PA 18767-7162

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US Embassy San Jose (Attn: FBU)

Apartado Postal 920

Pavas 1200 10109

San Jose, Costa Rica