The U.S. Embassy is sharing important information from the Federal Benefits Unit for beneficiaries of Social Security.

 

According to the embassy, U.S. citizens that receive Social Security benefits and live in Costa Rica may need to contact the embassy's Federal Benefits Unit to continue receiving benefits.

 

In addition to relying on beneficiaries (a retired person or family member) to report events that may affect their benefits, the Social Security Administration (SSA) contacts beneficiaries residing in Costa Rica biennially (every two years) to verify their status if they have a foreign address on record.

 

"It is important that you or your representative payee complete, sign, date, and return the questionnaire in the envelope provided with the questionnaire as soon as possible," the Embassy said in its statement. "If you do not, your payments will stop. If you fail to report or deliberately make a false statement, you could be penalized with a fine or imprisonment. You also may lose some of your payments if you do not report changes promptly."

 

In 2022, SSA mailed the questionnaire to beneficiaries receiving their own benefits whose social security number under which they receive benefits ends in 00-49, beneficiaries over the age of 90, those that were scheduled to receive a form but did not respond in 2019 and to beneficiaries who have representative payees (person receiving benefits on behalf of a minor or another person). 

Beneficiaries received the form in the mail with a returned envelope to the SSA processing facility in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 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.

"Individuals who did not return these forms could have their benefits suspended effective with the payment date of March 3, 2023," the Embassy said. "If your payments are suspended, they can only be reinstated once your form is received and processed. "

 

They cannot accept forms submitted electronically, they said. 

 

The forms can be downloaded on the SSA-7161 form site (use this form only if you are a Representative Payee) or the SSA-7162 form site. The form should be printed, enter the required information and mail the original directly to the Social Security Administration at P.O. Box 7161 Wilkes Barre, PA 18767-7161 or P.O. Box 7162 Wilkes Barre, PA 18767-7162.

People can also mail the form to the embassy at U.S. Embassy, Att: FBU, Apartado Postal 920, Pavas 1200 10109 San Jose, Costa Rica.

 

The embassy allows the option to make an appointment to drop off the form in person or verify the form was received and processed. People should request the appointment by emailing  FBU.CostaRica@ssa.gov  and writing: “Attn: FEQ” in the subject line.

 

More information about this Social Security requirement can be reached on the U.S. Embassy website or by calling (506) 2519-2000. As well as requests for more information to the Federal Benefits Unit by emailing FBU.CostaRica@ssa.gov

Security updates can be received by enrolling on the official Safe Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) webpage.

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