Your retirement income,
after you move.
Social Security, IRA distributions, 401(k) withdrawals, and pension payments are all foreign retirement income in the eyes of your new country, but they're still taxable to the US — same rules as if you'd stayed in Cleveland. What changes is whether your new country also wants a piece, and how to make sure you don't pay twice.
Three things to get straight before you go: how Social Security is taxed, how IRA/pension distributions are taxed, and the one big myth about the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion that catches almost every retiree.
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Educational content, not personalized tax advice. Treaty rules and country-specific outcomes vary — for your actual return, work with an expat CPA.
Your 401(k) doesn't
know you moved.
Distributions from 401(k)s, traditional IRAs, and most pensions are taxable as ordinary income to the US — same as if you were living stateside. Your RMD obligations don't change. Roth distributions stay tax-free to the US, but most foreign countries don't honor that — full breakdown on the Roth IRA abroad page.
Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116)
If your country of residence taxes your IRA distribution or pension, you generally claim a dollar-for-dollar credit on your US return for what you paid locally. In high-tax countries (France, Germany, the UK), this typically eliminates US tax on that income entirely.
Treaty pension provisions
Many US tax treaties include specific articles for pensions and retirement accounts. Some assign exclusive taxing rights to one country, others split it. Treaty positions can be claimed on Form 8833 — this is one place a specialist earns their fee.
One flag if you're thinking about a local pension.
If you plan to open a retirement savings account in your new country — an Australian super, a UK SIPP, a French PER — read the foreign-investments page first. US tax treatment of foreign pensions can trigger annual Form 3520/3520-A filings, and the growth inside may be taxable each year even if you never withdraw. Foreign retirement accounts →
FEIE doesn't
do what you think.
The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets you exclude up to $132,900 of foreign earned income from US tax in 2026. "Earned" is the operative word. It applies to wages and self-employment income.
It does not shelter Social Security, pensions, IRA distributions, or investment income. For retirement income, the Foreign Tax Credit — not FEIE — is the tool that prevents double taxation.
Almost every retiree we meet thinks FEIE will shelter their Social Security. It won't.
This is the single most common misconception among retirees planning to move abroad — and the one most likely to produce a nasty surprise on your first expat return.
Two worked examples.
Illustrative only — your actual numbers depend on filing status, deductions, treaty positions, and your country's tax rules. The shape of the math is what matters.
Estimates assume single filer, age 65+, standard deduction, and the 2026 enhanced senior deduction. Country tax assumes general residence-based rules; specific treaty positions and special regimes (e.g. Portugal's NHR successor) can change the picture significantly.
Want someone to map your specific income to the right forms?
A typical retiree expat return at TFX runs $450 federal (Form 1116 included) plus $85 if you need an FBAR. They specialize in Social Security, IRA, pension, and treaty work — not just FEIE.
Your benefit follows you
— so does the tax.
Your benefit is generally still taxable to the US, same rules as stateside. How much of it is taxable depends on your "combined income" — AGI plus nontaxable interest plus half your SS benefit.
That 85% isn't the tax rate — it means up to 85% of your benefit is included in taxable income, then taxed at your ordinary rate. A handful of countries (Canada, Germany, Japan) have treaties under which SS may be taxed only by your country of residence. Country- and treaty-specific, not a general rule.
SS won't pay you in Cuba or North Korea.
Payments are also restricted in some former Soviet republics — Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Verify with the SSA before you commit to any of them. Source: SSA payments outside the US.