Federal Benefits

Contact Information

Social Security and other Federal Benefits for Americans residing in Hungary are processed by the Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow.

There is a dedicated mailbox for customers from Hungary only: FBU.krakow@ssa.gov

This is the mailing address:
Federal Benefits Unit
United States Consulate General
ul. Stolarska 9
31-043 Krakow
Poland

Please note that the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow processes all federal benefits claims from Hungary.

The Social Security Administration offers many services online, including filing a claim for benefits.  For more information, please visit the SSA website.

U.S.-Hungary Social Security Agreement and Administrative Arrangement (Totalization Agreement)

The U.S.-Hungary Social Security Agreement and Administrative Arrangement (so called Totalization Agreement) were both signed on February 3, 2015 and entered into force on September 1, 2016.  The complete text of the principal agreement and administrative arrangement are available here.  The Totalization Agreement covers several aspects of Social Security coverage and benefits in both countries.

Services

The Federal Benefits Unit Krakow provides assistance with Social Security and Department of Veterans Affairs benefits, to include the following:

  • Filing Social Security claims for retirement, survivors and disability benefits;
  • Filing Department of Veterans Affairs claims for compensation, pension, education, survivor and burial benefits;
  • Assist beneficiaries of pensions from the Office of Personnel Management, Washington, D.C. and the Railroad Retirement Board;
  • Beneficiary status change transactions, i.e., notice of changes of address, non-receipt of payment, etc.;
  • Medicare enrollments and cancellations;
  • Earnings record inquiries;
  • Appointment of representative payees for incapable beneficiaries;
  • Assistance in obtaining birth, marriage, divorce and death records and medical evidence when necessary for claims; and
  • Social Security Number Applications: For a first-time applicant, one must submit an original birth certificate as well as proof of U.S. citizenship. A parent may apply for a child under eighteen (18) years of age, in which case, the parent’s identification must be verified by a passport or Hungarian ID card. An original marriage and/or change of name certificate must be submitted in change of name cases. All first-time applicants twelve (12) years or older must appear in person at the Embassy. For replacement SSN cards, a U.S. passport is generally sufficient for re-application.