Citizen Services
Your Local Social Security Office
The Paris Federal Benefits Unit provides a wide range of services for the U.S. Social Security Administration and other Federal Agencies.
The office assists American Citizens living in France and French citizens who have previously lived and worked in the United States, to file applications for retirement, disability and survivor benefits, Social Security number applications, all post-entitlement activities affecting beneficiaries under the various programs, i.e., changes of address, issues involving direct deposit of SSA checks, non receipt of check allegations and death terminations.
The Social Security Administration website www.ssa.gov is very exhaustive; most of the answers to your questions will be easily found there. We strongly recommend you to visit the website before calling the office. This website also tells you what kind of identification you need to send along with your application form, and has a downloadable "Application for Social Security Number" (SS-5) form.
Nonetheless, if you wish to contact us for further information and/or assistance, please do not hesitate to do so.
How to contact us:
Mailing address:
U.S. Embassy
Consular Section/Federal Benefits Unit
4 avenue Gabriel
75382 Paris Cedex 08
Phone: 01.43.12.27.05
Fax: 01.43.12.26.23
e-mail: FBU.Paris@ssa.gov
Office Hours
Public hours are from Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. except on French and American holidays.See if you qualify for benefits:
Estimate for future benefits:
Use our benefit planners to calculate your retirement, disability and survivors benefits
Request a Social Security Statement It is advisable to call us before coming in person.
Help us serve you better
To contact your Social Security case worker, please see the alphabetical segment below:
If your last name begins with a letter ranging from:
A to COR: please dial 01-43-12-24-42
COS to GRAH: please dial 01-43-12-27-82
GRAI to LOR: please dial 01-43-12-27-39
LOS to REM: please dial 01-43-12-23-73
REN to Z: please dial 01-43-12-27-92
Important notice
If you reside in South East of France including Monaco and "Les Départements" : Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes de Haute Provence, Aude, Bouches du Rhône, Corse, Gard, Hautes-Alpes, Hérault, Pyrénées-orientales, Tarn, Var et Vaucluse, you may contact the American Consular Agency in Nice directly which serves as a liaison office for the area: Tel: 04-93-88-89-55.
Outline and useful tools
The Federal Benefits Unit administers federal benefits programs from the following federal agencies:
Social Security Administration
www.socialsecurity.govFind out what benefits you can apply for
If you get benefits:
Get a replacement Mediacare card (Find all necessary information on Medicare here: www.medicare.gov)
Request a Proof of Income letter
Get a Form 1099/1042S (Social Security Benefit Statement)
Also visit the Retirement Estimator webpage to find information on benefits you can expect to receive based upon contributions to Social Security.
Department of Veteran Affairs
www.va.gov
The Federal Benefits Unit handles Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) survivor claims, educational benefits, compensation and pension examinations, etc.
The Department of Veteran Affairs website offers the Federal Benefits Manual for Veterans and Dependants (2006), details of benefits available, and downloadable benefits forms.
Office of Personnel Management
www.opm.gov
The Office of Personnel Management website offers information for federal employee benefits such as retirement programs, thrift plans, and health insurance.
Department of Labor
www.dol.gov
The Department of Labor website offers information on benefits programs such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and workers' compensation programs, (Black Lung, FECA, Longshore).
Railroad Retirement Board
www.rrb.gov
The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) administers comprehensive retirement-survivor and unemployment-sickness benefit programs for the nation's railroad workers and their families. The RRB also administers certain Social Security benefit payments and railroad workers' Medicare coverage.
Please Note: Department of Defense retirees must deal directly with their Defense Finance and Accounting Service Center office in the United States.
Application for Social Security Number (SS-5) form.
Note: non-resident aliens requiring a number for purposes of filing a U.S. tax return must file a Form W-7 Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) with the Internal Revenue Service.
Individual States may require a Social Security number for record keeping purposes. Aliens may not have a Social Security number issued for these purposes unless required by State or local law, which conforms to Federal law.
Aliens not otherwise entitled to a number and planning on attending school in the United States may be asked for a Social Security number by the school. This is for record keeping purposes and is not authorized by Federal law. The school should be asked to assign its own internal number.
If a Social Security number is required to conduct business with a U.S. bank or financial institution and Federal law does not otherwise allow the issuance of a number, ask the Internal Revenue Service for a Form W-8, Certificate of Foreign Status.