gk10012001

Scored 5. got my belts after college

My life changing event is that now this year I am not working and am not making much money. Why SSA didn't understand my SS 44 is beyond me but I am working on that. I clearly will not be making the income this year that I am paying IRMAA for due to previous years so it seems like a reduction should be clearly allowed. Oh well, we shall see. But it does not seem that when the dust clears and if I do nothing that credit will be given for paying so much this year even though when the tax years are completed and filed it will be clear I was paying too much. That does not seem right. Thanks for the response

nah but I was on the New England Tae Kwon Do demonstration team and two people one of which had some helpers that tried to mug me were very sorry

Somebody suggested WRLIFE . I went to their website and the price quote and coverage seemed reasonable for Thailand. Does anybody have any usage comments on it, how it worked in Thailand (I am an American and am looking to suspend my Medicare for one year as I travel abroad). How did the claim process work? What if any illness or injury did you claim? Was this insurance generally accepted in Thailand at decent hospitals? I expect to be mostly in Chon Buri Pattaya or Bangkok. Thanks

I been there on 15 different trips over the years. I have had a few hotel billing/theft issues and even had a very good interaction with the old TAT police who I then tipped enough for them to get a good lunch. Now as far as the Thais kicking, I will bet my Tae Kwon Do foot work will match all the individual skinny punk kids. granted a gang is a challenge. So you focus on one at a time, side thrust kick to the leg/knee area.

Does Medicare/SSA automatically refund or give credit for overpayments? For example, right now in 2025 I am paying 670 a month which is ridiculous but is based on past income years which were in the 350,000 range (slot machine jackpots and high engineer pay). I understand that and I am trying to work with the SSA to get that reduced to a more reasonable level now since I just retired and my MAGI income this year will be in the 150,000 range at most. I know this same situation happens to thousands of people every year. They retire from a high paying job but are still paying high IRMAA. I know people have gotten their IRMAA reduced but my first attempt with filing a SS-44 failed either I did it wrong of the SSA drones don't understand their own forms. Anyway.. So my question is after this year when my 2025 taxes are filed and also after 2026 when my taxes are filed the SSA will see my income for those years is in the 150,000 range which is much lower than the 350,000 years. So for 2025 I would have paid way too much IRMAA. Will the SSA automatically issue me refunds or credits for having over paid for this year? Try as I might I can not find any official text about that on all my internet searches.

great conversations everyone. Now to a very related question: How are people handling the "new" taxation reporting rules about being in country for more than 180 days in a year? While I can do almost any of the long term retirement options/stays/visas, I am now more concerned about that taxation and tax resident thing. Anybody having any recent experience or issues with that?

wow. thanks. yes it did seem that google voice might work for what I want to do, i.e. call the USA from Thailand using my computer and wifi. what are some rough rates or charges to use it from Thailand to the USA?

while. I haven't been in Thailand since 2019 but I remember her from years ago. Many posters had commented that their Thai wives had tried talking to her and she was not cogent

Here in the USA I recently helped out a 32 year old women that had just started working at electric Boat. Seemed like she had gotten her act together, just got her computer degree, etc. As we chatted turns out she had a 14 year old daughter so had a child and got married and divorced early . She was getting court order evicted from her Mom's apartment! That should have been a red flag as she was now working and could rent a place. Anyway I had a two story cottage and I never used the bedroom downstairs so I offered to help as she reminded me of my little sister who went through a similar thing and is now doing great, two kids through college, helped my Mom for ten years after Dad died, etc. So I paid an additional 825 a month to my landlord to let her, her daughter and dog stay with me. I didn't mind the company. We went out a few times and of course talked and over the next few months found out how messed up she was. Chronic cannabis user. A closet alcoholic. Delusional etc. Her kid was pretty cool and had a brain and wrote quite well as I often looked over her homework with her. The dog was great. However Olga, almost immediately started coming home at 1 am on work nights, and on some nights not coming home at all. two months on she was saying how broke she was. now mind you she had been working for 4 months now on an 80k USD salary. One of the conditions of her moving in was we go over her finances as I made it clear I would not pay for stupid things. Of course turns out she was buying cannabis, was giving money to this bum of a guy. Finally one night at 1 am she came home and started cooking and waking everybody up. Vodka drink on the counter, smell of weed. I said you got to the end of the month. I will let the daughter finish the December school semester. She went crazy and I quietly sat on my couch recording her rant. She took the dog and drove off! Note leaving the daughter! A few hours later the cops called and made some statement that she has residency there now because she got mail sent there. I said no, while that can be helpful in establishing residency, she is not on the lease, and is just a guest. I said if she even tries to homestead or squat then the landlord will file eviction papers, she will lose her security clearance, and job, etc. So I hear her rambling in the background and saying she will move out immediately. I said great. I helped her move in I will gladly help her move out. Then the cops said her boyfriend's truck won't start. i said I have tools and will happily go and jump start it. Cop said she will move out saturday, it was now Thursday. I said fine. So I stayed away for a day and sunday went back and she had moved out. Did not clean the place of course but I have a cleaning lady so it was no big deal. So offer help but lesson learned about they may not leave easily. Mental issues underlying are a problem. Also once I let a viet girl in Los Angeles stay with me for a while. She was great actually. Cleaned the place top to bottom. After a few weeks she said she had to go to Las Vegas to service some credit accounts. OK. I paid 100 bucks for a plane ticket, dropped her off at the airport. All done I thought. three months later I get a bill from the Peppermil in Reno for a 355 USD phone bill charge to a room! Never been there. I called and asked for details on the room, and who etc. They sent me the details and I saw her initials. I said I never been there and they stopped billing me. A few weeks later I got a similar bill from a different casino. I then told them to call the police about it, and who the person was. The phone bills records were all from a service, i.e. she was a call girl. So case closed. No cost to me. Then a few months later I was at the Commerce casino in Los Angeles where I first met her and asked around if anybody knew her. turns out she had gotten divorced just before we met. Went through her monies, sold her condo, went through that gambling Pai Gow. Now the latest news was she got busted on a drug mule run over in asian. Sad because she did have an accounting degree, was absolutely stunning. this was 1994. She had no left hand and was blind in one eye from an explosive device she touched as a kid while still in vietnam. Bottom line her mind was just off and gambling

Once one of those ladyboys tried the distract and steal routine on me. When it saw my $8 USD K-Mart watch they just walked away.

So many people jump on a bandwagon and go after some shiny new thing. He is not the mayor yet. It was just a primary.

my IRMAA is high and will come down 18 months from now unless hopefully I can get thes ss 44 reduction form properly submitted and applied. While waiting I am fine with chilling in thailand. So I am just looking at getting thai insurance for about 18 months. I am fine with canceling my Medicare and then 18 months from now paying the 10 % penalty which will be 18 bucks! added to the minimum Part B premium. Mr PIB posted how Medicare applies the 10 % fee only for every 12 month increment which would be fine.

Over 5,000 pedestrian deaths? Amazing Thailand. I do recall slow seasons in Pattaya many years ago when one could actually cross beach road easily

No official record of Israel having atomic weapons. It seems likely they have a few but nothing ever publicly confirmed by anybody. If the USA knew for sure, they would not publicize it because that probably would mean the USA had some inside information, a mole or whatever and the USA or the UK, etc.. would not want their source to be revealed

I have been looking at using some VOIP software on my computer, and WIFI connection to make calls to just about anywhere , mostly to the USA from Thailand. The goal is that the person I am calling does not need any special app, such as mutual zoom, etc. I know it is possible but the results from my internet searches are not clear to me. Anybody out there have a good VOIP app or software they can use on their PC? Free or some reasonable price of the software ?

I added a VPN which is what the cryptic message displayed when I could not log onto my hotmail said. I picked NORD VPN. I often do not even connect it, but I figured it might come in handy. Hotmail was happy now. Note that when I log in using my MOTO G7 android phone I have not had any problems. I only had problems when using my computer.

how cheap? Is it a one time fee or when the next year extension comes do you pay again? what does the agent do? Do they put 800,000 baht in an account for you? what do the agents do that makes immigration rules satisfied about the financials?

oh yeah/ I will keep US medicare, just looking for about an 18 month break while my IRMAA gets reduced. It should be reduced now but the SSA administration and their form SS 44 just isn't working as it should. Two reps on the phone just don't listen or seem to understand how a reduction in the premium should happen when one stops working! I actually have a physical appointment on July 2 at the Palm Beach SSA office. Hopefully we will get things right

yes he seemed to be focused on the financials. My question was more about not having to do 90 day reports by leaving the country every 89 days or less. Seems like that could work, although at some point if one is there for many many months total and immigration never saw any 90 day reports I would think some action would happen

So are you leaving thailand every 89 days so as to not be in country for 90 days and therefore each stay you avoid having to file the 90 day report?

yeah. Maybe he got passport before the tats? Anyway, actions have consequences

The BOI LTR is a possibility but I do not plan on putting any significant amount of cash into Thailand at the moment. The wealthy pensioner is easily qualified if they accept income from investments. My investments earn about 60k a year. My social security is about 50k a year. SSA they may consider a pension. I have no idea if my brokerage accounts income would be considered under the wealthy pensioner

hmm. bank account versus brokerage account. I certainly could move money over to my checking account, but obviously no checking account is going to show 2000 usd monthly income unless one has an awful lot of cash in there! So I appreciate your comment on that but I think a brokerage account that has 700,000 USD in it and generates an average of 5 % or 35,000 a year really would be what they would accept versus just a lump sum but I will look into it. I did find a website about the FBI report.. I think. I attach that here for reference. https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/more-fbi-services-and-information/identity-history-summary-checks

the plan is in the planning stages. It ranges from a 90 day vacation initially in which case I don't need anything. Then I will just continue my fight with Medicare and the SSA but will be making my contractor money so will just deal with the frustration. Then might be a one year stay in Thailand just to wait out the housing market in the area in Florida I am planning to buy and to give my gross income time to be captured properly by medicare and the SSA so that my current 670 a month premium becomes 200. Long story on that but the system to reduce my IRMAA isn't working so in case my contract jobs get too slim I have no problem semi retiring for a while. And the money I save on my Medicare literally can pay my rent in Thailand. I don't have a firm permanent home in the USA because I have been working on the road for decades. The 800k isn't a deal breaker for the Non O. But the reason I am considering the OA is because I want to get some health insurance as I would be stopping Medicare so for the initial year in Thailand getting the OA prior to traveling seems like it would kill all my ducks. It would clear me for a year, I would be health insured, I would not be paying medicare, and thanks to Mr PIB I would not incur any 10 per cent medicare penalty as that is based on 10 percent every 12 months and I can plan around that. I love thailand been there 15 times since 2004. I just never know how much my motivation to work will continue so I am considering this longer one year -or actually 15 month break. Doubt I would long long stay in Thailand but you never know. It always was one of my initial thoughts after my first few visits.