JohnK777

I actually learned something on this topic for my wife because she just started drawing Social Security. My wife’s Social Security just goes to our US bank only but we still have a Thailand address so I learned to make sure that my wife receives her “are you dead or alive” letters. Apparently if you don’t receive them or respond to them they stop your Social Security payments and I didn’t know that for my wife but I know now thanks to PIB.

We save my military retirement pay and my wife’s Social Security in the states. We only use my VA pension as income but that’s just my situation. You can actually learn a lot from some of these topics I know I actually did yesterday. So next year I’ll be on the look out for that letter for my wife’s Social Security, after her first year drawing Social Security.


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As I said - not having three retirement accounts nor anything like a Schwab Investment account to call upon - means my S.S. funds must be handy - accessible from the U.S. or anywhere else I may end up.

With my money on the TransferWise Borderless Account each month my money is in effect in both the U.S. and Thailand at the same time. One can think of the TW-Borderless Account an "Internet Cloud Bank" - accessible from almost anywhere.

Hypothetical Example, I could move to Vietnam - open a bank account there - and designate my Vietnam bank Account as a TW Borderless "Recipient" bank and fetch my monthly S.S.funds immediately without changing my Direct Deposit Bank Designation with the Social Security Administration. My D.D. designation would remain with the TW Borderless Account.

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I can definitely understand that. Although I have my own concerns about TransferWise but I don’t know I’ve never used it maybe it is as good as some people say it is. Like I said it depends on your situation in my situation I think what I’m doing is best but my situation is different than yours. That’s why topics like these are good because we can all compare notes and see what works best for each of our own situations.


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In these discussions of various ways to transfer one's Social Security... Monthly Payments to Thailand via Direct Deposit to a Thai Bank is touted by some (even by many).  At times statements are sometimes posted such as "Why would someone Not want a Direct Deposit of their S.S. funds to a Thai Bank"! (as can be done with the new IDD).   Well, I will tell you why I want personal control over the transfer of my SSA monthly funds. I am over age 70 and have a brother over age 80 and a sister age 78 both in the U.S. Due to their age and health status I could be called home on short notice.  Therefore needing living expense money in the U.S., I do not want to rely just on credit cards and an Bangkok Bank MasterCard ATM card.   

I am not wealthy, so being able to have my S.S. money in a place where it can be accessed for cash any time of the month is important to me.

 

I would imagine those of you who have three retirement fund sources and a Schwab Investment acccount cannot identify with this need. But for me having a solid way to access my S.S. cash is a must have situation.  I don't want to pay fees to use a Thai Bank ATM card in the U.S. And who knows if issues will arise with the financial stigma that some financial institutions place on Thailand (a place wrought with money laundering if one listens to the rumors).

 

Anyway, my monthly S.S. funds are parked automatically by Direct Deposit into a TransferWise Borderless Account. Using the TW App on my phone I can send all or part of that Balance to my Thai Bank or to my American Bank -without changing anything.  Then I can use an American ATM card at a low to no fee.

This same scenario would be useful if I had to return to the States for VA Clinic or Hospital services.

 

In such scenarios remember that changing the designated SSA Direct Deposit bank cannot be done quickly. The SSA website has a notice stating that one should change a designated Direct Deposit Bank before the 14th. of a given month if you want to get the D.D. at the new bank the next month. Otherwise it could take 1.5 to 2 months.

 

If anyone wants details about setting up a SSA Direct Deposit into a TransferWise Borderless Account - contact me, I already have it written up.

 

 

 

  Actually if you are only concerned about being called back to the states on short notice for an emergency only I don’t that just depends on your situation that’s a tough call. I don’t know if you could afford to leave maybe some of your income in the states and only bring some of it into Thailand. That’s what we do but we have 3 separate sources of income my military retirement pay after 21 years of service, my wife’s Social Security, and my VA pension rated at 100% disabled. So we leave my military retirement pay and my wife’s Social Security in our US bank and save it and I only transfer my VA pension income into my Thai bank. But I don’t know about your situation if Social Security is your only source of income that’s a tough one to call. I originally read your post wrong I thought you spent a lot of time in the states but apparently you are concerned about having to go back home for a family emergency. I can still understand that concern vrs. income. I still have a lot of family back in the states as well and I worry about that as well having to go back on short notice for a family emergency.

 

Actually when I was in combat on my last tour in Iraq I missed a family emergency when my grandmother passed away. I couldn’t just leave because I had a special job that made it almost impossible for me to go home on emergency leave. I barely made it to my Grandfather’s funeral after he passed away and I was in the states when he died assigned to the Washington, D.C. area. I’m from Phoenix, Arizona originally, most of my family is there but I have family in Florida as well where I was born. Actually I also have a brother in Chicago who has a wife and a lot of kids.

 

 

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In these discussions of various ways to transfer one's Social Security... Monthly Payments to Thailand via Direct Deposit to a Thai Bank is touted by some (even by many).  At times statements are sometimes posted such as "Why would someone Not want a Direct Deposit of their S.S. funds to a Thai Bank"! (as can be done with the new IDD).
 
Well, I will tell you why I want personal control over the transfer of my SSA monthly funds. I am over age 70 and have a brother over age 80 and a sister age 78 both in the U.S. Due to their age and health status I could be called home on short notice.  Therefore needing living expense money in the U.S., I do not want to rely just on credit cards and an Bangkok Bank MasterCard ATM card. 
 
I am not wealthy, so being able to have my S.S. money in a place where it can be accessed for cash any time of the month is important to me.
 
I would imagine those of you who have three retirement fund sources and a Schwab Investment acccount cannot identify with this need. But for me having a solid way to access my S.S. cash is a must have situation.  I don't want to pay fees to use a Thai Bank ATM card in the U.S. And who knows if issues will arise with the financial stigma that some financial institutions place on Thailand (a place wrought with money laundering if one listens to the rumors).
 
Anyway, my monthly S.S. funds are parked automatically by Direct Deposit into a TransferWise Borderless Account. Using the TW App on my phone I can send all or part of that Balance to my Thai Bank or to my American Bank -without changing anything.  Then I can use an American ATM card at a low to no fee.
This same scenario would be useful if I had to return to the States for VA Clinic or Hospital services.
 
In such scenarios remember that changing the designated SSA Direct Deposit bank cannot be done quickly. The SSA website has a notice stating that one should change a designated Direct Deposit Bank before the 14th. of a given month if you want to get the D.D. at the new bank the next month. Otherwise it could take 1.5 to 2 months.
 
If anyone wants details about setting up a SSA Direct Deposit into a TransferWise Borderless Account - contact me, I already have it written up.

Yeah in your case if you’re not always going to be in Thailand you’re probably better off doing it that way and maybe doing monthly wire transfers to your Thai bank for immigration purposes and when you are in Thailand it is cheaper having a Thai bank account.

In my case I only have my VA pension Direct Deposited to my Thai bank and if I ever want to change it back to my US bank I can do that very easily online on my eBenefits account. Being rated at 100% disabled is more than enough income wise.

My wife’s separate Social Security and my separate Military Retirement Pay will always continue to be Direct Deposited to our US bank and we just save that money. And we still have easy access to it if necessary with our US Debit Cards. If I only had one source of income I’d probably be making the same decision you are.

Although Thai banks are pretty safe and they have close relations with the United States government these days. They are seriously cracking down on money laundering. When I opened my Thai bank account I had to fill out tons of forms including United States IRS forms so money in a Thai bank account is not out of reach of the IRS, they do that these days because of new anti money laundering laws in Thailand. At most Thai banks they even have signs up in English advertising anti money laundering laws that are in place now here. I actually felt more secure when opening my Thai bank account when they gave me United States forms to fill out because I had all the same concerns you do when I opened my Thai bank account about any foreign bank account. But it’s actually safer than you think.

I don’t know if I’d want to do Direct Deposits with Social Security either because it’s not as easy to change your Direct Deposit with Social Security as it is for my VA pension. I could change my VA Direct Deposit back to my US bank at the push of a button if I wanted to. Although I think I’m going to prefer international Direct Deposit of my VA pension over doing those international wire transfers every month and waiting two extra business days to have access to my funds every month like I’ve been doing since November.

My new international Direct Deposit to my Thai bank will begin next payday so I’ll see how it goes, according to the VA they very rarely ever have any problems with them and I asked them a lot of questions first before actually doing it. If I’m not happy with it I can always just switch back to my US bank easily. But I think it’ll be better because it’s free no fees from the US end except for the pennies that my Thai bank charges to receive it every month and no more calling my bank in the states anymore to have it done manually over the phone.

I started doing the international wire transfers in November when they first started talking about getting rid of income affidavits from the embassy, and that actually ended up turning out to be a good thing for me at least maybe not for everyone but I actually like the new procedures better because for me it actually makes the extension process easier. And I save money using a Thai bank. But like I said my wife and I still have income going to our bank in the states as well so for me this is a good option but it just depends on everyone’s personal situation. It’s not necessarily for everyone I can understand your situation and concerns. I used to have the same concerns you do about Thai banks but there’s no reason to fear using a good and reputable Thai bank. But I can definitely understand your concerns and especially your situation if you are still spending a lot of time back in the states with only one source of income what you’re saying makes sense and I’d probably do the same thing if I were in your shoes.


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So here u are pitching Thailand for being more safe with already 7645 Traffic Deaths in this year!

People die all over the world every day dude. Enjoy South America. Out.


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I don’t want to get into this debate any further it’s not really even a debate it’s fact I’ve seen it for myself. Good luck be safe.


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So here u are pitching Thailand for being more safe with already 7645 Traffic Deaths in this year!

Seriously you’re comparing traffic deaths to criminal and terrorist activity in other countries in Mexico, South America, and Central America really? I’ve been there to all over and trust me you can’t even compare it to Thailand at all. But no where is 100% safe, and these days Thailand is safer than the states.


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You say Mexico is as bad. I've traveled there several times in numerous regions in Mexico and never felt unsafe. I didn't go to Tijuana or Juarez slums. Get the gist? Yes people need to be security conscious but if you're suggesting the popular expat destinations in Colombia and Mexico are war zones you are tripping and you are wrong. How many Gringo retired expats in San Miguel de Allende were murdered or kidnapped in recent years? I don't have the number but I'm confident if it isn't zero it's a small number.
 
I just did a quick search on kidnapping in Colombia. The totals are massively lower than a few decades back and the percentage that are foreign tourists or residents is tiny.
 
 
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And I actually said Mexico included maybe not as bad as Columbia depending on what part of Mexico but even in Mexico City the hotels will advise you not to go out at night if you’re a foreigner. I actually didn’t say Mexico was as bad I don’t think I did but Mexico is pretty dangerous as well. Although kidnappings in Mexico are probably worse these days then Columbia because of the cartel surge and it’s so bad it actually bleeds over to the United States side of the border in cities like Nogales, Juarez, and other border towns. But Columbia is not Thailand I can assure you of that. The police in Columbia and Mexico are extremely corrupt and involved with the bad guys, nothing at all like Thailand. They’ve actually done a good job of cleaning up police corruption in Thailand not so much in Mexico and South American countries.


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You say Mexico is as bad. I've traveled there several times in numerous regions in Mexico and never felt unsafe. I didn't go to Tijuana or Juarez slums. Get the gist? 
Yes people need to be security conscious but if you're suggesting the popular expat destinations in Colombia and Mexico are war zones you are tripping and you are wrong.
 
 
 
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No they’re aren’t war zones I never said that but there are some bad people there that see money when they see you for potential ransom especially in the tourist areas and the crime rate is a lot higher than it is here. And actually some places like Juarez for example are pretty close to being war zones because of the drug cartels much worse in Columbia. And even in the tourist areas don’t think that they aren’t watching you for a second. But no I never said they were war zones although I’ve literally been to safer cities in Iraq such as Sulaymaniyah in the north that were safer than all of Columbia.

I’ve been all over and I’ve seen a lot I’m not trying to be argumentative I’m just letting you know because I have been all over. Thailand is pretty safe in comparison I mean even Thailand has a few dangerous areas such as Pattani down south and even some parts of the Myanmar border aren’t exactly the safest places in the world but not as bad as it used to be during the civil war over there on their side of the border. At least look up the United States Embassy travel advisories before going.


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Your info is very outdated. It's a major tourist destination now and growing. It's reasonably safe in the major tourism destinations which also happen to be the major expat destinations. For people that are afraid to travel there then don't go. 

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Oh no I don’t want to go AGAIN. But at least I’ve actually been there and all over the rest of the world. You’re assuming my info is outdated that’s called “confirmation bias”. You want it to be true. Good luck though I hope it works out and I hope you know what you’re doing I really do, because I sure do after a career of traveling to some of the most dangerous countries on this earth.

 

 

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It's classified at about the same risk as Mexico where between a million and two million Americans live. We've been through the over the top largely passe fear mongering about Colombia ad nauseum here. Medellin vs. St. Louis? Which is safer do you reckon? It depends on specifically where you're moving, the specific neighborhood there, your behavior as in having common sense, and if course luck.  

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Well since I’ve been all over the world including Mexico and South America (Guyana, Columbia, Ecuador, and a few others) I can tell you yeah it’s pretty bad, maybe not as bad as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and many other countries were that I’ve also been to but it’s still pretty dangerous there and yeah Mexico included. People disappear there all the time and no you don’t always hear about it in the news. No area city there is 100% guaranteed to be safe like a lot of other countries. 

 

Even in northern Iraq we at least had a few cities in the north such as Sulaymaniyah and Irbil that were fairly safe areas. Not so much in Columbia. Of course I haven’t been there in almost 20 years so hopefully it’s changed for the better by now but not from what I hear, I hear it’s still just as bad today maybe even worse than when I was last there. I’m retired military I spent my career in Special Operations units. I’ve been to multiple countries in Africa as well. 

 

Well since I’ve been all over the world including Mexico and South America (Guyana, Columbia, Ecuador, and a few others) I can tell you yeah it’s pretty bad, maybe not as bad as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, and many other countries were that I’ve also been to but it’s still pretty dangerous there and yeah Mexico included. People disappear there all the time and no you don’t always hear about it in the news. No area city there is 100% guaranteed to be safe like a lot of other countries.

 

Even in northern Iraq we at least had a few cities in the north such as Sulaymaniyah and Irbil that were fairly safe areas. Not so much in Columbia. Of course I haven’t been there in almost 20 years so hopefully it’s changed for the better by now but not from what I hear, I hear it’s still just as bad today maybe even worse than when I was last there. I’m retired military I spent my career in Special Operations units. I’ve been to multiple countries in Africa as well.

 

 

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Colombian food isn't very well known internationally compared to Mexican food. In my limited experience the soups are their strongest point. I'm sure the coastal food featuring fresh seafood is great too (but for me living on the coast there isn't appealing compared to the year round spring weather places). With my only experience being some Colombian restaurants (but good ones), overall I think I'm not very thrilled with their food, certainly not with it being the main "stuck with it" option. Not enough spice. Not enough vegetables. Seems perhaps unhealthy. Showing some classic Paisa region and Colombian dishes you can see how wonderful the Ajiaco soup dish is here featured by some flaming gringos. Also like the guy in the video I'm not into chicharron but Paisa region Colombians are wild about it so it's considered impolite to say you hate it (but I really do hate it).  
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If you’re going to Columbia make sure you have kidnap and ransom insurance and a little bit of SERE training would probably be a good idea as well. That’s a high risk country.


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2 weeks?? I've been trying for over a month!!
 
 

And remember the Manila Office is the only Social Security Office for all of Asia for this entire region. So imagine how busy they must be. The trick is to just keep on bugging them to the point where they will respond to you just to make you stop bothering them. That’s what I did for my wife’s Social Security. You have to seriously become a real pain in their ass like I did for my wife. I understand they are very difficult to deal with if my wife was on her own she would have given up.


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2 weeks?? I've been trying for over a month!!

 

 

 

 

Oh I understand I’ve dealt with that office for my wife’s Social Security and I hear you. They have learned to respond to me within at least a week because they know that I don’t put up with their BS. I’ve been dealing with them for a long time now for my wife it’s a long story but I finally got it taken care of. You have to really get on them like I did.

 

 

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You don't get Dead or Alive annual letters from DFAS, OPM, or VA regardless of having an overseas or U.S. address.  It's SSA that does Dead or Alive letters when you have an overseas address.   Different laws/rules govern different U.S. govt payments.

I figured it was probably something like that but I’ll keep that in mind because my wife just started drawing Social Security and we live in Thailand and we have a Thai address. Although her Retirement Social Security pension benefit payments are just going to our bank in the states and we just save it along with my military retirement pay. I only use my VA Pension as income. But I’ll remember that for my wife’s Social Security payments. Thanks


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 BUT we still have no info on which banks can be used, type of account etc?
 
2 emails by me to Manila still completely unanswered....

Yeah that Manila Office sucks I know because my wife just started drawing Social Security and I helped her set it up. Their hq in Baltimore is even worse, long story. The trick is just keep flooding their email in Manila with the same email over and over again every hour every day and eventually you will get a response because they’ll see your messages constantly coming in flooding their inbox and eventually they just want it to stop. That’s how you get responses from the Manila Office. And sometimes they don’t take phone calls either so I called the main embassy phone number in Manila and I forced my way through to their ss office phone that way. You really have to stay on top of that Manila Office hard or you’ll be lucky to get an answer within two weeks.


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That's the problem with Transwise and similar companies.  They charge more as the transfer amount increases when it should not cost them anymore regardless of the amount.  Thanks for your help !!!

Yeah I’ve never used transferwise before but I always thought it was probably a scam. I’ve had people recommend it to me before but I’ve never tried it.

This is the part that worries me as I know of a person who lives in Thailand and didn't get the letter one year and had a lot of problems to get his ss payments sent again.  He eventually got all of his money but it took some time and a lot of phone calls/emails...Usually I find the Thai post to be very good but I do not get my True bills many months even though they have the correct address...Apparently, there is a similar address and they might be going there but that is no problem as I pay that online.  Hopefully,  the SS  office will allow you to sign that dead/alive letter electronically sometime in the near future. 

I never get “are you dead or alive” letters from the VA or DFAS. Probably because I use the insurance sometimes and because the VA can probably see me logging into eBenefits all the time so I leave an electronic signature that’s probably why I don’t get letters like that but Social Security is very different from military retirement and VA Disability pensions.


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Thanks for all your info.  On a side note, I see Transferwise is very cheap for small transfers.  1000 dollars will cost less than what Bangkok Bank used to charge.  Anything more than 1300 will cost more than Bangkok Bank used to charge but that is not really relevant now that they have stopped. Bigger transfers are very expensive.  I have never used them yet.

My bank in the states navy federal has always charged $20 dollars per transfer no matter what the amount is. My Thai bank charges so little to receive it that I don’t even notice unless I look at the credit advice. But my international Direct Deposits will be totally free except for whatever pennies my local bank charges to receive it. I don’t think I’d want to use transferwise even if I kept doing my wire transfers because I’ve been paying $20 dollars a month for every international wire transfer no matter if it’s only $1,500 USD or $3,500 USD. I won’t even have to pay that anymore with these international Direct Deposits from now on.


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Excellent post.  Thanks for the info.  Now I understand the difference but it is still disappointing as Bangkok Bank, in NY + Thailand, have my address and info and they could easily get whatever other info they need but I guess that would all be too much work. Mostly I used them for my social security payments and I might try what JohnK777  suggested.  I am a little afraid to 'rock-the-boat' , as the monthly payments have been coming in nicely to my USA bank.  I don't want to have problems and then have to try to call them and be put on hold for a long time.  I would like to get one more payment through the NY Bangkok Bank.  Has anyone very recently received their transfer ?   Will they still be doing transfers until June 30 ???   Thanks for all of your help. 

You can always do wire transfers every month from your bank in the states to your Thai bank, that’s what I’ve been doing since November and I’ve never had a problem. But with the international Direct Deposit option it’s free I will no longer have to pay the $20 dollar fees every month for my international wire transfers and I will no longer have to call my bank in the states long distance every month and do it manually over the phone every month anymore. From now on my Direct Deposit from only my VA income will be automatically Direct Deposited to my Thai bank. I wouldn’t be worried about it if I were you it’s a lot safer than doing those wire transfers every month and waiting two business days for them to post to my Thai bank. Plus you save a lot of money using a Thai bank account instead of your stateside account and regardless immigration requires us to have funds going into a Thai bank when we renew our extensions. My manual wire transfers have always gone through just fine every month so I’m sure my international Direct Deposit will as well.


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Suspect it may be better not to assume anything - hope it does work really well and you will follow up on results.

It already shows up in my eBenefits account under my Direct Deposit account information as International Treasury Services. And according to the VA they do these all the time and they very rarely ever have any problems with them. They said that the most common problem they have with international Direct Deposits is caused by people filling out the form wrong usually simple stuff such as it’s a savings account and someone checks checking account on the form. Other than that they never have any problems with them and they’re always paid on time. Although I am curious myself to see how well it’s going to work.

If I don’t like it so what the worst thing that could happen is I just switch my Direct Deposit back to my bank in the states and continue doing monthly wire transfers every month but I really don’t think that’s going to be necessary. I really did a lot of research and I asked a lot of questions before doing this of the VA’s international Direct Deposit Department and I even asked my local bank a lot of questions about it. When I showed my local bank the international Direct Deposit form they knew exactly what it was. They said that they have no problem receiving deposits from the Treasury Department they do it all the time, and my local bank even started helping me fill in the bank information portion of the form.

I’ll know for sure in about 10 days and I will let you know I might even post a topic about it to help other people. I’ve heard that if anything you might get paid a few extra days early with these international Direct Deposits from the VA because they release the funds early each month and the Thai bank doesn’t necessarily wait till the 1st of the month to release the funds into your account so it sounds like a good deal but we’ll see.

I still have my regular Military Retirement Pay from DFAS and my wife’s Retirement Social Security pension benefit payments going to our bank in the states which we just save. I only use my VA pension income because it’s more than enough to support us both and it’s more than triple the immigration requirement for the marriage or even the retirement extension. I’m rated at 100% so yeah it’s a lot just my VA income alone. And I’m only on a marriage extension when I hit 50 I don’t know if I’ll switch to a Retirement Visa or not I might I’d be qualified for either one.


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I can understand the need for the USA to keep track of outgoing international transfers.  I have been using for years the method of transferring funds from my USA bank to the New York bangkok bank and then have them send the money to Thailand.   Now they want this IAT code.  Why can't the NY bangkok bank just add this code when they send the money over to Thailand ???   Has anyone found a USA bank that will send funds to the NY  Bangkok bank using this IAT code ??

Try looking into this info:

https://th.usembassy.gov/message-for-u-s-citizens-direct-deposit-of-federal-benefit-payments/

You don’t need Bangkok Bank in New York City. If this information I gave you doesn’t work for you because you can’t or are unwilling to do it then you can always just call your bank in the states and make the international wire transfers manually over the phone like I’ve been doing for almost 7 months now. Although I actually just set up my VA pension benefit payments via international Direct Deposit so I will not have to do it manually over the phone anymore. I don’t know if this will work for your situation but it’s at least something to think about because I don’t know it might help you. It’s going to work really well for me starting next payday.


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Thank You for the explanation. If I remember correctly the correspondent bank must be entered with IB. But I think the proposed correspondent bank is Chase as shown before by Thailand J.  Anyway, thank You again. 
 
If domestic wire will be banned then I will try to do a test between international wiring and TW. It's so confusing!!

Naw actually it’s really simple if you are not or can’t do international Direct Deposits then you just do international wire transfers every month which is as simple as picking up the phone and calling your bank in the States or home country every month and doing it manually over the phone. That’s what I’ve been doing until I set up my international Direct Deposit so I won’t have to do that anymore. It’s really not that bad or confusing, it’s really simple as long as you have a cooperative bank in the states. It’s a lot cheaper using a Thai bank anyway no giant ATM fees.


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Whether or not a fee is charged by an correspondent bank depends on the relationship the sending and correspondent bank have.  The Sending bank may have an agreement that they will pickup all fees (except the receiving fee)....or the sending bank may not cover any correspondent bank fee.   You just don't know for sure until you do a test.
 
Normally you do not need to specify any correspondent bank....you can leave it up to the Sending bank based on the receiving bank SWIFT code.  But I know some sending banks seem to demand you enter a correspondent bank....but generally that only occurs with the more anal or smaller banks.
 
Actually, with you entering the Bangkok Bank in-Thailand SWIFT code of BKKBTHBKXXX and also telling them to use the Bankgok Bank NY correspondent bank SWIFT code of BKKBUS33XXX may actually "cause" an intermediary fee you would not have experienced if just leaving the correspondent bank area blank.
 
Just leave the correspondent bank area empty unless forced to enter one.

The nice thing about the international Direct Deposit Program is that it’s totally free except for whatever pennies your Thai bank account charges.


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