Jingthing

Tiny D is on a roll!

Well that isn't true. I just used it a few days ago with my usual Thai address. There are harder rules now for setting it up initially though.

Well not if you had said yes. It's common for expats to be faux US expats to smooth things out with financial institutions, etc

If you're expecting something ...

Yeah that's not OK but it does beat 0%.

The fentanyl situation is very bad indeed. I'm sure there is bipartisan support to combat it but saber rattling at Mexico is bound to backfire.

For those that don't know this already, other than laziness to update to a foreign address many expats keep their US address to avoid the need to deal with the annual proof of life letter. Ir is my impression that I can't prove that expats in Latin America widely keep their US address on record not only because they might be snowbirds byt also because the postal service is poor or nonexistent in most of those countries. Thailand's posted service is at least OK.

We need a war with Mexico like a hole in the head. This is just republican political posturing. Best ignored Use diplomacy .

I'm not saying you're wrong but to be fair we can't really know. A possible factor in the success of his clients could be that they are in Mexico and Panama. For obvious geographical reasons there are many more part time expats snowbirds there. So perhaps they are getting less scrutiny?

If you have a foreign address on record with SS you are NOT automatically enrolled in Part B at 65.

One would think that is the case. However the broker in the video says he has hundreds of expat clients and a record of successful claims. Believe him or not. He seems to be credible person but that and 5 dollars gets a coffee at Starbucks. I agree this is for emergency events as abroad it's basically travel insurance.

There are strong arguments not to do this. But watch the video anyway. It's not for things like cancer. It's for things like acute emergencies accidents, etc. So for most people not over and over claims. More like a just in case thing. If you're expecting me to argue why you should do this, no I won't do that. That doesn't reflect my position on the topic.

Normally. Watch the video. To use the tactic in the video you need to contact the broker. To use you must have Part A and B. He will enroll you in an Advantage plan for your US address zipcode that has full year travel benefits. You must drop anything else like supplementary drug plan. It requires NOT informing of your Thai address. No point in asking more questions UNTIL you watch the video. I am not staying that you should do this. There are very good reasons not to. But it is interesting. Note that it would be better to comment on the Medicare Advantage uses for expats topic here:

It would disqualify you but here we're getting into some can of worms areas. Do different government agencies routinely communicate? IRS, passport use records, etc. If you state a US address for SS and Medicare and a Thai address for IRS is that a problem? Yes we paid into the Medicare program and living abroad can't use it. Is that fair? Obviously not But is posing as a US resident in order to get some limited benefit for what we paid justifiable? Each individual must decide such things for themselves.

Voting in THIS poll is definitely anonymous. While the forum owners could presumably know how you voted why would they care? Certainly the US government won't know how you voted.

Again using Advantage abroad only gets you limited use such as accidents, heart attacks, air evacuation etc. To use it fully you would need to travel to your US zip code service area.

Not that I'm aware of. The Advantage plans that work cover international travel except North Korea and Ukraine.

Hundreds of people in Mexico and Panama. See the link provided above and watch the entire long video.

To emphasize Your address record with social security and Medicare are linked. They must be the same. So they will both be a US address OR both be a foreign address.

To use Advantage you must enroll in Part B. About 170 a month. That funds Advantage. Advantage will cost the full Part B cost or less depending on plan and your US zip code.

I verify this. Advantage not regular Medicare. Advantage is private insurance. See my topic about it. However you can only use parts of the benefits and you must select from a very limited set of Advantages insurers. You must not tell the insurer that you live abroad either. Watch the entire video here. However using a US address and direct depositing to Thailand would basically be telling them you're lying. Of course Americans using the income method for retirement here do direct deposit to Thailand.

Yes depositing to a US account doesn’t change anything as far as the SS address record showing you live abroad..

Not irrelevant. Using a US address means the proof of life letter is not required. Also I recently learned Medicare Advantage can be used abroad if you use a US address That's a big deal Your address must be the same for SS and Medicare.

Hmmm. I was hoping for a more robust response in terms of people voting. Considering it's obvious that lots of Americans on social security are members here. It just takes a few seconds to vote and run.

NOTE: Please do not vote in this poll unless you are definitely a resident in Thailand and have an active Social Security claim. A simple question. This is directed at people that are unambiguously living in Thailand. Not snowbirds. I'm not going to define it by number of days per year in the U.S. vs. Thailand. Just use common sense -- you probably know if you live here or not! Americans living abroad with a social security claim are required to have their foreign address on file with social security. Of course, many Americans living abroad just keep their U.S. address on file. It might be a house they own, friend, or relative, etc. Those with a foreign address on file must file Form 7162 ("proof of life") annually. Failing to do so results in benefits suspension. Those with a U.S. address on file are not sent Form 7162 so they are seen as U.S. residents and don't risk benefits cut off for not filing that form. Of course as it is required for Americans living abroad with a SS claim to inform SS of their foreign address, by not complying there could be a risk of problems if SS discovers you have been doing that. So I am curious about what percentage of Americans residing in Thailand (unambiguously) with a SS claim are using a Thai vs. a U.S. address. IF you have been using a U.S. address, what is the amount of S.S. mail sent to that address, if any? Has any required a response? Have you ever suffered consequences (such as benefits suspension) if SS discovers that you have been using a US address when you shouldn't be doing so?