Social Security from USA.

[a46ford]

I have been living in Thailand for 4 years. Social  Security does not know that I live in Thailand as my monthly payment is sent to a US bank.

My question, Is it a good idea to let Social Security know that I am living in Thailand ??

I did attempt to change my address through Social Security, But, was unable to as the form requires a US address.

[ubonjoe]

There is a requirement that you report your current address to them.

I assume you tried to change your address online. You have to use US address to register but you can change your address to here after being registered.

You can send an email to the office in Manila to change your address. Contact info is here. https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/social-security/

[everett kendall]

I am registered with the Embassy as living here but not with SS. Been this way for over 5 years. No problems.

I think the State Dept and SS dont share info.

[Dan5]

I really don't think they care. They've known my address since I started collecting a few years ago. I don't remember how I gave them my address here, but I know I didn't do anything special like contacting an Embassy. I just did it online.

[1130bobs]

I also am registered with SS with my US mailing address & direct deposits into a US bank, while my Thai address & Email & phone # are all registered with the US state dept  - so that I get emails from them intended for US citizens living here.   I have not heard otherwise, but I am hesitant to transfer to Manila as it puts another cog in the system to screw up, especially if a move back to US is suddenly needed.  Also, I have heard about 'confirm you are still alive' letters going out to insure SS payments are still warranted.  Since I never got one, does anyone know if this is normal if registered with SS with a Thai address - thru Manila?  Again, another chance for 'lost in mail' issues.

[dotpoom]

I would have thought that to receive non contribituary SS from the government of a country....you would have to reside in that country?

[banlampang]

Once a year I receive a form from SS that requires completion and return.  They threaten to stop SS payments if I fail to comply.

[Mansell]

I contacted Manila because I wanted to rout my money through the New York branch of Bangkok Bank. Besides creating a new account with BKK bank nothing really changed.....not even the day I received the money, fourth Wednesday of the month. So to me Manila is really there as a convenience, New York still handles everything. 

[tweedledee2]

3 hours ago, dotpoom said:

I would have thought that to receive non contribituary SS from the government of a country....you would have to reside in that country?

Well, as for the US, you thought wrong and as far as the US's SS being non-contributing, every paycheck I ever received had SS withheld from it.

[Jeffrey346]

@ubonjoe is correct. SS mandates that you report your current address.

Once you do, you will receive a yearly update form which needs to be returned.

[Ruffian Dick]

The US doesn't cut you off if you move overseas.

[gk10002000]

Heck, I have lived and worked in 15 states as a contractor in the USA.  If I spend a lot of time in Thailand, which I do plan to do in about a  year from now, I know I won't be buying a place there, and I am pretty sure I will just be renting maybe 90 days at a time, or whatever gives me a decent price, and I am likely to move around a bit.  I can't see what good me giving the SS administration a Thai address will do.  I have family here in the USA and I am sure I will maintain that as my residency, pay them some nominal rent, etc.  It keeps the mail going to the right place, my ID constant, etc

[hawker9000]

12 hours ago, dotpoom said:

I would have thought that to receive non contribituary SS from the government of a country....you would have to reside in that country?

What are you talking about?  The retirement benefit, which I assume is what OP is talking about, is most certainly contributory.    SSI (for the aged, blind, disabled with little or no income) is non-contributory and I believe they stop benefits if you're out of the U.S. for more than 30d a year, but I hardly think that's what OP is referring to.

[wwest5829]

14 hours ago, dotpoom said:

I would have thought that to receive non contribituary SS from the government of a country....you would have to reside in that country?

Not the US. On the other hand, we are taxed on worldwide income no matter where we live.

[6thST]

15 hours ago, Dan5 said:

I really don't think they care. They've known my address since I started collecting a few years ago. I don't remember how I gave them my address here, but I know I didn't do anything special like contacting an Embassy. I just did it online.

I been getting my S.S. from the U.S. by direct deposit to my Thai.bank for years no problem? 

 

4 hours ago, Ruffian Dick said:

The US doesn't cut you off if you move overseas.

 

[flexomike]

18 hours ago, 1130bobs said:

I also am registered with SS with my US mailing address & direct deposits into a US bank, while my Thai address & Email & phone # are all registered with the US state dept  - so that I get emails from them intended for US citizens living here.   I have not heard otherwise, but I am hesitant to transfer to Manila as it puts another cog in the system to screw up, especially if a move back to US is suddenly needed.  Also, I have heard about 'confirm you are still alive' letters going out to insure SS payments are still warranted.  Since I never got one, does anyone know if this is normal if registered with SS with a Thai address - thru Manila?  Again, another chance for 'lost in mail' issues.

If you are registered with social security with a Thai address, you should have gotten a letter of confirmation that you are still alive

 

[flexomike]

16 hours ago, Mansell said:

I contacted Manila because I wanted to rout my money through the New York branch of Bangkok Bank. Besides creating a new account with BKK bank nothing really changed.....not even the day I received the money, fourth Wednesday of the month. So to me Manila is really there as a convenience, New York still handles everything. 

When I changed my address with Manila, my pay date changed from the third Wednesday of the month to the third day of the month. All of my friends here that are registered with Manila get paid on the third day of the Month.

[MyFriend You]

If you register a foreign address with Social Security, you will have to verify this every year, miss the deadline and they will stop your check, happened to a neighbor in Udon, he was broke for a month, but they paid him the arrears.  He changed his residence back to the US house, and has had no problems since..............The verification process is because many Americans die and it is not reported to SS  -  case in point, my friend in Udon's sister in law was married to a SS pensioner, he died, she didn't report it to the US Embassy, his check continued to be deposited in their joint account in the US, for over ten years..........she drew money from it until somehow they discovered he had passed, maybe when they started the 'verification of address' policy.  Wonder if they will try to get it back.

[MyFriend You]

59 minutes ago, flexomike said:

When I changed my address with Manila, my pay date changed from the third Wednesday of the month to the third day of the month. All of my friends here that are registered with Manila get paid on the third day of the Month.

I registered in Hawaii as I still maintain a residence there.......my check is deposited o/a the 10th of every month, don't know why they picked that day but it is like clockwork.  Think I'll leave well enough alone.

[JLCrab]

I am registered with Social Security at my address and PO Box in Thailand because --when I applied online -- they asked for an address and the next questions was:

 

Do you live at this address?

[Pib]

1 hour ago, TunnelRat69 said:

I registered in Hawaii as I still maintain a residence there.......my check is deposited o/a the 10th of every month, don't know why they picked that day but it is like clockwork.  Think I'll leave well enough alone.

I going to guess it's deposited on the 2nd Wednesday of each month which happens to be plus or minus a few days of the 10th each month....the "on or about" you mentioned.  That's because your birthdate probably falls in the 1 thru 10th day of the month so your scheduled payment date is the 2nd Wednesday of each month.   Social Security pays folks at different times during the month based on a variety of factors, but your birth date is the main factor.   

 

Social security payments are based "primarily" on your birth date during a month if your residence is the United States.  Different birth dates during a month get paid on different Wednesdays during the month.   And if you have been on Social Security for a long time....would have to be in your mid 80s at least...there is a different payment schedule....also a different schedule for SSI payment....also a different schedule for people living outside the US.  

 

If your residence on file with Social Security is outside the US, like in Thailand, you are paid on the 3rd of each month regardless of birth date during the month.  Folks with onfile residence outside the US are paid on the 3rd.

 

Below Social Security website page shows the 2017 payment schedule but it only lists payments dates for within the U.S.; if living outside the US. the payment date is the 3rd of each month.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10031-2017.pdf

[MyFriend You]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

I going to guess it's deposited on the 2nd Wednesday of each month which happens to be plus or minus a few days of the 10th each month....the "on or about" you mentioned.  That's because your birthdate probably falls in the 1 thru 10th day of the month so your scheduled payment date is the 2nd Wednesday of each month.   Social Security pays folks at different times during the month based on a variety of factors, but your birth date is the main factor.   

 

Social security payments are based "primarily" on your birth date during a month if your residence is the United States.  Different birth dates during a month get paid on different Wednesdays during the month.   And if you have been on Social Security for a long time....would have to be in your mid 80s at least...there is a different payment schedule....also a different schedule for SSI payment....also a different schedule for people living outside the US.  

 

If your residence on file with Social Security is outside the US, like in Thailand, you are paid on the 3rd of each month regardless of birth date during the month.  Folks with onfile residence outside the US are paid on the 3rd.

 

Below Social Security website page shows the 2017 payment schedule but it only lists payments dates for within the U.S.; if living outside the US. the payment date is the 3rd of each month.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10031-2017.pdf

Thanx, my B-Day is the Tenth of May so that explains it.............I just started SS last year when I turned sixty-six - didn't want to wait until I was seventy, hell, I dont need it, but would rather receive it and give it away then have politicians take it from me.

[Pib]

12 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Thanx, my B-Day is the Tenth of May so that explains it.............I just started SS last year when I turned sixty-six - didn't want to wait until I was seventy, hell, I dont need it, but would rather receive it and give it away then have politicians take it from me.

Don't give it away....continue to have it deposited in your Bank of Hawaii, First Hawaiian Bank, Hickam Federal Credit Union, Pearl Harbor Credit Union or just whatever bank in Hawaii you use.  Me use to live in Hawaii for many years also.  Then once a year I'll send you my Bangkok Bank account info so you can transfer to me those unneeded SS payments.   

[JimGant]

Quote

My question, Is it a good idea to let Social Security know that I am living in Thailand ??

No, because you'll start getting those pesky "are you alive" letters, which, as has been already said, can be problematic what with the mail system etal. Since your SS check is going to a US bank, and because your initial SS filing was when you were in the US, nothing more need be done.

 

I'm in the same boat. When I last updated my online Social Security account, they asked for my mailing address -- which I provided as my mail forwarding address in Texas; then, there was a block to check if "This address is the same as my physical address?" I left it blank, and haven't heard anything further from the SS folks. No, as far as the SS is concerned, I could be one of the tens of thousands of RV cowboys collecting SS, but living in the US -- with no address other than their mail forwarding address.

 

Quote

There is a requirement that you report your current address to them.

 

I did -- my current US mailing address. They never asked specifically for my physical address.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mansell]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

I going to guess it's deposited on the 2nd Wednesday of each month which happens to be plus or minus a few days of the 10th each month....the "on or about" you mentioned.  That's because your birthdate probably falls in the 1 thru 10th day of the month so your scheduled payment date is the 2nd Wednesday of each month.   Social Security pays folks at different times during the month based on a variety of factors, but your birth date is the main factor.   

 

Social security payments are based "primarily" on your birth date during a month if your residence is the United States.  Different birth dates during a month get paid on different Wednesdays during the month.   And if you have been on Social Security for a long time....would have to be in your mid 80s at least...there is a different payment schedule....also a different schedule for SSI payment....also a different schedule for people living outside the US.  

 

If your residence on file with Social Security is outside the US, like in Thailand, you are paid on the 3rd of each month regardless of birth date during the month.  Folks with onfile residence outside the US are paid on the 3rd.

 

Below Social Security website page shows the 2017 payment schedule but it only lists payments dates for within the U.S.; if living outside the US. the payment date is the 3rd of each month.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10031-2017.pdf

I wish what you are saying is correct. I am registered living in Thailand and I still get paid on the fourth Wednesday of the month in America, which means the money arrives in my bank here on the Thursday because they are behind us there. So there is no hard and fast rule.

[Pib]

I get paid on the 3rd with my Thailand address....so does another US person living a block away from me here in Bangkok.   We started off from the get-go drawing SS with the Bangkok address...applied through Manila.

 

Maybe the SSA does not change your original payment date during the month if you change something like changing to a foreign address "later on."  Or maybe they don't have your foreign address registered as your "physical address/where you actually live."

 

But folks with physical foreign addresses are supposed to get paid on the 3rd which the SSA refers to as Cycle 1 payments which is SSA talk for payment on the 3rd/first payment cycle of each month.

 

https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/ProgData/cyclicalpay.html

Quote

Cycle 1 payments apply in the case of beneficiaries who filed before June 1997, and continue to apply (regardless of filing date) to those who are current recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits or who reside in a foreign country.

 

 

 

 

[Rhys]

7 hours ago, Pib said:

I going to guess it's deposited on the 2nd Wednesday of each month which happens to be plus or minus a few days of the 10th each month....the "on or about" you mentioned.  That's because your birthdate probably falls in the 1 thru 10th day of the month so your scheduled payment date is the 2nd Wednesday of each month.   Social Security pays folks at different times during the month based on a variety of factors, but your birth date is the main factor.   

 

Social security payments are based "primarily" on your birth date during a month if your residence is the United States.  Different birth dates during a month get paid on different Wednesdays during the month.   And if you have been on Social Security for a long time....would have to be in your mid 80s at least...there is a different payment schedule....also a different schedule for SSI payment....also a different schedule for people living outside the US.  

 

If your residence on file with Social Security is outside the US, like in Thailand, you are paid on the 3rd of each month regardless of birth date during the month.  Folks with onfile residence outside the US are paid on the 3rd.

 

Below Social Security website page shows the 2017 payment schedule but it only lists payments dates for within the U.S.; if living outside the US. the payment date is the 3rd of each month.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10031-2017.pdf

 

Thanks for the information, will start next year with this....

[Mac98]

On 11/20/2017 at 4:19 AM, banlampang said:

Once a year I receive a form from SS that requires completion and return.  They threaten to stop SS payments if I fail to comply.

Never heard of such a thing.

[ubonjoe]

2 hours ago, Mac98 said:

Never heard of such a thing.

It is a SSA form 7162 to report your address and to confirm certain things. They send them in June of every year.

Not the newest one but here is one. SSA-7162 report.pdf

 

[Pib]

3 hours ago, Mac98 said:

Never heard of such a thing.

Loving referred to as the Dead or Alive form for folks with residences outside the U.S.  The SSA wants to make sure you are still alive on a annual or, for some countries a biennial basis....they don't want to pay you if your are dead.

 

In the US when a person croaks the person's death gets reported automatically by various entities such as the hospital, police, morgue, funeral home, etc., so no Dead or Alive forms are sent out for people with US residences. 

 

But in some countries such automatic death reporting is not nearly as robust/severely lacking.    You might live out in the sticks in some 3rd world nation like Thailand, you pass away, your significant other simply has you quietly barbequed at the local temple or buried out back, no proper notification of your death makes it way to the US embassy in that country, your SS payment continues to flow when it should have stopped upon your death.