Apply for US social security

[steveb6]

I will be 65 in May this year.and I would like to know how to apply.for social security. Should apply when 65 or 66?

[Klong Song]

I will be 65 in May this year.and I would like to know how to apply.for social security. Should apply when 65 or 66?

Call or email the SS office in Manila, they will set you straight .


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[ubonjoe]

If you wait until you are 66 your monthly payment will be higher is the only difference between 65 or 66 years old  You can calculate your payments here online. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html

Contact info for the office in Manila is here. https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen -services/social-security/

[taxout]

Even if you decide to wait to take Social Security payments, you still need to enroll in Medicare when you turn 65; it's not automatic. Part A is free. Part B you pay for and you'll have to decide based on your own situation whether to enroll in Part B, keeping in mind that enrollment later is more expensive and possible only during a limited time-frame each year.

[steveb6]

I have a thai wife with a new baby on the way.How will this affect my paymemts as well as medicade?

[Pib]

Up to you when you enroll after reaching 62....you can even delay until age 70 to get more money.  In your case 66 is your full retirement age to receive 100% of whatever your pension will be.   When you enroll before your full retirement age there will be a percentage reduction from 100%.  Enroll between 66 to 70 and their will be a percentage increase above 100%.   The Social Security Agency website has lots of info on the subject.  Yeap, up to you when you start drawing social security after you become eligible which is generally the age of 62.

 

And remember, you become eligible for Medicare at 65 (sixty five)....don't confuse Medicare eligibility age with Social Security Pension eligibility age.

[Pib]

15 minutes ago, steveb6 said:

I have a thai wife with a new baby on the way.How will this affect my paymemts as well as medicade?

Zero.  Your social security pension is not driven by how many dependents you have....it's just a pension you earn whether you are single or married....same amount whether single or married.   

 

And regarding Medicare it only covers "you" and the premium amount doesn't change because you are single or married.    And Medicare only provides coverage in the U.S.; not outside the U.S.   

 

However, if you happen to be a military retiree who is eligible for Tricare (military health care program) which does provide worldwide coverage up till the age of 65, if you pay Medicare Part B premiums then your Tricare worldwide coverage will continue under a program called Tricare for Life; if you don't pay Part B premiums your Tricare coverage ends.  And when in the U.S. you will have both Medicare and Tricare for Life coverage....Medicare pays first and Tricare picks up the rest of the bill.

 

And don't confuse Medicare with Medicaid....two different animals/govt medical programs.

Edited February 5, 2018 by Pib

[tutone]

5 years ago I did it online.

[Langsuan Man]

Hours:

 

[IAMHERE]

Social Security should pay you an extra amount per child. This amount is for the first two, after that the amount is less per child. The child must be below a certain age.

[Langsuan Man]

9 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

Social Security should pay you an extra amount per child. This amount is for the first two, after that the amount is less per child. The child must be below a certain age.

Where did you get that from ?

 

Social Security is based upon you lifetime earnings, nothing to do with your dependents

 

 Maybe you are confused with the requirements for Social Security Disability Benefits 

[IAMHERE]

7 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

Where did you get that from ?

 

Social Security is based upon you lifetime earnings, nothing to do with your dependents

 

 Maybe you are confused with the requirements for Social Security Disability Benefits 

"When you qualify for Social Security retirement benefits, your children may also qualify to receive benefits on your record. Your eligible child can be your biological child, adopted child or stepchild. A dependent grandchild may also qualify. To receive benefits, the child must: be unmarried; and; be under age 18; or; be 18-19 ..."

 

This is from the SSA website.  Confusion is al too often my  state of being.

[ubonjoe]

13 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

Where did you get that from ?

He is writing about children's benefits. See: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf

But not easy to get for children born and living here.

[MyFriend You]

If you can, wait until your 66 to apply for SS Benefits, you'll get a better return - but you must register for Medicare at 65, or you will be charged for every month you wait till after 65 and your cost per month will go up.  If your in Bangkok, the Consulate used to have a free hotline to the SSA, but that was years ago.   Meantime use SSA.Gov  -  but you will need to use a VPN with a US IP address, I applied for my benefits last year when I turned 66 on line from here, but direct connection would not work, went thru a VPN and the checks started coming in right on time.

[gunghang]

Thanks to the posters who brought up Medicare.  I'd forgotten about that.

 

I first applied for early SSA retirement benefits when I was in Thailand.  I had to wait until I was within three months of my 62nd birthday to apply online.  The ages for early/full/delayed benefits varies with your age.  For me, it was 62/66/70. I'm not in the best of health and changing jobs created a need for income so I took early benefits.

 

I received a phone call from the Philippines US Embassy Foreign Services Unit in Manila. A delightful and ultra-competent woman (Ivee Gomez) assisted me. I've had responses from the FSU early Saturday morning, which tells me that they are really buried under an impossible work load, and yet Ivee always makes prompt responses, as does her supervisor.  (My caseworker, not so much, but I digress.) I was asked about past employment and retirement benefits, from both the private and public sectors.

 

I learned that early retirement benefits are not paid if you work over ten hours per week or forty-five hours per month. I withdrew my application from Thailand.  That same day, my work permit for China came through.  I don't have office hours (which would count as scheduled working hours) here so my hours are under 45 per month. I reapplied in China and am receiving benefits.

 

SSA will want an official letter from the school verifying your hours if you are working  prior to full retirement age.  This could be a problem in Thailand if you don't have a work permit because the school would be effectively putting it in writing that they are using an illegal teacher.

 

My benefits are deposited into a US bank account and I can withdraw them from China or Thailand. I have also linked the account to PayPal.

 

My sister lives in the US and she has her benefits deposited into an SSA account.  The account comes with a debit card which she can use at an ATM or supermarket, etc.

 

The deposit date varies upon your date of birth - sometimes.  I'm overseas so it's the third of the month or the business day before it.  For example, if the third is a holiday and on a Monday, the payment will be on the last day of the preceding month.

 

I had a hiccup with my benefits once.  I'm registered to vote in the House Majority Leader's district (Trump's win may have helped me), so I wrote my Congressman.   I don't know if the assistant got anywhere, but things are fine at the moment.

 

One adventure in receiving my benefits in China has been the letter from the school regarding the number of scheduled teaching hours.  The person signing them is in fact the department dean, and the stamps are official.  However, I doubt that anybody in Maryland can read them because they're in Chinese. I began taking screen shots of the school website, including the web address, showing my schedule. 

 

I think you'll have an easier time than I did.

[Suradit69]

2 hours ago, gunghang said:

For me, it was 62/66/70. I'm not in the best of health and changing jobs created a need for income so I took early benefits.

Yes, if you delay receiving payments, your monthly payment will be higher, but you will also forego the payments you would have received by waiting.

 

If you're in good health and have a family history of people living to a ripe old age, it might be to your benefit to delay, but otherwise it's debatable.

 

If you would receive $1500 a month, as an example, and wait five years until your 70, your're letting the government keep  5x12x1500 = $90,000. If you start taking payments at 70, you'd get 132% (I believe) of the $1500 or 1.32 x 1500 = $1980 a month. (Probably a bit higher because of cost of living increases, but you would have got those if you started sooner as well).

 

So you'd be getting $480 a month more.  $90,000 divided by $480 = 187 months or over 15 years just to get back that $90000 you left on the table. And if you had invested the $90,000 or used it for living expenses instead of drawing down existing investments, it would be even longer.

 

So  at about 85 (70 + 15 years to catch up) you'd start getting ahead. Of course, if you dropped dead at 71, or anytime before you hit 85, the government would have made out like bandits.

 

I started at 62. Invested the money since I didn't need it. Given my family history I didn't see any benefit to waiting. You have to assess your own circumstances and needs, but putting off monthly payments in order to get a higher monthly payment isn't necessarily the bonanza some people think.

 

In the example, $1980 certainly looks like a lot more fun than $1500 a month, but don't forget that to get that $1980, you'd let our beloved government hold $90,000 of your money. Like in Vegas, the house always wins.

[Pib]

Regarding the wife, unless she is a U.S. citizen or resident alien (i.e., green card holder) or lived with you for 5 years in the U.S. generally she can not get social security pension benefits based on your earning record.   Below website sums it up pretty well which is based on info from the Social Security Agency website

http://www.crevelingandcreveling.com/blog/what-expat-americans-foreign-spouses-need-know-about-social-security

 

 

If applying for child benefits on top of your retirement pension benefit, below are some Social Security Agency links that may be helpful:

 

Retirement Planner: Benefits for Your Children

https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/yourchildren.html

 

Benefits for Children

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf

 

Questions to be asked and required docs when applying.

https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-4.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

3 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

 Meantime use SSA.Gov  -  but you will need to use a VPN with a US IP address, I applied for my benefits last year when I turned 66 on line from here, but direct connection would not work, went thru a VPN and the checks started coming in right on time.

Normally a VPN access/a U.S. IP address is not needed to access the SSA website unless your Thai ISP has DNS issues. 

 

I accessed the SSA online application webpage, the My SSA Online Account webpage, and other SSA webpage without a VPN/U.S. IP address....just using my Thai IP address....I'm in Bankgok on AIS Fibre.   

 

But I do remember a couple years ago when still with True I did have to use a U.S. VPN connection/IP address to access SSA webpages up until my last six months or so with True when I could reach SSA webpages without a VPN connection.  Don't know if that was a True DNS issue or SSA no longer blocking Thailand IP addresses which some U.S. govt websites do block along with certain other countries/regions.   Definitely good to have a VPN service to overcome these blocks and add some extra data encryption.

[Koratjohn77]

22 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

If you wait until you are 66 your monthly payment will be higher is the only difference between 65 or 66 years old  You can calculate your payments here online. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html

Contact info for the office in Manila is here. https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen -services/social-security/

Actually that's a good question.  My wife turns 62 in 2019 and she was supposed to be receiving Social Security Disability because of a head injury which the Baltimore Social Security Office denied.  I really don't feel like fighting them in court and my pension is really enough for both of us.  

 

Is it a good idea to file for Social Security at age 62?  I was wondering what her monthly payment would be I will use your link and see if I can calculate it.  If I wanted to fight them in court for her Social Security disability how do I go about doing that from Thailand?  How would I hire an attorney from Thailand?  

[JimGant]

Quote

I started at 62. Invested the money since I didn't need it. Given my family history I didn't see any benefit to waiting. You have to assess your own circumstances and needs, but putting off monthly payments in order to get a higher monthly payment isn't necessarily the bonanza some people think.

Yeah, and if you have a Thai wife who will never qualify for Social Security survivor benefits, and you croak at age 70, well, you've put 8 years of SS payments into investments that would benefit her, everything else being equal, unlike zip, had you waited until age 70.

Another consideration:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-it-might-be-better-to-take-social-security-at-age-66-instead-of-70-2018-02-02

 

[partington]

5 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

Yes, if you delay receiving payments, your monthly payment will be higher, but you will also forego the payments you would have received by waiting.

 

If you're in good health and have a family history of people living to a ripe old age, it might be to your benefit to delay, but otherwise it's debatable.

 

If you would receive $1500 a month, as an example, and wait five years until your 70, your're letting the government keep  5x12x1500 = $90,000. If you start taking payments at 70, you'd get 132% (I believe) of the $1500 or 1.32 x 1500 = $1980 a month. (Probably a bit higher because of cost of living increases, but you would have got those if you started sooner as well).

 

So you'd be getting $480 a month more.  $90,000 divided by $480 = 187 months or over 15 years just to get back that $90000 you left on the table. And if you had invested the $90,000 or used it for living expenses instead of drawing down existing investments, it would be even longer.

 

So  at about 85 (70 + 15 years to catch up) you'd start getting ahead. Of course, if you dropped dead at 71, or anytime before you hit 85, the government would have made out like bandits.

 

I started at 62. Invested the money since I didn't need it. Given my family history I didn't see any benefit to waiting. You have to assess your own circumstances and needs, but putting off monthly payments in order to get a higher monthly payment isn't necessarily the bonanza some people think.

 

In the example, $1980 certainly looks like a lot more fun than $1500 a month, but don't forget that to get that $1980, you'd let our beloved government hold $90,000 of your money. Like in Vegas, the house always wins.

Even though not an American I worked long enough in the States to get Social Security, and intend to apply for it as soon as eligible, that is 62.

 

Firstly for bird in the hand reasons; secondly, because when you are not yet getting other pensions they don't reduce it using the windfall elimination provision so you get a few years at a higher amount; and thirdly (though I may be wrong about this) aren't the amounts worked out actuarially with the intention of giving out the same amount over a lifetime, so that delaying to 67, or starting at 62 should on average end up with people getting much the same?

 

Of course individuals could end up doing very much better or worse than this, as they wouldn't necessarily conform to a statistical average.

[ToS2014]

23 hours ago, taxout said:

Even if you decide to wait to take Social Security payments, you still need to enroll in Medicare when you turn 65; it's not automatic. Part A is free. Part B you pay for and you'll have to decide based on your own situation whether to enroll in Part B, keeping in mind that enrollment later is more expensive and possible only during a limited time-frame each year.

and you cannot use Part B here, but you can still pay for it.

[Suradit69]

1 hour ago, partington said:

 aren't the amounts worked out actuarially with the intention of giving out the same amount over a lifetime, so that delaying to 67, or starting at 62 should on average end up with people getting much the same?

 

Of course individuals could end up doing very much better or worse than this, as they wouldn't necessarily conform to a statistical average.

You're probably right about paying out the same amount in total spread over however million people will receive payments ... but as you say, as an individual your experience will vary considerably. My father died before collecting anything and my mother only collected for a few years. I don't see any worthwhile upside to waiting and very little downside to starting early.

[taxout]

There is an actuarial element in the calculation, but it's gender blind, though actuarially women live longer than men. So men, on average, don't come out even by waiting.

 

(This of course is generally true of Social Security payments. Men and women receive payments on the same basis, though on average women live longer and collect more from Social Security.)

 

Edited February 6, 2018 by taxout

[Langsuan Man]

20 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

If you can, wait until your 66 to apply for SS Benefits, you'll get a better return - but you must register for Medicare at 65,

NO, you do not have to apply for Medicare at 65, Medicare Part A is automatic (if you have enough credits) but you must apply for Part B or you will pay a penalty (10% per year) if you don't 

[gk10002000]

Do go to the Social Security site and open an account.  They have records of your earnings, at least what they think they were.  And you can see pretty accurately what your benefit checks would be.  That may help you decide when to apply for benefits.  Either way you must get an account first.   Roughly speaking, every year you wait, your benefit increases by a little over 7% I think.  Once you get your account you can use the benefits estimator and try several different years of when you want to start collecting and you will see the numbers.  FYI, I had a lot of trouble getting an account.  I tried for several years.  The site would get all the way to the end of the application process and say "must call".  So I called, actually got to a cool guy that has Jedi powers, but even he couldn't create my account.  He didn't know why  but he said I had to go in person and things would be sorted out.  huh.  I kept meaning to go to a SSA office but never got around to it.  I have been a Florida resident for 20 years.  But each time I was going to the SSA site, it occurred to me I was not in Florida and I was out of state working on a contract.  Anyway, a few years ago I was connecting to the site while I was in Florida and I created my account in like 5 minutes.  Coincidence?  Who knows.  I was concerned they had things mixed up with my Dad who has the name as me minus the middle initial.  But as I look at the earnings records, they seem correct. And after you get your account you can download the earnings to a spreadsheet.  

 

Take some time to think about finances, in case you are making 401k or Traditional IRA withdrawals, or converting money to a Roth IRA.  The more you show in the adjusted gross income (AGI) the more of your social security gets taxed.  Singles under 35k AGI all the social security is tax free basically.  So if applicable, think about your other incomes before taking the SSA money.  I now I will be converting a lot of my Traditional IRA to my Roth IRA before taking SSA.  And as others have pointed out here, the initial medicare premium, the IRS takes a look at your previous two years, so I will be keeping my AGI below ~ 80K as I convert my traditional to roth.

 

 

[MyFriend You]

7 hours ago, Langsuan Man said:

NO, you do not have to apply for Medicare at 65, Medicare Part A is automatic (if you have enough credits) but you must apply for Part B or you will pay a penalty (10% per year) if you don't 

 

18 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

You're probably right about paying out the same amount in total spread over however million people will receive payments ... but as you say, as an individual your experience will vary considerably. My father died before collecting anything and my mother only collected for a few years. I don't see any worthwhile upside to waiting and very little downside to starting early.

Took it at 66 - I figured if I had waited to 70, it would have taken about 8 years to recoup what I would have made lost in 4 years had I not taken at 66 -  66yo was my 100%, just wasn't worth it, and with all the talk back then of cutting SS, I just wouldn't take the chance, I'd rather give it away, then lose a penny, 45 years of working   -  I earned it.

[taxout]

"NO, you do not have to apply for Medicare at 65, Medicare Part A is automatic (if you have enough credits) but you must apply for Part B or you will pay a penalty (10% per year) if you don't."

 

This "advice" is dead wrong, and dead wrong on a very important point.

 

You are automatically enrolled in Part A ONLY if you are already receiving Social Security benefits at age 65. Otherwise you must enroll in Part A. (Note that my comment above was specifically in the context of those not taking Social Security at age 65.)

 

Here's the official summary:

 

"Individuals already receiving Social Security or RRB benefits at least 4 months before being eligible for Medicare and residing in the United States (except residents of Puerto Rico) are automatically enrolled in both premium-free Part A and Part B. People living in Puerto Rico who are eligible for automatic enrollment are only enrolled in premium-free Part A.

 

"Individuals who are not receiving a Social Security or RRB benefit are not automatically enrolled. These individuals must apply by contacting Social Security."

 

https://www.cms.gov/medicare/eligibility-and-enrollment/origmedicarepartabeligenrol/index.html

 

[ubonjoe]

5 hours ago, taxout said:

"NO, you do not have to apply for Medicare at 65, Medicare Part A is automatic (if you have enough credits) but you must apply for Part B or you will pay a penalty (10% per year) if you don't."

 

This "advice" is dead wrong, and dead wrong on a very important point.

 

You are automatically enrolled in Part A ONLY if you are already receiving Social Security benefits at age 65. Otherwise you must enroll in Part A. (Note that my comment above was specifically in the context of those not taking Social Security at age 65.)

If you are using an address for here in Thailand you will be enrolled in part A on your 65th birthday automatically if on SS already. If you want part B you have to enroll in it. 

About 3 months before my 65th birthday I got a letter from the SSA here informing me I was eligible for medicaid.  Included was a medicare card for part A effective on my birthday. It also had the form in it to apply for part B.

If using a US address you are automatically enrolled in Part B.

[Koratjohn77]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

If you are using an address for here in Thailand you will enrolled in part A on your 65th birthday automatically if on SS already. If you want part B you have to enroll in it. 

About 3 months before my 65th birthday I got a letter from the SSA here informing me I was eligible for medicaid.  Included was a medicare card for part A effective on my birthday. It also had the form in it to apply for part B.

If using a US address you are automatically enrolled in Part B.

Actually my wife turns 62 in 2019 we're thinking about her drawing social security then.  I wonder how that will be.  She's actually supposed to be getting social security disability because of a brain injury but of course it was denied so I'm thinking maybe just wait until she's 62 because it's not like we need it.  The thing is that they really should have approved her social security disability it was from a car accident when we were still living in the states over 4 years ago now.  Does anyone know of a social security attorney that helps people living overseas?  My wife is a permanent resident in the United States.  

 

It's a long story.  I should have made sure it was all done before we moved here but my pension is more than enough so I was never really that concerned about it but that's her money and she should get it.  She worked and paid taxes in the United States since 1985.  That social security office in Baltimore is really stupid.