US SS form 7162

[cusanus]

Suppose I jumped the gun, but... emailed mine today to Manila, also sent to Room 341: 

address on envelope if you got it:

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
PO BOX 7162
WILKES BARRE PA 18767-7162
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

direct to office building:

Social Security Administration
Wilkes Barre Data Operations Center
ATTN: FEQ Analyst, FEQ Forms 7161-7162
1150 E. Mountain Dr. Room 341
Wilkes Barre, PA 18702-7997

Email: 

Email a scanned pdf copy of the completed form to [email protected] using as subject: FEQ-country where you live-last name of the worker’s record under which you receive benefits (sample: FEQ-Colombia-Perez); or fax it to 506-2291-1032. 

Fax: 632-8708-9714 or 632-8708-9723
Email: [email protected]

 

NOTE: https://www.medellinherald.com/antioquia/expcorn/item/679-u-s-embassy-in-colombia-issues-new-‘proof-of-life’-rule-for-social-security-beneficiaries-here

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, cusanus said:

Suppose I jumped the gun, but... emailed mine today to Manila, also sent to Room 341: 

address on envelope if you got it:

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
PO BOX 7162
WILKES BARRE PA 18767-7162
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

direct to office building:

Social Security Administration
Wilkes Barre Data Operations Center
ATTN: FEQ Analyst, FEQ Forms 7161-7162
1150 E. Mountain Dr. Room 341
Wilkes Barre, PA 18702-7997

Email: 

Email a scanned pdf copy of the completed form to [email protected] using as subject: FEQ-country where you live-last name of the worker’s record under which you receive benefits (sample: FEQ-Colombia-Perez); or fax it to 506-2291-1032. 

Fax: 632-8708-9714 or 632-8708-9723
Email: [email protected]

 

NOTE: https://www.medellinherald.com/antioquia/expcorn/item/679-u-s-embassy-in-colombia-issues-new-‘proof-of-life’-rule-for-social-security-beneficiaries-here

You really shouldn't.

Manila would advise to wait for the letter.

[ubonjoe]

56 minutes ago, cusanus said:

Suppose I jumped the gun,

You should of waited until you got in the mail or until it has been about 60 days from the day the announcement was done that they will be sending them.

[cusanus]

You're the one (Ubon) who said yours didn't get received on time. I've done this before. If it's received at the office building it's recorded and that's the end of that. They don't toss them. But thanks for your good advice as always.

Edited June 29, 2022 by cusanus

[cusanus]

If you've ever had your benefits up and suspended without notice, you'll want to make sure the forms are received, at least it's a major panic for some people and reason not to lay back and wait on the bureaucracy. I've never had that problem myself, but after being witness to it, I tend to burst from the chute. The form should have been here first week of June as always. 

[ubonjoe]

1 hour ago, cusanus said:

You're the one (Ubon) who said yours didn't get received on time. I've done this before. If it's received at the office building it's recorded and that's the end of that. They don't toss them. But thanks for your good advice as always.

Mu report was received on time but nobody opened it until September about the same time they sent me  another one due to them not it not being recorded.

Not sure about sending it to that particular room would of helped.

I have sent them using the preaddressed envelope serval times without a problem.

If your are getting your mail from the SSA without a problem then their should be no reason to have your payments stopped since they send a couple of notices before  stopping it.

[cusanus]

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

Mu report was received on time but nobody opened it until September about the same time they sent me  another one due to them not it not being recorded.

Not sure about sending it to that particular room would of helped.

I have sent them using the preaddressed envelope serval times without a problem.

If your are getting your mail from the SSA without a problem then their should be no reason to have your payments stopped since they send a couple of notices before  stopping it.

I give up, you win. Think. I said it was never a problem of mine, not for 15 years. But I'm not you and you're not everybody. I sent the one in question to that address and it was in fact recorded as advised by certain embassies where this approach provided a remedy. I prefer that advice, but don't hold back. Who knows.    

[pmarlin]

I did the same thing and jumped the gun. Mailed it out on 22 Jun 33 and got there yesterday  28 Jun 22.  I usually do  it on my own because of the unreliable mail delivery where I live.

[Kivetoruk]

I'm currently traveling out of Thailand for several months . I will definitely not be at my Thailand address to receive the first mailing of Form 7162 from the Social Security Administration and most likely the follow-up letter. 

I decided to send a printed Form 7162 by Airmail, Registered to:

 

Social Security Administration 
PO Box 7162
Wilkes-Barre,PA 18767-7162
United States of America 

 

Letter was mailed June 26th 2022,  with final delivery (Signed) July 5th 2022-   Cost -325 Baht.

 

*Note: The Postmaster advised that the Thailand Post Office International mailing fees have recently increased - Airmail - 49 Baht,  EMS -1500 Baht! quoted for my single page, small envelope.

I think the mailing time was impressive and thought this might be of interest to others. 

 

 

[Pawpcorn]

Mine arrived today... the SSA letter had the mailing date of June 27, 2022 typewritten on it...

 

Arriving 11 days later is pretty nice, back to Pre-Covid mail performance (such a welcome change!)

[Pib]

The wife and I rec'd our today/8 July 2022...we live in Bangkok.  Wasn't aware/forgot about this thread when I started this other one on 8 July.

 

 

[Longwood50]

On 6/29/2022 at 10:15 AM, ubonjoe said:

I have sent them using the preaddressed envelope serval times without a problem.

If your are getting your mail from the SSA without a problem then their should be no reason to have your payments stopped since they send a couple of notices before  stopping it.

Just an FYI,  I sent mine by PDF yesterday to Manilla indicating that I was doing so as a precaution.  I got this response from Manilla this morning. 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

39 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

Just an FYI,  I sent mine by PDF yesterday to Manilla indicating that I was doing so as a precaution.  I got this response from Manilla this morning. 

And I received the opposite response when I sent the FBU a pdf of the completed form and advised them that I intended to send the original to Wilkes-Barre

[Pib]

 

Back in 2019 (pre-pandemic) the wife didn't receive a 7162 and when asking Manila what to do she was told to wait until 1 Nov and if no 7162 was received by then, then contact Manila again and they would email a 7162 for completion and return to Manila.  And when neither the wife or I received a form in  2020 we were once again told to wait till 1 Nov.   

 

Below is a partial quote of their responses back then from two different reps.  In both cases Manila did email a 7162 to complete, scan, and return email to them but only on/after 1 Nov which means a person would have not received the first or second mailing from the SSA.

 

Basically, Manila didn't want to get involved in processing 7162's until "after" the initial mailing from SSA and if needed the follow-up mailing to the beneficiary had occurred....and these two SSA mailings would have occurred and been received by 31 Oct.   If a person didn't receive either of the mailings then Manila would accept/process a 7162 sent to them versus Wilkes-Barre.   

 

A 21 June 2019 Manila SSA FBU response (pre-pandemic) 

Quote

Kindly wait for another mail from the US office this October. If you do not receive on the said month, by November contact us so that we can send you a copy. We cannot send you yet the form this time since forms are still being sent out the Wilkes Barre and it has a bar code. Rest assured that your  benefits will not be placed into suspense.

 

A 2 July 2020 Manila SSA FBU response (pandemic starting to disrupt mail)

Quote

 

Good day.

Please be advised that due to the pandemic, the annual questionnaire form ssa 7162 has not been mailed out yet.

If you will still not receive it by 11/2020, please re-contact us via email.

Thank you.

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

Got my SSA-7162 this afternoon. Date at top of form is June 27th. About 2 weeks to get it is not to bad.

Now in the envelope to be mailed by Registered Air Mail. Not worried about how long it takes to get there. My main concern it have proof it was mailed and received.

A earlier post on this page seems to show it is not taking as long as in the past. 

[Pib]

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Got my SSA-7162 this afternoon. Date at top of form is June 27th. About 2 weeks to get it is not to bad.

Now in the envelope to be mailed by Registered Air Mail. Not worried about how long it takes to get there. My main concern it have proof it was mailed and received.

A earlier post on this page seem to show it not taking as long as in the past. 

Although tracking might give a warm-fuzzy of knowing where the mailing currently is just having a tracking number of a mailing to Wilkes Barre will be of little to no assistance in satisfying the requirement of the Wilkes-Barre SSA folks receiving the form and updating the system. If for some reason you get a second notice I seriously doubt telling the SSA folks you have a tracking number showing arrival at Wilkes Barre will satisfy the SSA folks in requiring a 7162 either provided via a 2nd mailing to Wilkes-Barre and/or an email/scan to Manila.

 

I would be interested to see more current tracking results for a Registered Airmail to Wilkes-Barre...hope more people post some tracking results like Kivetoruk did above a few post showing  around a 9 day delivery time.  I was surprised indeed based on my 5 test mailings back in 2019 where it took 21 to 40 days for a Registered Airmail envelope to reach an addresses in California and Texas but a Regular (unregistered) Airmail took 10 to 14 days.  

 

Back then a Registered Airmail cost less than Bt100 but now Bt325.   Maybe with the new & improved price Registered Airmail price they are moving the registered email faster combined with registered mail not getting bogged down in U.S. customs for 3 to 7 days at the U.S. international entry point which I experienced with each of my registered mailings which was  a simple envelope with one A4 sized piece of paper in it.

 

Yea, hope more people post Registered Airmail tracking results....would be nice to know info for us folks listening in.

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, Pib said:

Although tracking might give a warm-fuzzy of knowing where the mailing currently is just having a tracking number of a mailing to Wilkes Barre will be of little to no assistance in satisfying the requirement of the Wilkes-Barre SSA folks receiving the form and updating the system. If for some reason you get a second notice I seriously doubt telling the SSA folks you have a tracking number showing arrival at Wilkes Barre will satisfy the SSA folks in requiring a 7162 either provided via a 2nd mailing to Wilkes-Barre and/or an email/scan to Manila.

Having proof it was delivered seems to of worked back in 2019 when I was sent a 2nd notice due to Wilkes Barre not signing off for the delivery of it until September since tracking showed it was almost at Wilkes Barre in June.

I sent a email to Manila and a fax to the SSA International Operations office. Maybe that is why Kivetoruk's was signed for quickly.

[DJ54]

Thanks to everyone for valuable input. My benefits started in July 2021. Definitely would be a headache if suspended if your on the monthly input banking for Extensions. 

[ubonjoe]

A off topic post and baiting posts have been removed. Time to end it now.

[Pib]

On 7/6/2022 at 5:06 PM, Kivetoruk said:

I'm currently traveling out of Thailand for several months . I will definitely not be at my Thailand address to receive the first mailing of Form 7162 from the Social Security Administration and most likely the follow-up letter. 

I decided to send a printed Form 7162 by Airmail, Registered to:

 

Social Security Administration 
PO Box 7162
Wilkes-Barre,PA 18767-7162
United States of America 

 

Letter was mailed June 26th 2022,  with final delivery (Signed) July 5th 2022-   Cost -325 Baht.

 

*Note: The Postmaster advised that the Thailand Post Office International mailing fees have recently increased - Airmail - 49 Baht,  EMS -1500 Baht! quoted for my single page, small envelope.

I think the mailing time was impressive and thought this might be of interest to others. 

 

 

 

Above is tracking from the Thailand Postal Tracking system.   Does tracking on the U.S. Postal System tracking show "final delivery" specifically to Wilkes Barre? 

https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input

 

The Thai and U.S. postal tracking systems do interface with/update each other "to a degree" but from my experience the USPS tracking system will show more detailed tracking/locations especially once it arrives in the U.S., but the Thai Postal System tracking will show a more abbreviated form.

 

Seems the arrival at the inward office of exchange (i.e., arriving the U.S. international mail center which could have been several U.S. locations but probably New York City) and then being signed for in Wilkes Barre PA is awful fast even with NY and PA being side-by-side states.

 

 

 

[flexomike]

Both me and my wife get SS, has anyone sent there forms in together, this is the first year she has to report, we live in Rayong and have not yet received the forms.

[Jingthing]

I haven't received it yet.

My thought is that it's best to wait until the second mailing and then if still not received only then contact Manila. 

[Pib]

22 minutes ago, flexomike said:

Both me and my wife get SS, has anyone sent there forms in together, this is the first year she has to report, we live in Rayong and have not yet received the forms.

I've never sent both the wife's and my form back in the same envelope, HOWEVER, BUT, I would not think it would make any difference (other than saving on mailing costs) because the envelope SSA provided is a generic, un-stamped in nature with the Wilkes Barre addressed preprinted.   All the "person specific" info/data is printed/encoded on the 7162 form the SSA mailed you; it's not on the envelope they provide for return mailing.

 

The only thing I would do is include a short note attached to the forms flagging the fact one form is for you and the other for the wife just to help make sure the SSA person opening the envelope notices "two" forms for two people are included.   It's gotta be a mind-numbing job opening hundred of thousands of 7162 envelopes over several months.   Of course I'm assuming Wilks Barre has humans opening the envelopes....I guess they could have a machine doing it with all the fantastic robots machines they have now days and then the human only gets involved for those forms the robot rejects for some reason.

[Pib]

Doing some googling, here is what the "2nd Notice" supposedly look like....the notice you get if Wilkes Barre didn't get your 1st notice 7162 back within 60 days.   And it also says you can mail the 7162 back in any envelope if the Wilkes Barre provided envelope isn't used for some reason.

 

Quote

 

 

[Kivetoruk]

12 hours ago, Pib said:

 

Above is tracking from the Thailand Postal Tracking system.   Does tracking on the U.S. Postal System tracking show "final delivery" specifically to Wilkes Barre? 

https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input

 

The Thai and U.S. postal tracking systems do interface with/update each other "to a degree" but from my experience the USPS tracking system will show more detailed tracking/locations especially once it arrives in the U.S., but the Thai Postal System tracking will show a more abbreviated form.

 

Seems the arrival at the inward office of exchange (i.e., arriving the U.S. international mail center which could have been several U.S. locations but probably New York City) and then being signed for in Wilkes Barre PA is awful fast even with NY and PA being side-by-side states.

 

 

 

I entered the Thailand Post  tracking number into the U. S. Post Office tracking website  and here are the results. ( I included the Thailand Post tracking screenshot again for ease of comparison) 

Hope this is helpful. 

[Pib]

Thanks. 

 

Got thru Customs in 1 day....a LOT faster than my 2019 test mailings that took 3-7 days to get thru Customs.

 

Interesting where it says "Delivered to an agent for final delivery in Wilkes Barre" but nothing so far confirming that "agent" (does that mean a postman?) made that final/last mile delivery to the Wilkes Barre SSA address.  I expect there will be no more updates since the green dot means tracking is complete/finished.

 

[Kivetoruk]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Thanks. 

 

Got thru Customs in 1 day....a LOT faster than my 2019 test mailings that took 3-7 days to get thru Customs.

 

Interesting where it says "Delivered to an agent for final delivery in Wilkes Barre" but nothing so far confirming that "agent" (does that mean a postman?) made that final/last mile delivery to the Wilkes Barre SSA address.  I expect there will be no more updates since the green dot means tracking is complete/finished.

 

I went down the wormhole trying to determine who's the agent for Social Security authorized to pick up mail at their Post Office Box, then  deliver it to the actual Social Security Office location  address but struck out.

(I'm only referring to U.S. mail system delivery and not for example, combination FedEx / U. S. Post Office type  deliveries)

 

The only tidbits of information I gleaned from the  U. S.  Post Office FAQ's were -

 

1. Mail Agents aren't U.S. Postal employees but rather  individuals or businesses authorized by someone or an organization to retrieve their  mail from the Post Office and make the last leg of delivery to the recipient. 

2.Tracking updates stop at the Post Office, thus no more updates after the "Green" final delivery notification.

3. In conclusion, it seems that when an authorized mail agent is involved on the final leg of the mail delivery there's no guarantee the mail actually arrived at the Social Security Office location. 

Which isn't a comforting thought if a person is relying on that final delivery notification as evidence Form 7162 is actually entered into the Social Security system. 

 

What I'm going to do is wait a few weeks to give Social Security time to process my Form 7162. then call them and ask if they have  entered my form into the system.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm traveling and don't want this hanging over my head wondering if if it's been taken care of or not. 

[Pib]

Sounds good. 

 

Since the form is mailed to a PO Box which is most likely located at the Wilkes Barre post office I expect the SSA office sends a person each business day to pickup/sign for mail and take it back to the SSA facility where the mail is opened/processed. 

 

And I expect "bags" worth of mail arrive each day to the PO Box 7162.  The box is not a pigeon hole in a wall which could contain only a few pieces of mail but a "cart" which the agent picks up.

 

Yea, I'm really surprised your Registered Airmail got to Wilkes Barre so fast...in only around 9 days because as I mentioned earlier my 5 envelope test mailings in 2019 to CA and TX addresses took 21 to 40 days to arrive.  And only around 5 days of that 21-40 days time was from the NY Int'l entry point after customs clearance to the final CA to TX address.  The bulk of the time was just Missing In Action tracking  time between Bangkok and the US entry point and getting bogged down in US entry point customs.  

 

But hey, things change over time...sometimes for the better. Hopefully, your approx 9 day Register Airmail time is the new norm vs the 21 to 40 days norm I experienced in 2019 over several months.. 

 

Hopefully others who used Registered Airmail to mail back their 7162 will provide USPS tracking crossfeed.  That will confirm whether your fast time was an outlyer or the new norm.  I hope it's the new norm.

 

Cheers.

 

 

[ubonjoe]

This what happened to my SSA-7162 in 2019 between July 7th and Sept 10th.

 

Thai post tracking.

 

 

Zip code 18764 is a unique zip code and is at the SSA office in Wilkes Barre.

Source: https://www.zip-codes.com/zip-code/18767/zip-code-18767.asp

 

I did a lot of research about it in 2019 and did not send the 2nd form they sent in October,since the first one was received. It apparently was received in a gray area between received and the 2nd notice being done in their system.

I was not the only one that had a similar problem then and theirs were also signed for by "D Kosin".

I do admit it might of been partly my fault for forgetting to check tracking after it showed it was on the final leg of being delivered.

[Pib]

Yea, I now remember you talking about the "unique" ZIP code a few years ago with "unique: meaning for a specific company or organization.   

 

And from playing around on the USPS website regarding Wilkes Barre ZIP codes it appears there are 18 total with 6  being "unique" ZIP codes in Wilkes Barre with one of those six being the SSA 18767 ZIP code used for Dead or Alive forms.

 

https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?bycitystate#page-2