It's about that time of year for us US SSA recipient to get the annual SSA Form 7162 "Are you still alive" forms. 
These forms are usually mailed out in May so folks should be receiving them soon.
I've opened this thread to discuss issues regarding the SSA Form 7162 forms here in 2025.

I checked yesterday and I haven't received my form yet.  

Last year's form was date June 6, 2024

 

Based on past threads, I wouldn't expect the 7162 before June 14.

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1328845-form-7162-anybody-received-theirs-yet-for-2024/

 

 

Right before Covid I was getting my letter around 7 June. Last year, I received it on 17 June.

I emailed the FBU last week and recently received the reply below. The reply is slightly different than what I remember reading on the Manila Embassy' website Q&A section:

 

Thank you for contacting the Social Security Administration's Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

 

The Annual Report Form SSA-7162 is sent from Wilkes-Barre, PA and must be completed by all beneficiaries according to the schedule below. If a beneficiary has a representative payee, Form SSA-7161 will be sent to the representative payee for completion.
 

• Beneficiaries with addresses in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, and APO/FPO/DPO receive the form every two years. Beneficiaries in countries not mentioned above receive the form every year.

• The form is mailed to beneficiaries in May/June and a follow-up letter is mailed in September/October. If the completed form is not received by the end of the year, benefits are suspended beginning with the February payment of the following year. 

To avoid the suspension of your benefits, please complete the form as soon as you receive it and send it back via regular postal mail using the enclosed business reply envelope. You do not have to send the form via courier service; however, if you wish to do so, you may use the following address for courier service: 

 

Social Security Administration
 

Wilkes-Barre Direct Operations Center (WBDOC)
 

Attention: FEQ Analyst – Courier Service
 

1150 E. Mountain Dr. Room 341
 

Wilkes Barre, PA 18702XXX7997
 

U.S.A. 
 

Do not submit the completed form to the Federal Benefits Unit in Manila or to a U.S. Embassy/Consulate.

On 6/10/2025 at 1:56 PM, dingdongrb said:

I emailed the FBU last week and recently received the reply below. The reply is slightly different than what I remember reading on the Manila Embassy' website Q&A section:

 

Thank you for contacting the Social Security Administration's Federal Benefits Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

 

The Annual Report Form SSA-7162 is sent from Wilkes-Barre, PA and must be completed by all beneficiaries according to the schedule below. If a beneficiary has a representative payee, Form SSA-7161 will be sent to the representative payee for completion.
 

• Beneficiaries with addresses in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, and APO/FPO/DPO receive the form every two years. Beneficiaries in countries not mentioned above receive the form every year.

• The form is mailed to beneficiaries in May/June and a follow-up letter is mailed in September/October. If the completed form is not received by the end of the year, benefits are suspended beginning with the February payment of the following year. 

To avoid the suspension of your benefits, please complete the form as soon as you receive it and send it back via regular postal mail using the enclosed business reply envelope. You do not have to send the form via courier service; however, if you wish to do so, you may use the following address for courier service: 

 

Social Security Administration
 

Wilkes-Barre Direct Operations Center (WBDOC)
 

Attention: FEQ Analyst – Courier Service
 

1150 E. Mountain Dr. Room 341
 

Wilkes Barre, PA 18702XXX7997
 

U.S.A. 
 

Do not submit the completed form to the Federal Benefits Unit in Manila or to a U.S. Embassy/Consulate.

 

I think I'll stick to returning the form via regular airmail. It's been working fine the past two years.

7 hours ago, John Drake said:

 

I think I'll stick to returning the form via regular airmail. It's been working fine the past two years.

Thanks for sharing, I'll be able to sleep better tonight. 

Has anyone received their form yet?

4 hours ago, connda said:

Has anyone received their form yet?

Nothing for me yet but I won't panic until November rolls around and I have yet to receive anything.

 

I wonder why a few countries are only required every 2 years and all others every year? Do people die less frequently in those countries? 

Last one I sent back was mid July last year.  So if don't receive by August, then I'll snail mail a couple over.

The last 2 years I did not get the  the form. I have no idea why not.  I made copies of the last time I got the form, about 3 years ago and used one of those copies to send in and attached a short note explaining  that I had not received the 7162.. Two weeks later I sent  a copy again just to make sure. Last year I sent an email to the the embassy in the Philippines asking why my form7162 did not arrive at my address in Thailand like it always used to. They just sent an email  with a form7162 as an attachment with no explanation. 

By this time last year, I had received and returned the form. Just checked my PO Box and still nothing there from SSA. I sure hope this is not another thing DOGE has screwed up.

Return registered airmail. You don't need the expensive overnight post. Tell them two weeks is OK.

 

I also e-mail a copy to Manila, just to create a record. They are looking for reasons to stop benefits, don't give them one. They "lost" mine a few years ago and it was a nuisance to fix it. Now it would be a nightmare.

6 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

Return registered airmail. You don't need the expensive overnight post. Tell them two weeks is OK.

 

I also e-mail a copy to Manila, just to create a record. They are looking for reasons to stop benefits, don't give them one. They "lost" mine a few years ago and it was a nuisance to fix it. Now it would be a nightmare.

 

I still have two copies of the form from last year. It is making me nervous that this year's hasn't arrived yet. I'll wait some more, but if necessary, I'll just mail in the copies I made last year.

FWIW, I searched out other people asking for the form in other countries. Reddit and two other forums have not reported receiving their forms yet either.

59 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

I still have two copies of the form from last year. It is making me nervous that this year's hasn't arrived yet. I'll wait some more, but if necessary, I'll just mail in the copies I made last year.

I normally get mine late July or early August.

June 20th and I have not heard of anyone receiving one yet

uh oh! Will it be like a question not made so not answered so you must be dead  so close the file thanks! ?

 

Hi Folks,  Across multiple forums I don’t know of anyone who has received their 7162 Form yet.  I definitely should have received mine by now (based on last 10 years).  What do you think our plan should be?  I don’t mean to be alarmist, but I think either SSA is deliberately not going to send them, or they are too short staffed.

just checked my records from last year and mine were received on the 22nd of June 2024, will wait until early July and then print out some new forms for me and the wife and mail them in.

17 hours ago, flexomike said:

just checked my records from last year and mine were received on the 22nd of June 2024

Last year I mailed it back on 23rd June 24. Don't remember when I received it.

I am still waiting for this year. Will come to read this thread whenever there is a new post :).

Y’All, what are we going to do about this?  NO ONE who usually has their 7162 form by now, has received it.  The forms aren’t still “on the way”.  The SSA’s 7162 system is automated.  The auto-generated form (specifically barcoded by year), are fed into an automated computer system when they are returned (which retains your payments if the computer reads “your circumstances haven’t changed”).  If you don’t return the computer generated barcoded form, the system stops your benefits in February 2026.  There isn’t a staff person that is going to manually check any returned paperwork outside their automated system.  And clearly the automated system isn’t operating this year.  It was hard enough to get reinstated if your benefits get stopped in the past.  Now it will be an absolute nightmare to try to get them reinstated.

On 6/16/2025 at 3:43 PM, KhunLA said:

Last one I sent back was mid July last year.  So if don't receive by August, then I'll snail mail a couple over.

I have usually gotten mine my June.  We're now at the end of June and I still haven't received mine yet.  But it seems we're all in the same boat.  Hey - maybe this is the new DOGE SSA. No one gets their SSA 7162 in Thailand this year and they cut all of our payments starting Feb 2026? 

3 minutes ago, connda said:

I have usually gotten mine my June.  We're now at the end of June and I still haven't received mine yet.  But it seems we're all in the same boat.  Hey - maybe this is the new DOGE SSA. No one gets their SSA 7126 in Thailand this year and they cut all of our payments starting Feb 2026? 

You're not wrong to be suspicious of what DOGE has done.

That's a big part of their cost cutting policy -- trying to shake people who are eligible out of the system by various sleazy methods.

Of course those of us who know about the requirement will be pursuing filing in other ways such as through Manila. But that's not exactly foolproof.

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

That's a big part of their cost cutting policy -- trying to shake people who are eligible out of the system by various sleazy methods.

As opposed to the sleazy methods folks use to obtain benefits.

 

You are always on the side of everything that is indecent, dishonest and immoral

On 6/18/2025 at 2:25 PM, cjinchiangrai said:

Return registered airmail.

From experience.  Registered mail seldom makes it to Wilkes-Barr by the cutoff date.  They actually sit on registered mail and it doesn't get delivered.  I did that twice with the same results.  The mail stops in Wilkes-Barr and then sits for weeks.

Now I just send it by regular first-class international - 68 THB. Never have a problem.

1 minute ago, connda said:

From experience.  Registered mail seldom makes it to Wilkes-Barr by the cutoff date.  They actually sit on registered mail and it doesn't get delivered.  I did that twice with the same results.  The mail stops in Wilkes-Barr and then sits for weeks.

Now I just send it by regular first-class international - 68 THB. Never have a problem.

I've had the same experience and agree just go regular.

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You're not wrong to be suspicious of what DOGE has done.

Yep - I know. 

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

I've had the same experience and agree just go regular.

It's the fact that the Wilkes-Barr PO sits on it.  Tell me that's not pre-arranged between SSA and USPS.  

Just now, connda said:

Yep - I know. 

Also if they have mucked it up it may not even be intentional. 

That's because they didn't know what the flippin' biscuit they were doing!

Their goal was to SMASH things. 

41 minutes ago, connda said:

I have usually gotten mine my June.  We're now at the end of June and I still haven't received mine yet.  But it seems we're all in the same boat.  Hey - maybe this is the new DOGE SSA. No one gets their SSA 7162 in Thailand this year and they cut all of our payments starting Feb 2026? 

I usually mail mine back within a week or so.  With that, must have got it end of June, start of July.   Though if in PO Box, I only check that monthly, first week usually, if not out of town.  Which I wasn't, and returned home June 24 th, and was home till mid July when I did mail it in.  As out of town again on the 15th of July.

 

Sent change of address with the pulse check, which they seem to have not noticed, or ignored.  The form should be coming to the house.   Wife checked the PO Box today, nothing.  Curious if it will ever make it to the house, instead of PO.

 

If not here by August, I'll send a couple to them.