Social Security from US

[Pib]

59 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

That's an interesting chart, Pib, leaving aside the issue of expats who live abroad, but use a U.S. address for their SS payments.

 

But what really struck me about the chart was seeing the various countries with larger retired U.S. worker numbers than Thailand -- like Japan, Germany, France, Greece, Italy and the UK, among others -- and wondering what kind of visa/permissions to stay are so many retired Americans obtaining for those countries??? None of those countries have reputations as being amenable retirement destinations for U.S. expats AFAIK.

 

I googled on retirement visa for Japan and just opened the first link....apparently if you are married to a Japanese it's easy to get a long term visa.   And I can understand how many are married to Japanese spouses....at my last job in Hawaii I had at least a half dozen friends married to Japanese spouses and they were planning to retire in Japan.   Plus there has been (and still is) a big U.S. military presence (Air Force, Navy, & Marines) in mainland Japan/Okinawa since WWII  and these military folks continue to marry Japanese and many eventually retire there.  Being able to use the military facilities such as base exchange, commissary, hospitals, etc., makes their living in Japan much cheaper than civilians would experience.

 

http://www.retireinasia.com/visa-requirements-to-retire-in-japan/

Edited September 2, 2016 by Pib

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

23 minutes ago, Pib said:

I googled on retirement visa for Japan and just opened the first link....apparently if you are married to a Japanese it's easy to get a long term visa.   And I can understand how many are married to Japanese spouses....at my last job in Hawaii I had at least a half dozen friends married to Japanese spouses and they were planning to retire in Japan.   Plus there has been (and still is) a big U.S. military presence (Air Force, Navy, & Marines) in mainland Japan/Okinawa since WWII  and these military folks continue to marry Japanese and many eventually retire there.  Being able to use the military facilities such as base exchange, commissary, hospitals, etc., makes their living in Japan much cheaper than civilians would experience.

 

http://www.retireinasia.com/visa-requirements-to-retire-in-japan/

 

yes, that kind of thing would explain about Japan and perhaps Germany too. But not really the same situation with the other European countries with large SS recipient populations that I mentioned in my list.

 

Edited September 2, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[BobTH]

I applied to begin taking my social security benefits online the first of August this year. I will be 64 in October and applied on the US website. When filling out my Bangkok address on the site there was not enough space to write the address complete like I would have liked to, so I did the best I could. At that time I was not aware that they would send me something in the mail to sign to begin my payments. Since I plan to make the deposits into my US bank account and not here I was not overly concerned at the time. I have since went into the site to check my status and it says the letter has been sent. Now it is September and I have not yet received the papers from them that I need to sign. I did call the US office and after waiting over thirty minutes for someone to answer and they told me that the address looked good. Well if I do not receive the mail in the next week or so I would like this time to contact the Social Security Office in Manila. I did call them once but they did not return the call and I have since misplaced the number. I looked through this thread but did not see it anywhere, if anyone reading this has the phone number for the Manila office and also tell me a good time to call I would appreciate it. Also please excuse me if my tread is off topic but I am kind of desperate and it seems like those that have replied here know how the process works here in Thailand and Manila. Thanks in advance.

[Pib]

Here you go.
https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/social-security/

[BobTH]

 

19 minutes ago, Pib said:

Here you go.
https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/social-security/

 

Thanks much Pib, it is appriciated.

Edited September 3, 2016 by BobTH

[Pib]

19 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

yes, that kind of thing would explain about Japan and perhaps Germany too. But not really the same situation with the other European countries with large SS recipient populations that I mentioned in my list.

 

I expect similar provision apply to those other European countries.  I googled retiring in the UK and opening the first link said this (partial quote).

 

http://www.ukimmigration.com/retirement

Quote

Retirement to the UK is an option for foreign nationals over sixty who can demonstrate an income of £25,000 per year "without working", and a close connection with the UK. The 'close connection' requirement is not defined rigidly, and may, for example, be satisfied by having a close relative in the UK, previous UK residence, business connections/interests in the UK, or a strong sense of identity with the UK.

 

Also, keep in mind there was a "huge" U.S. military presence in Europe (and still a fairly large one) every since WWII...expect lot of Americans fell in love with parts of Europe, married Europeans which probably makes getting a spouse visa easy, etc.  Also keep in mind that SSA link identifying "beneficiaries" in foreign countries probably includes a lot of  dual citizenship folks (like my wife...dual citizen...U.S. and Thai) who can easily retire in a country they are a citizen of (no visa required), foreign beneficiaries who were married to American citizen long enough (10 years) before divorcing (and not remarrying) and they also had 5 years in the U.S. drawing social security benefits off the ex-U.S. spouse's earning records, etc.   Non-U.S. folks who worked in the U.S. for at least 10 years now drawing benefits, etc.   Lots of ways a person can become a U.S. Social Security "beneficiary" and end up as stat in that earlier SSA stats table. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 8/18/2016 at 8:10 PM, Pib said:

Just got this email from Social Security basically  saying "never mind"...sorry for putting everyone through this....we'll try again in around 6 months with another approach, but for those who want to use the SMS 2 factor logon approach please do.   Let's just hope the new approach is not worst or equally restrictive as the SMS logon approach.  

 

 

 

Weird... I got that same exact email from Social Security in my inbox just today -- about two weeks after you received the same one.  Presumably, they have A LOT of Social Security stakeholders to inform of the latest change/reversal.

 

[Pib]

They probably got one guy sending the same email over and over (and retyping it every time) to one email address at a time....haven't figured out how to do batch emails yet.   

 

But seriously, I expect it has something to do with not overloading outgoing email servers with millions of emails and also email domains like gmail.com seeing so many emails coming from one source and maybe thinking they are spam emails and then the email ends up in the spam folder.  And if a person never checks their spam folder they never see/get the email.  

 

[willyumiii]

On 08/07/2016 at 4:56 PM, RKASA said:

This is answered on the ssa.gov web site - I think it was your allowed to earn an amount each year does not matter the hours - don't know the numbers so maybe check out the FAQ's section.

Not so.

There is no limit on your earnings, but of coarse you are responsible to pay US taxes on them.

The restriction is on the number of hours you can work.

It is less than 40 hours per month.

I believe it it is 38 hours, but it has been a while since I was dealing with this and found out the school I was working at had no use for a 38 hour per month teacher.

I understood their view.

Now I don't teach.

[willyumiii]

On 30/08/2016 at 5:54 PM, Boon Mee said:

Have you guys seen this?

 

IRS doesn't tell 1 million taxpayers that illegals stole their Social Security numbers...

 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/30/irs-doesnt-tell-1-million-taxpayers-that-illegal-i/

 

Not good...

Illegals using your number to pay money into your SS that they can never collect .....

It only increases the amount it appears you have paid into SS.

How is this  "not good"?

Is this ' Trump logic"?

[Boon Mee]

8 hours ago, willyumiii said:

Illegals using your number to pay money into your SS that they can never collect .....

It only increases the amount it appears you have paid into SS.

How is this  "not good"?

Is this ' Trump logic"?

What's Donald Trump got to do with SS numbers getting ripped off by Criminal Illegal Aliens, eh?

These criminals then use the numbers to obtain driver's licenses, credit cards and run up debt destroying your credit rating.

Mai Dee Luey...

[IMA_FARANG]

Unfortunately they still won't allow you to open an on-line account from a foriegn (Thailand) access.

i live here in Bangkok, and I have been told many timrs by SSA that I can not get an online contact account unless I have a U.S. address.

I recieve my Social Security benefits here in Thailand by direct deposit to my Bangkok Bank account monthly, but the SSA won't let me open an online account to talk to them.

Shoes what my real status as a U.S. retiree is to them.

If you don't fit their preconceptions you are regarded as to unimportant to talk to.

 

 

[willyumiii]

11 minutes ago, IMA_FARANG said:

Unfortunately they still won't allow you to open an on-line account from a foriegn (Thailand) access.

i live here in Bangkok, and I have been told many timrs by SSA that I can not get an online contact account unless I have a U.S. address.

I recieve my Social Security benefits here in Thailand by direct deposit to my Bangkok Bank account monthly, but the SSA won't let me open an online account to talk to them.

Shoes what my real status as a U.S. retiree is to them.

If you don't fit their preconceptions you are regarded as to unimportant to talk to.

 

 

I do not understand what you mean by an on-line account.

I live in Thailand also and have open communication via email  and /or telephone with my SS case worker in the Philippines.

Any questions or problems I have are always answered promptly.

They have always been extremely helpful.

Like you, my payments are made to Bangkok Bank in New York and are readily available here every month.

What is an on-line account and why would it be an advantage over the service I already have?

[JDGRUEN]

Money paid into a particular Social Security Number by an Illegal Alien who stole it for use - does not go the the Original Owner of the SSN... These days SSNs are Labeled    xxx.xx.xxxx A ..... B .... or C.... etc. depending on how many people have stolen your number... I know this for a fact ... it is not speculation ... Therefore the contributions are kept separate.   Stealing someone's SSN for use as an ID to get work is a Federal Crime .... but the S.S. Admin and the IRS do not care...    xxx.xx.xxx A is the original owner.

Edited September 8, 2016 by JDGRUEN

[JDGRUEN]

15 minutes ago, willyumiii said:

I do not understand what you mean by an on-line account.

I live in Thailand also and have open communication via email  and /or telephone with my SS case worker in the Philippines.

Any questions or problems I have are always answered promptly.

They have always been extremely helpful.

Like you, my payments are made to Bangkok Bank in New York and are readily available here every month.

What is an on-line account and why would it be an advantage over the service I already have?

 

It is called MY Social Security and establishing one with a foreign IP address or foreign mailing address is not possible.   I use the address of where my motor home is parked - fully ready to live in -- not stored ... I have also used a Proxy. 

Edited September 8, 2016 by JDGRUEN

[Pib]

33 minutes ago, willyumiii said:

I do not understand what you mean by an on-line account.

I live in Thailand also and have open communication via email  and /or telephone with my SS case worker in the Philippines.

Any questions or problems I have are always answered promptly.

They have always been extremely helpful.

Like you, my payments are made to Bangkok Bank in New York and are readily available here every month.

What is an on-line account and why would it be an advantage over the service I already have?

In regards to what is an online account, see below SSA link for starters....see what it offers for people drawing benefits or not....whether young or old.  

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/

 

[willyumiii]

41 minutes ago, JDGRUEN said:

 

It is called MY Social Security and establishing one with a foreign IP address or foreign mailing address is not possible.   I use the address of where my motor home is parked - fully ready to live in -- not stored ... I have also used a Proxy. 

O.K. thank you JDGRUEN.

I now remember that I had opened that account years ago when I was trying to anticipate how much I could collect.

I did have to use my last U.S. address to open it.

Since I have started collecting my money and have been assigned a case worker, I have not used the account.

[JDGRUEN]

On 9/2/2016 at 10:26 AM, Pib said:

I personally do not have an AmEx Bluebird card, but yes you can have your SSA deposited to your Bluebird account.  I never got one simply because I have a couple of no foreign transaction fee U.S. bank debit cards that reimburse ATM fees.  But if I didn't have such cards I would have already got a AmEx Bluebird card.

 

And yes, you must have a U.S. residence address which is common for many financial accounts/getting cards and  AmEx Bluebird will only mail the cards to that U.S. Residential address.  This is where you would need to use a family member/friend's address if you no longer have an actual U.S. address....once again, a common thing in setting up financial accounts/getting cards for years now....nothing new about that.  It varies from bank/company-to-bank/company as to if they will mail their products outside the U.S.  

 

Heck, just for an example of needing to have a U.S. residential address to get a "U.S. phone line product" just a month ago I wanted to get a MagicJack VOIP adpater/U.S. phone number....MagicJack only accepts  and mails to U.S. addresses but on their website they also say you can order and remail the MagicJack to your friend overseas...I ordered and had the order mailed to a relative who remailed it to me.  I have since received the MagicJack and setup it up no problem here in Bangkok giving me another U.S. phone number and SMS/text sending/receiving capability with the MJ app....works great.  And when paying for the annual MJ service paying for it online is not linked to your U.S. residential address....you can pay via credit/debit card with a different address.    It's just the "mailing" of the product is limited to the U.S.    And one more example, I just got a T-Mobile SIM U.S. number...once again, they will only mail to a U.S. address....I ordered...had it remailed to me...have since received it, setup it up (works fine), and prepaid x-amount online with my credit card...the U.S. residential thing just deals with ordering/shipping the product since it involves a "U.S. phone number. This MJ and T-Mobile stories is just for example in how some companies will only accept and mail to U.S. addresses although their products/services can be used outside the U.S....if I wanted to write to more I could give you some financial account examples....it's like just getting through their front door but after than you can move around their house freely and totally welcomed.

 

Yeap, the Direct Express card is fine for use within the U.S. but is very expensive to use outside the U.S. due to it's foreign transaction fees.

 

Just a comment about your question about linking your Direct Express card to a PayPal account so you could transfer funds to your "Thai" PayPal account.  Keep in mind when U.S. dollars flow to a Thai PayPay account although the "direct" transfer fee is low/zero, PayPal automatically converts the dollars to baht (you have no choice in this matter) and  you get the low/crappy PayPal exchange rate (that's where PayPal rapes you in their low exchange rate).

 

See below regarding Direct Deposit for govt benefit payments into your BlueBird account...more details in other areas of their website regarding adding funds to the account, direct deposit, etc....a very thorough webste IMO.

https://www.bluebird.com/faqs/?intlink=us-bluebird-marketing-home-prospectslp-jun2015prospects-footer-faqs#deposit-money

 

I have an AMEX Bluebird account and Debit/ATM  Card.  Bluebird works GREAT for S.S. Direct Deposit.. I get my DD two days earlier than normal.  I don't know how they do it but they advertise it.  Bluebird is also GREAT for transferring my money each month to my Bangkok Bank account via relay at the Bangkok Bank New York.  The transaction is considered a domestic U.S. ACH (Automated Clearing House) transaction - and NOT a foreign money transfer.  Bluebird charges  NO fee that I can detect for this ACH transfer. The transfer is done by me at the Bluebird website.  I had to preregister the account transfer numbers and have a test of a few cents made.  Very common thing to do... I only had to have the B.B. New York Routing Number and my B.B. Account number to set up the transaction data and save it.  Once a test is approved - the transfer info remains as an option to just click on -- no new entry of data required.  I get the money transfer deposited in my Thailand B.B. in about 36 hours (give or take a couple of hours) each time.  To the best of my checking Thailand Bangkok Bank does not charge me either for the transaction.  Plus Bangkok Bank gives me a very good Exchange Rate especially considering that the amount of the transfer is modest.

On the downside ... AMEX Bluebird stopped allowing ATM use of their card outside the U.S. on January 6, 2016.  But one can still make online purchases - airline tickets and other vendors who honor AMEX cards. 

Bluebird has many features and options including family cards and money exchange between Bluebird card holders, paper checks, and Smartphone APP scan check deposit of certain kinds of checks.   Bluebird is a great card to have especially if you do not have or cannot get an account with the big name financial institutions ... bluebird.com 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, JDGRUEN said:

 

I have an AMEX Bluebird account and Debit/ATM  Card.  Bluebird works GREAT for S.S. Direct Deposit.. I get my DD two days earlier than normal.  I don't know how they do it but they advertise it.  Bluebird is also GREAT for transferring my money each month to my Bangkok Bank account via relay at the Bangkok Bank New York.  The transaction is considered a domestic U.S. ACH (Automated Clearing House) transaction - and NOT a foreign money transfer.  Bluebird charges  NO fee that I can detect for this ACH transfer. The transfer is done by me at the Bluebird website.  I had to preregister the account transfer numbers and have a test of a few cents made.  Very common thing to do... I only had to have the B.B. New York Routing Number and my B.B. Account number to set up the transaction data and save it.  Once a test is approved - the transfer info remains as an option to just click on -- no new entry of data required.  I get the money transfer deposited in my Thailand B.B. in about 36 hours (give or take a couple of hours) each time.  To the best of my checking Thailand Bangkok Bank does not charge me either for the transaction.  Plus Bangkok Bank gives me a very good Exchange Rate especially considering that the amount of the transfer is modest.

On the downside ... AMEX Bluebird stopped allowing ATM use of their card outside the U.S. on January 6, 2016.  But one can still make online purchases - airline tickets and other vendors who honor AMEX cards.
 

 

What you're describing with ACH transfers from U.S. accounts to BKK Bank's New York center enroute to your Thailand BKK Bank account can be done exactly the same with pretty much any U.S. bank account that allows domestic ACHs.

 

And as for BKK Bank and their New York routing, it is probably more economical than most or any traditional international wire transfer. But BKK Bank New York does charge a sliding scale fee for all but the smallest of transfers, and then BKK Bank Thailand charges a 0.25% commission, minimum 200 and maximum 500 baht, on the incoming funds. Their exchange rate is going to be pretty much BKK Bank's standard TT rate, which usually is middle of the pack for Thai banks.

 

So if you're not going to use a no-fee, fee-reimbursing U.S. ATM card, then BKK Bank New York is probably the next best way to move funds from the U.S. to Thailand. But, it's hardly fee-free. And you can use exactly the same route just as well with most other ACH-enabled U.S. banks/cards as you can with Amex Bluebird.

 

[Pib]

9 hours ago, JDGRUEN said:

On the downside ... AMEX Bluebird stopped allowing ATM use of their card outside the U.S. on January 6, 2016.  But one can still make online purchases - airline tickets and other vendors who honor AMEX cards. 

 

Well, that is indeed a big change or at least it would be a big change for me.  The only reason I ever considered possibly getting a Bluebird card (but didn't) was as a backup to my no foreign transaction fee/fee reimbursing debit cards in case they ever changed their no foreign transaction fee and/or reimbursement policy.  Because with the BlueBird card at least the Thai bank foreign card use fee was only Bt50 for AmEx cards (maybe Bt60 now) compared to Bt200.   I googled what you said about their policy change and this webpage gives a good summary I think of the foreign ATM use policy change.  http://milestomemories.boardingarea.com/bluebird-serve-international-atm/ 

 

Now although the author of above webpage initially concludes in the article it's a minor policy change, when you read the comments/feedback after the article he changes his tune.

 

So, never mind that stuff I said in other threads/posts about how a Bluebird card would be a better deal that using the Direct Express debit card which some people use to have their govt pension deposited into....the Direct Express card is still very pricey to use outside the U.S. (3% plus $3 flat fee) to get funds  but at least it works in ATMs outside the U.S.   

 

But as jdgruen said the Bluebird card does have a lot of other good features/benefits.

 

Makes me appreciate even more the couple of U.S. bank debit cards with no foreign transaction fee which also reimburse ATM fee.

Edited September 8, 2016 by Pib

[JDGRUEN]

 

What you're describing with ACH transfers from U.S. accounts to BKK Bank's New York center enroute to your Thailand BKK Bank account can be done exactly the same with pretty much any U.S. bank account that allows domestic ACHs.

 

And as for BKK Bank and their New York routing, it is probably more economical than most or any traditional international wire transfer. But BKK Bank New York does charge a sliding scale fee for all but the smallest of transfers, and then BKK Bank Thailand charges a 0.25% commission, minimum 200 and maximum 500 baht, on the incoming funds. Their exchange rate is going to be pretty much BKK Bank's standard TT rate, which usually is middle of the pack for Thai banks.

 

So if you're not going to use a no-fee, fee-reimbursing U.S. ATM card, then BKK Bank New York is probably the next best way to move funds from the U.S. to Thailand. But, it's hardly fee-free. And you can use exactly the same route just as well with most other ACH-enabled U.S. banks/cards as you can with Amex Bluebird.

 

I don't what burr you have in your saddle there TallGuy. Your tone is really over the top and out of place. Take a chill pill please.

I never said Nor Implied that ACH transfers could not be done by other American Banks. It is common knowledge that ACH is a everyday method of transferring money between American Banks. You seem rather proud of stating the obvious. You also do not seem to be able to read well. I said that I could not detect any charges at either end for this service implying that there could be. They are just not obvious as these charges are not broken out in the line item Online View of my accounts. Plus Bluebird does not charge for a lot of services and to the best of my knowledge does not charge for this ACH service.

You seem to project a negative attitude towards AMEX Bluebird. At the same nothing indicates that you use Bluebird.

Overall you seem to have a societal interaction problem. Therefore in the future please refrain from addressing me. Please consider counsling as your sour kneejerk style of communicating may be indicative of mental health problems.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I didn't address you personally at all, nor do/did I have an attitude toward your post.

 

I did, however, correct some of the mis-impressions you suggested in your prior post re the Bluebird card.

 

The facts are, using the Amex Bluebird card with the BKK Bank New York transfer route does incur fees from BKK Bank. And, while you may think the Bluebird card is GREAT, the reality is the card has few if any advantages over other cards in terms of transferring funds to Thailand. Not to mention the fact that it can no longer be used in foreign ATMs.

 

This is just a discussion about bank cards. Let's try to keep it that way.

 

Edited September 9, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[JDGRUEN]

15 hours ago, Pib said:

 

Well, that is indeed a big change or at least it would be a big change for me.  The only reason I ever considered possibly getting a Bluebird card (but didn't) was as a backup to my no foreign transaction fee/fee reimbursing debit cards in case they ever changed their no foreign transaction fee and/or reimbursement policy.  Because with the BlueBird card at least the Thai bank foreign card use fee was only Bt50 for AmEx cards (maybe Bt60 now) compared to Bt200.   I googled what you said about their policy change and this webpage gives a good summary I think of the foreign ATM use policy change.  http://milestomemories.boardingarea.com/bluebird-serve-international-atm/ 

 

Now although the author of above webpage initially concludes in the article it's a minor policy change, when you read the comments/feedback after the article he changes his tune.

 

So, never mind that stuff I said in other threads/posts about how a Bluebird card would be a better deal that using the Direct Express debit card which some people use to have their govt pension deposited into....the Direct Express card is still very pricey to use outside the U.S. (3% plus $3 flat fee) to get funds  but at least it works in ATMs outside the U.S.   

 

But as jdgruen said the Bluebird card does have a lot of other good features/benefits.

 

Makes me appreciate even more the couple of U.S. bank debit cards with no foreign transaction fee which also reimburse ATM fee.

 

Yes it was a bummer when AMEX Bluebird turned off the use of ATMs outside the U.S. but I already had the Bluebird Card and decided to make best use of it.  I changed my S.S. DD to Bluebird to take advantage of the Two Day Early deposit.  At the same time established an account at a local Bangkok Bank in Krabi.  Then I began using the snap to use - Bluebird on line banking to transfer funds via ACH as explained previously.  Getting my money is about 3 days at a very good exchange rate makes the inability of using the Bluebird card for ATMs a bit of a moot point.  Bangkok Bank charges nothing for ATM withdraws when I use my local branch.  And Bangkok Bank only charges me 15 Baht - if I use it at an ATM in Bkk or wherever. 

Concerning ACH funds transfer fees.  I have searched my Bluebird statements for June, July and August of this year and Zero Fees of any kind are posted.  And there are no other miscellaneous debits of any kind that can be linked to the ACH transfer in each case.  I searched my on line ledger with Bangkok Bank account and find no fees for the incoming ACH transfers. I will have to get a statement from the bank to double check that. 

One example transaction in June 2016 ... I transferred $1100 from Bluebird to Bangkok Bank in Krabi via Bangkok Bank N.Y. - The amount deposited into my Bangkok Bangkok Account was  38,278.30 Baht.    This exchange rate on this transaction and the exchange rates applied to all other of my transfers this year were in line with the published exchanged rates of daytodaydata.net (equal to or better than).    

 

In my opinion ... The AMEX Bluebird Card provides very little that 'high rollers' can already get and more so at Charles Schwab or some other investment house or bank.   So it is not likely useful to them and many will just not 'get it'... 

But for those of us who are not 'well heeled' the wide range of useful services offered by the AMEX Bluebird Card/Account are blessing for reasons stated.   I suggest to anyone on Social Security as a primary means of income to investigate AMEX Bluebird for the reasons I have mentioned in this post and other posts.  Check out ...   bluebird.com  to review the benefits and features. 

Edited September 9, 2016 by JDGRUEN
minor errors

[Pib]

Yea, I came close several times to signing up for a Bluebird account over the last year or so.  And the wife and I were even thinking recently about both of use getting a Bluebird account.  But the change to not permitting ATM withdrawals outside the U.S. is a total deal breaker for me.    

 

Regarding ACH transfer fees when your sending bank (or Bluebird) card does not charge any ACH sending fee and you are routing it thru the Bankgok Bank NY branch on to your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank branch you will "not" see anywhere the two fees charged by Bangkok Bank...no on your Sending account nor on your Bangkok Bank account.  That's because the fees are charges/sliced off "during the transfer and before they post"  to you Bangkok Bank account.

 

Lets' say you transfer $2,000....as the funds flow through the Bangkok Bank NY branch they slice off a $5 fee so $1995 arrive your in-Thailand Bangkok Bank branch but they have not been posted yet.  The branch then converts the funds using their TT Buying Rate in affect at the time.  For this example let's say the Bangkok Bank TT Buying Rate is Bt35.00/USD.  So, 1995 times 35 equals Bt69,825 and once again this amount has still not posted to your account yet.  Now the branch applies their 0.25% (Bt200 min, Bt500) receiving fee which in this case would incur the Bt200 min fee.  They subtract that that Bt200 fee which leaves Bt69,625 which is then posted to your account.  Those two fees will "not" be reflect/annotated anywhere.   Just to quote for the Bangkok Bank website regarding the two fees which talks about the two fees being deducted before posting to your account (i.e., fees will not be reflected on your account).

Quote

Note: Bangkok Bank’s New York Branch in the US and Bangkok Bank in Thailand will deduct fees as indicated above from the transferred amount, prior to depositing funds into your account.

 

But you can setup your account up to receive a free SMS Remittance Alert which will show the funds arriving from overseas (would have been $1995 in this example), exchange rate being used, the amount of the local 0.25% fee, and the final amount being posted to your account.   And just to reiterate those two fees will not reflected on your Sending or Receiving account statements which can fool a peson into thinking no fees were applied but indeed they were....and that also why folks can never get the personal exchange rate math to match up exactly with any of the bank's TT Buying Rates for the day....they can get close, but can't match exactly....but if taking in account the undocumented fees and deducting the two fees in the correct order a person can get an exact match to the 2nd decimal place.

 

Yea, a real shame the Bluebird card can not be used in foreign ATMs anymore...that feature combined with its other features and low to no fees made it a really good card..  It's still a good card...it's just loss of that foreign ATM feature is a biggie at least for me.   Oh well, maybe there was two much ATM fraud occurring with the card and/or the interchange fee that flows from the card-issuing bank (AmEx for the Bluebird) card to the bank issuing out the funds was determined not to be profitable enough as I expect AmEx has a special contract with the MoneyPass ATMs in the U.S. that made the interchange fee they had to pay out much less (i.e., more profitable) than when paying the standard interchange fee to banks not on the MoneyPass network.   

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Pib alluded to BKK Bank's specific fees for U.S. to Thailand transfers via its New York office. They have a website that specifically spells out the details

 

http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/DailyBanking/TransferingFunds/TransferringIntoThailand/ReceivingFundsfromUSA/Pages/ReceivingFundsfromUSA.aspx

 

 

[Pib]

Regarding Social Security Online login, apparently Social Security will re-implement 2-factor authorization come 10 Jun 17.  A code will be sent to either your cell phone or email address.    

 

The cell number you could use before had to be a U.S. number; not an international number.

 

Before when they temporarily implemented 2FA use of your google voice number worked to receive the code as mentioned earlier in this thread....but if it don't work (but I expect it will) you can have the login code sent to your email address...don't know if your email address needs to already listed in your account.  

 

Time will tell come June.

 

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/message.html

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Got an email from Social Security today that confirms and expands on what Pib posted above:

 

Quote

 

We listened to your concerns, and beginning on June 10, you can choose either your cell phone or your email address as the second way for us to identify you. Since an email address is already required to use my Social Security, everyone can continue to benefit from the features my Social Security provides.

Each time you sign in to your account, you will complete two steps:

• Step 1: Enter your username and password.
• Step 2: Enter the security code we send you by text message or email, depending on your choice (your cell phone provider's text message and data rates may apply).

If you do not have a text-enabled cell phone, or you do not wish to provide your cell phone number, you will need to choose your email address as a contact method so we can send you a one-time security code to access your my Social Security account. To ensure you receive the email with the one-time security code timely and it does not go into your spam or junk folder, you can add NO-REPLY @ ssa.gov to your contact list.

 

 

[Pib]

Yea, the wife and I got the same email on 9 May since we both have social security online accounts.  

 

Just as reminder for folks, you don't have to be old and drawing a pension to get an online account...you can get it when young also/decades and decades before you start drawing a pension.   See below SSA link for more info.  

 

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/

[gk10002000]

On 5/18/2017 at 10:29 AM, Pib said:

Yea, the wife and I got the same email on 9 May since we both have social security online accounts.  

 

Just as reminder for folks, you don't have to be old and drawing a pension to get an online account...you can get it when young also/decades and decades before you start drawing a pension.   See below SSA link for more info.  

 

https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/

I had tried for years to open an SSA account online, literally since they stopped sending out those benefit estimate letters.  Each time at the end it said could not be done, call an agent.  I finally got an agent and he seemed quite up to par.  He went through it and was surprised that he could not open the account.  He said he didn't know why but it looks like you have to go to an actual office and they will do it with you.  OK.  No rush.  I didn't need anything yet.  So as I worked around the country I located the nearest SSA office and made a mental note to drop in.  I never did.  I tried a few more times over the months to sign up online with no success.  Now I am in Melbourne Florida and right across the freaking street from where I work everyday is the Social Security office!  For kicks, I tried to open an online account and it worked!  Too funny.  I wonder if the website was a bit picky on where you were online from?  I am a Florida resident and just couldn't create an account while in another state, coincidentally or not.  I wonder if they were a bit confused with my Dad who passed in 2006 and has the same first and last name as mine. Anyway, I have the account and the wage information they have in there looks correct.  Their retirement benefits estimator doesn't quite handle the scenario I want to check, but it is close.  I sent in one question I had and got back a canned response quoting the stuff that is already online and was of no help in clarifying anything, so I wouldn't bother submitting anything that way. 

[Jingthing]

I just received a hard copy S.S. benefits estimate letter in Thailand. Second year in a row. I never asked for it. They just used my IRS filing address. I remember for many years they sent them and then they stopped. Well, they started again.