Social security number and benefits for child

I believe you will need to go to Manila for that one. But first I would ask again at the consulate in Cebu.

The field reps do occasionally come to a city, for general matters regarding benefit payments, but not to an individual's home that I am aware of.

Sorry I don't have more up to date info.

Yes thank you for your reply. Maybe since there are so many people asking for appointments in person the person that I spoke to at the embassy is trying to avoid giving me an appointment and gave the story about the field representative will come to Cebu to help us.

I will just keep calling on Tuesday and Thursday to FBU at the embassy until they give us an appointment.

It's my child's rights as an American citizen now to receive social security benefits based on my record.

@brugmuller  question if I may Sir.   I see that you are a US citizen ...  Was your child born in the Philippines?

This just my assumption,

but since there is a SS office in Manila embassy and not in Cebu, might be why your children only received the passport there.

Normally in Manila the child receives the SS# along with the passport when applying for citizenship.

So im guessing you will need to make a appointment or coordinate there via the consular office and travel to Manila embassy for processing.

How you would make this appointment, I'm not sure,  but you'll need to do a lot of research on the Manila embassy website for detailed info and create a account on there portal to make appointment, etc 

I do not believe they give appointments via a phone call, they have a portal to facilitate all the appointments

It is almost impossible to reach the SS office in Manila by phone. My experience is making a request online for an appointment. Several weeks later I received a bot email message that they will contact me within several weeks to set up an appointment.

Several weeks later I received an email telling me they will contact me on a certain date and time to have a telephone interview.

From time trying to initiate an appointment was three months till the phone interview.

    It is almost impossible to reach the SS office in Manila by phone. My experience is making a request online for an appointment. Several weeks later I received a bot email message that they will contact me within several weeks to set up an appointment.
Several weeks later I received an email telling me they will contact me on a certain date and time to have a telephone interview.

From time trying to initiate an appointment was three months till the phone interview.

Is there a USA office that handles international beneficiaries? For example, the US Embassy in Vietnam would not have the same limited SSA office at that location as exists at the US Embassy in Manila. Don't they have a stateside office that they use? Maybe that has a far better response than the sorry excuse for a SSA service office here. As I recall, there was some SSA location in Baltimore with their own US number that I used

back when I registered my Phils address with them. That was in 2017; I was able to contact the Manila office at that time but I think I remember dealing with a Maryland stateside office. I may be wrong. From what you say, the Embassy SSA process is now broken given the many retirees who cannot wait months to resolve serious issues.

From the SSA website:

Please try again during our regular service hours (Eastern Time):

Day

Service Hours

Monday-Friday     5:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.

Saturday     5:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Sunday     8:00 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.

Federal Holidays     Same hours as the day the holiday occurs.

If you need immediate assistance:

You may call us Monday through Friday: 8:00AM - 7:00PM at:

1-800-772-1213

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Took all of 20 seconds to find it!

    Hi, we received our babies CRBA and USA passport after applying at the Cebu consulate.We didn't receive a social security number yet.I want to apply for our childs social security benefits under my social security benefits I receive here in the Philippines.Manila embassy said on telephone call they would send a field representative to our house here in Mandaue to help with the social security number and application for social security benefits for our child?I never heard of a field representative coming to your home to help you with the paperwork? Can't we just make an appointment at the FBU unit in Manila for this? Anyone now about this procedure please?        -@brugmuller

         Hello Brug, We recently finished the lengthy process for our Fil/Am son to receive his SS dependent monthly  benefits until his 18th birthday. You need to download the SS card application form  online  before your child receives his SS #. Send the completed form along with you or mates  Passport,original CRBA , completed form, and your child's SIGNED US Passport to FBU (Federal Benefits Unit) at the US Embassy in Manila. All documents are sent to the US processed and approved  returned to Manila and they will return back to you. The SS Card will be mailed from US, but in case you'll not receive it like what happened to ours, you can get the SS Number in the US Embassy Manila in person. Wait about a month  and message FBU to apply for your childs SS dependent benefits. Soon after you will receive a message from FBU giving you a date and time for a phone interview. They also tell you to open a peso  account at a   Phil. bank in your childs name. Only your wife or gf. can be the administrator of your childs   the account. They also send it in dollars but will be converted to pesos when it arrives in the childs account. We received our sons benefits 5 months after the phone interview but he also received retroactive payments 6 months prior to his becoming a US citizen. Child will receive  monthly 1/2 of what you would have received based on your full retirement, not your early retirement. Its a lot of money and needs to be used for the childs needs. They send yearly inquiry accounting into how the childs money was spent and how much of it you saved for the childs future needs.  I have read some comments that they were visited by someone from the FBU but ours was a phone interview only.Be patient but worth the effort for your child to have a brighter future economically if managed properly by caring parents.                                                                                                                                                                 

@scott1953 hi thanks for sharing this. Im also in the process of putting my son as my beneficiary. You mention your child receive 1/2 of what youre getting. Is that money deducted from your monthly pension or my ss pension wont be affected?

@scott1953 stated in part: "They also tell you to open a peso  account at a   Phil. bank in your childs name. Only your wife or gf. can be the administrator of your childs..." 

I don't know the reasoning behind the persons that SSA limits as to who can be administrator; you say only the wife or GF is authorized to be administrator (make withdrawals) make from the child's passbook SSA account? It is surprising that the father, upon whom the child's SSA benefit is based, would not at least be included as an administrator. Further complicating this is that "girlfriend" *would* be included but not the father. What legal USA standing would a pinay GF have when she, for example, has zero standing for spousal benefits on the father's SSA account? Am I missing something here?

    @scott1953 hi thanks for sharing this. Im also in the process of putting my son as my beneficiary. You mention your child receive 1/2 of what youre getting. Is that money deducted from your monthly pension or my ss pension wont be affected?
   

    -@Sheetsrexie

I don't believe your benefits will be affected.

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

    @scott1953 hi thanks for sharing this. Im also in the process of putting my son as my beneficiary. You mention your child receive 1/2 of what youre getting. Is that money deducted from your monthly pension or my ss pension wont be affected?
   

    -@Sheetsrexie   Hello Sheetsrexie, No your SS  monthly pension is not affected at all. They take what you would have earned at full retirement and your child receives 50% separate from you. Even though i started collecting SS at 62 instead of 67 i receive a reduced amount.  But my son receives 50% separate from me based on what i would have received if i waited until 67 to start collecting. Plus he received all back payments since the time he received his US  citizenship . He received a 1st time lump  sum of 17 months payments and started receiving monthly until he is 18 yrs. old. They start counting 6 months prior to receiving his citizenship. In summery he received 6 months back payments and 11 months since we applied for his dependent benefits and he finally received the lump sum and monthly after. Plus if i pass away, he goes to survivor benefits and his monthly payment increases 25% But if you have more than one Fil/Am child and you apply, a different formula kicks in and they have to split the payment.50%-50%each. Hope this helps. 

@danfinn  I agree 100% danfinn  I could not get a clear answer from the SS rep when she made her phone interview. Imagine i can not be a co-administrator i my Fil/Am sons account.Or administrator alone on his account.  Only good thing is she said a yearly report is sent out and they want detail how the childs funds were spent and how much was put in savings. It must be used for the childs food, shelter, education and medical. . Plus his Mom has to bring our son in with her every month and present him to the teller before funds are released. No exceptions. He has a caring Mom and she keeps a good set of books.

        @scott1953 hi thanks for sharing this. Im also in the process of putting my son as my beneficiary. You mention your child receive 1/2 of what youre getting. Is that money deducted from your monthly pension or my ss pension wont be affected?         -@Sheetsrexie

I don't believe your benefits will be affected.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf  !00% Correct Moon Dog.
   

    -@Moon Dog

    @danfinn  I agree 100% danfinn  I could not get a clear answer from the SS rep when she made her phone interview. Imagine i can not be a co-administrator i my Fil/Am sons account.Or administrator alone on his account.  Only good thing is she said a yearly report is sent out and they want detail how the childs funds were spent and how much was put in savings. It must be used for the childs food, shelter, education and medical. . Plus his Mom has to bring our son in with her every month and present him to the teller before funds are released. No exceptions. He has a caring Mom and she keeps a good set of books.
   

    -@scott1953

I only knew one person over here who had SSA payments for a child but I never realized they had  to go through all of that. He never spoke about it much. Apparently SSA looks to the mother whether GF or wife to ensure funds are spent properly. Very interesting.

In the Philippines the mother is the legal guardian.

@scott1953 what was the procedure for going to manila to pick up my childs ss number?  i have tried to call them on the 2 days there available to receive calls and could not get  through after long hold times.   I have also sent them a email inqury and no replay yet.    thanks

Hi scott can you help me..

    Hi scott can you help me..
   

    -@lovely jane Miraflor

Which one? Skip Scott or Scott 1953? Or are you into threesomes?