Social Security direct deposit in Brazil bank

07/03/24    How safe is it to have your pension or Social Security direct deposited in a Brazil Bank? Is there any taxes that I have to pay if I do so?
   
    -@nicholsharvey

Having your pension and/or Social Security deposited directly in your Brazilian bank account is certainly safe.  No taxes are withheld from the deposit; the eventual tax impact, if any, will depend on your particular tax situation with the Receita Federal; discussing that every year with a Brazilian accountant is a good idea.

The downsides of direct deposit in your Brazilian bank account are that the whole amount will be converted to BRL every month at that day's market exchange rate, and that if you decide later to leave Brazil for another country, there will be some paperwork and delay in switching things over.  For those reasons, I prefer to have pensions and SS deposited in my US bank account, and to transfer only the portion that I need to support our lifestyle to Brazil monthly.  That leaves me with a modest USD balance that grows over time and is very useful.  Whichever approach works best for you is the "right" one.

@nicholsharvey as an alternative to the Brazilian Bank, I have always had my Social Security direct deposited into PayPal with American Dollars.

Roddie in Retirement

@abthree

tjanks for the information, but wondering if i retired in Bradil one of the requitements are that my ss payments supoussed to have a direct deposit into a Bradilian bank account,  you explained that having a direc deposit into a Usa bank ? pleade explain , thanks again

@roddiesho

dont understand since pay pal its a american company and not a brasilian bank account requirements for expats?

@Hugodc2000 The requirement is to "have the ability" to transfer $2000 to Brazil, it doesn't say or mean that you have to have your pension directly deposited  from SSA or a private pension directly into a Brasilian bank. 

Another option I found was that Wise now has the ability to support USD Direct Debits, which means you can have your pension directly deposited into their

partner bank, which accepts other debits (such as credit card payments, etc.) and then also easily transfer using Wise to a Brasilian bank.

I just transfer my money using Discover Bank, Capital One or Charles Schwab Bank to the Wise partner bank when I'm ready to do a deposit.  It is an overnight transaction and the funds are available for transfer the next day.  That's good enough for my purposes.

Here is the Wise information in case you are interested: https://wise.com/us/blog/usd-direct-debits-launch

07/04/24    @abthree tjanks for the information, but wondering if i retired in Bradil one of the requitements are that my ss payments supoussed to have a direct deposit into a Bradilian bank account,  you explained that having a direc deposit into a Usa bank ? pleade explain , thanks again
   

    Hugodc2000

@mikehunter is correct.  Applicants for residency as retirees need to prove to the Brazilian authorities that they have the financial resources to support themselves here (defined by regulation as US$2,000/month or more) without becoming public charges on Brazil, not commit to transfer any specific amount.

Thanks Hunter since I’m new in this Expat community I’m trying to get the most important information before I get into Brasil as a  future expat it’s important for me understand all this SS retired pension information,  the way understand now;  I can have Wise or PayPal account that I will use for SS pension deposit and tranfer just the nevessary amount of money to a local brasilian account ? thanks

Also i have another quedtion   regarding medical insurance,  what wi be the best option,  saw many internacional insurance that are really expensive,  since I know Brasilia (  future resident)  can I sign for a local private clinic when i visit Brasilia? otherwise I’ll ask expats here for some recommendations ,  thanks

@Hugodc2000 You can use the bank account you already have and then use WISE for the transfer to Brasilian institution.  I personally wouldn't use Paypal.  They are one of the most expensive options.  Review this thread: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1059296

TLDR: Use WISE

@Hugodc2000 It depends on your use case.  For me, I stay in Brazil 3 months at a time and then return to the USA for 3 months.  All my routine and ongoing care is US based. 

07/04/24    Also i have another quedtion   regarding medical insurance,  what wi be the best option,  saw many internacional insurance that are really expensive,  since I know Brasilia (  future resident)  can I sign for a local private clinic when i visit Brasilia? otherwise I’ll ask expats here for some recommendations ,  thanks         -@Hugodc2000

See what other retirees have done; it's probably most cost-efficient if you'll be living here fulltime to have the cheapest option you can find to satisfy the requirement, then sign up with a local health plan when you get to Brasília and cancel the policy you arrive with.  Plan reputations vary regionally, so check with people that you know there to find out which plans are respected in the DF.

Even though you live in Brazil, I would recommend NOT canceling your Medicare Part B unless paying it is an intolerable burden for you.  If you have to reinstate it because you need it later, you'll  be paying a penalty for the rest of your life.

@Hugodc2000 Sorry, I am not much of a theoretical person. Kinda on the street smart side. I have been depositing my Soc. Sec. into my PayPal account for the last 5yrs. regardless of what someone has written etc. Deposits like clockwork every month. As they say if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Roddie in Retirement

@abthree

i do not have a plan B medicare, i had while ago

and canceled

Even though you live in Brazil, I would recommend NOT canceling your Medicare Part B unless paying it is an intolerable burden for you.  If you have to reinstate it because you need it later, you'll  be paying a penalty for the rest of your life.
   

    -@abthree

@abthree, thank you for the recommendation to keep Medicare Part B.  If I understand correctly, Medicare Part B is to cover the hole in the medicare donut... It's around $200/month.

Why keep it again - unless someone is traveling to the US regularly for medical checkups and meds?  Or plan to return in the future....

For someone who plans to stay full time in Brazil, is there a reason to keep paying?

Just curious here....

@Pablo888

You could keep your options open by continuing to pay for Plan B for a while. The future is uncertain. 🙃

07/05/24 @abthree, thank you for the recommendation to keep Medicare Part B.  If I understand correctly, Medicare Part B is to cover the hole in the medicare donut... It's around $200/month. Why keep it again - unless someone is traveling to the US regularly for medical checkups and meds?  Or plan to return in the future....For someone who plans to stay full time in Brazil, is there a reason to keep paying?Just curious here....        -@Pablo888

No, Medicare Part A covers hospitalization, and ordinarily requires no ongoing premiums for most participants.  Medicare Part B covers doctor visits and some other services, including insulin, and has a monthly premium:

https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare- … t-b-covers

Medicare Part D is the prescription drug benefit.  It's administered by insurance companies, requires Part A and Part B coverage, and has variable premiums.  This is the part where the "donut hole" would show up.  Insurance companies cancel Part D coverage as soon as an expat leaves the US but, unlike Part B, it can be started up again when/if the person returns, with no penalty.

Medicare Supplemental Insurance ("Medigap") is private insurance that covers deductibles, copays, and coverage gaps that exist  in regular Medicare. 

What an expat chooses to maintain is strictly an individual risk/benefit analysis.  Mine is to continue to carry Part A (with no premium, there's no reason to drop it), Part B, and a high-deductible Medigap policy, in case I get sick while visiting the US or return there in the event of a very serious illness.  My Part D was canceled when I moved to Brazil, but I could pick it up again if I moved back. 

@Pablo888

you dont need to have a plan B if you planning to live overseas Brasil , i live in Brasil for most time of my life and i can recomend having a private Brasilian   clinic in my case Brasilia such have a very good private clinics ,  Peace

@mikehunter

Another approach could be using the Remitly app. For a small fee, you can  have that money transfer into your brazillian account. I opened a online account INTER. I send money via pix from the Remitly account to my bank account in Brazil, then from that Brazillian bank account to INTER---EASY.

If you dont want to open an INTER account, you can you the Remilty app to tranfer money into your Brazillian account.

@hocytek3 I'm not familiar with INTER.  What is it? 

Online banking  application. I set it up in Brazil.

@hocytek3 Ah ok... it's like Nubank... I haven't looked into them much.  I've just been using Banco do Brasil.