US social security payments

The US is changing to a complete Direct Deposit system of payments.  I would suggest having your check deposited into a US bank and then having the funds transferred to a Vietnamese bank.  I use Wells Fargo here in the US and to send money to VN I have it set up online to make the transfer for any amount for $6.  It was sent to my fiance's account and she could take the money out in US currency.

woodsdancer my favorite dang subject,

Info with more than you'll want to know:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 35#1027021

A friend of mine in Saigon has his Social Security on direct deposit to an atm card.  2 months ago it stopped working.  The government stopped allowing him to use the atm.  He now has to go to a bank for cash after calling his card to verify who he is.  I use two bank accounts and try to have extra cash with me.  I have the VA, SS, and also a state pension.  Currently 1 card is on hold for purchases but I can still use the atm. I believe this is to force people to report to consulate for checks.

ancientpathos wrote:

A friend of mine in Saigon has his Social Security on direct deposit to an atm card.  2 months ago it stopped working.  The government stopped allowing him to use the atm.  He now has to go to a bank for cash after calling his card to verify who he is.  I use two bank accounts and try to have extra cash with me.  I have the VA, SS, and also a state pension.  Currently 1 card is on hold for purchases but I can still use the atm. I believe this is to force people to report to consulate for checks.

ancientpathos

https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302650040

The above link is the procedure for applying for SS benefits here in Vietnam. Might be noted that the SSA is the only US agency in the Treasury Department that has the requirements to report every month to somebody when receiving benefits here in Vietnam. The rest only need a change of address and phone number as required to verify where you are, and to contact you if needed. For the life of me I can't figure out what the problem might be with your friend. If they have stopped payment because he hasn't shown up at the Consulate, and SS was his only source of income to the card then he wouldn't be able to get any funds from the bank either. Scratching my head on your predicament also. Normally a card has two limits set. One for a POS and the other for daily withdrawals at an ATM. If your banks security has your POS locked than the ATM side of the card should also be blocked till you contact them.

perry88 keep that USA address you have with the Wells Fargo as long as you can. Once you move to Vietnam and do a change of address to here you wont be able to transfer the funds that way.

When I fully retire we plan to just spend a few months a year in VN.

ancientpathos wrote:

A friend of mine in Saigon has his Social Security on direct deposit to an atm card.  2 months ago it stopped working.  The government stopped allowing him to use the atm.  He now has to go to a bank for cash after calling his card to verify who he is.  I use two bank accounts and try to have extra cash with me.  I have the VA, SS, and also a state pension.  Currently 1 card is on hold for purchases but I can still use the atm. I believe this is to force people to report to consulate for checks.

The bank just wants to verify you are still in Vietnam and alive. They did the same to me and I called and they reactivated it in 5 minutes. He told me every 3 months or so they were required to verify that you are still alive and well in Vietnam due to a lot of fraud.

The debit card they issue is not that great of a card to use overseas, they hit you up for all kinds of fees.

My original question is summarized by this paragraph in the SSA guide for expats:

"Social Security restrictions prohibit sending payments to individuals in Cambodia, Vietnam or areas that were in the former Soviet Union (other than Armenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia). Generally, you cannot receive payments while you are in one of these countries, and we cannot send your payments to anyone for you."

The first sentence seems to say they cannot *send* the money to us in Vietnam. The second seems to imply that we cannot have it deposited in our US bank.

But I would say both are ambiguous ... does anyone know for sure how to interpret these two lines?

(and can anyone explain the unknown reason: I mean Russia is Ok, but VN is not???)

woodsdancer Here's the other link:

https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302650022#a

thanks budman

I have to admit that the site you sent me too is both pretty unambiguous and a real pisser (not to mention somewhat dubious in the sincerity of the policy described)

have you any idea (i guess that means anecdotal evidence) about how thoroughly it is enforced. Almost impossible to comply with if one doesn't live near HCM or Ha Noi.

woodsdancer wrote:

thanks budman

I have to admit that the site you sent me too is both pretty unambiguous and a real pisser (not to mention somewhat dubious in the sincerity of the policy described)

have you any idea (i guess that means anecdotal evidence) about how thoroughly it is enforced. Almost impossible to comply with if one doesn't live near HCM or Ha Noi.

All I can say about the whole thing is that it's a pain for everybody involved. Yes it's strictly enforced. They (SSA) got it locked up tight. When you apply for the benefits you have to list your place of residence. No big deal if your in the States or one of the Country's not listed in the link I provided. The kicker is you have to notify them if you changed residence or out of the Country for any length of time, think it's 6 months. Lets say you've have now started to receive the benefits and move to Vietnam and don't notify them or worse give them a false address in the States. Not only can/will they stop payments  but in a worse case scenario you can be charged with fraud and lose them completely. Making that 8 hour round trip every month from down here in the Delta is a pain, but in till the requirement is changed it's the only legal option available. We've been doing it now for a little over 6 years and just do some shopping while were in town. When we first started it was at least a 7 hour one way trip, that was really a pain.