Applying for social security while living in the Philippines

Who are you applying for? Are they going to work in the USA? SSANs will not be issued to non-citizens, Ive been told…

I had to apply for an ITIN (Tax number for non-citizens) and had to travel to Angeles City and have a meeting there in front of the IRS certifying agent for PI. We filled out the form (W-7) in advance, signed it in his presence, he signed it and we mailed it from the FPO in his building. Got the card for her in about 2 months….pre Wuhan Virus pandemic.

I don’t know the procedure to apply for SSANs, though.

Here’s some info from the SSA’s Manila office:

“ FBU.Manila@ssa.gov
Social Security Administration – Federal Benefits Unit
Embassy of the United States of America | Manila, Philippines
Inquiry Line: ( 63 2) 5301-2000, Option 9
Telephone Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays - 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Manila Time), except U.S. and Philippine Holidays
Public Hours: Monday through Friday - 8:00 AM  to 12:00 PM, except U.S. and Philippine Holidays and the first Wednesday of every month“

Or you can go to www.ssa.gov and see if there’s any info there…

Good luck! Skip

I started mine a couple of years ago, and you can do it all online as I recall.  I do not know if I ever accessed the SSA website from overseas - I was in the US when I filed for benefits. You may need a VPN to redirect your IP. Maybe not though.

You will need to open a My SSA account at SSA.Gov to start the process. You will have to enter some confidential information in order for them to know who you are of course. Then you will be able to see and verify your work history. From there you can pick a date to start benefits.

I would suggest using a secure connection for obvious reasons. Do you have a US bank to deposit the funds into? I suspect any request for it to go into a Philippines bank on initial application will be met with suspicion and various levels of confirmation.

https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/apply.html

I did mine from here through the FBU that Skip provided. A few e-mails and a phone call later, I was done.  Took a three months but was backdated to the original application date.

Painless process for me.

Thanks!!

So from start to approval was about 3 months? How long  before you got your first deposit?

Sumomaster2004 wrote:

So from start to approval was about 3 months? How long  before you got your first deposit?

3 months.

Applied - October
First Payment - January
Snail mail approval documents - February

What kind of documents did you have to submit?

Sumomaster2004 wrote:

What kind of documents did you have to submit?

DIdn't submit any documents but I was interviewed twice over the phone. 

First interview was about 15 minutes and asked for employment and dependent info as well as verifying addresses.

Second interview was very short and clarified some employment periods.

I'd recommend have all of your employment history and dependent SSN, DOB, address information handy.

They emailed me yesterday and set a phone appointment for Sept. 21. Is your DD set up in PI? How long after the interview did you receive your first DD? Thanks for your patience and help.

Applied / Phone Interview - October
First Payment / Direct Deposit - January
Received SS approval documents via snail mail - February

Clarified my timeline per your questions. 

You have a month gap between your contact and the phone appointment; mine was days.  I suspect COVID is a contributing factor but OMO.

I prefer to use a US bank for primary banking (have been with Navy Fed / USAA for decades) .  I just transfer money to my Philippine bank as required using wire xfer or Wise depending on the amount and prevailing exchange rate.

Hello again bro. Can i ask was your interview just a formality or were they negative? At any time did you feel like they might not approve your request.

Sumomaster2004 wrote:

Hello again bro. Can i ask was your interview just a formality or were they negative? At any time did you feel like they might not approve your request.

Not negative at all.

They questioned me about some of my employment periods and I also have a foreign-based pension which they had questions about.  I have spent a considerable amount if time working as an expat in Asia which is the cause of their questions.

TBF, I was expecting those questions because I had reviewed the requirements to ensure that I met the criteria. I also consulted an attorney to verify my understanding.

Hope this helps and as I mentioned before, make sure that you have all your family information and employment history ready when you apply and review it before your interview. 

Good luck!

Thank you for your help! And patience... ill let you know the result after my interview on the 21st.

One more thing how long after the interview did you find out if you were approved?😊😁

Sumomaster2004 wrote:

Thank you for your help! And patience... ill let you know the result after my interview on the 21st.

Glad to help and that's what these forums are, or should be, about IMNSHO!

Sumomaster2004 wrote:

One more thing how long after the interview did you find out if you were approved?😊😁

3 months.

Applied - October
First Payment - January
Snail mail approval documents - February

Yours was faster than mine. I applied at the beginning of November, did an in person interview in the states (pre COVID), was told I could expect my first dd in January, didn’t drop until March, (but it did include back pay from the January payment, so I got three payments at once). I had a US bank as my direct deposit.  I even got my congressman to poke them for me, lol.

blacksheepjuno wrote:

Yours was faster than mine. I applied at the beginning of November, did an in person interview in the states (pre COVID), was told I could expect my first dd in January, didn’t drop until March, (but it did include back pay from the January payment, so I got three payments at once). I had a US bank as my direct deposit.  I even got my congressman to poke them for me, lol.

Guess I just got lucky - will chalk it up to the blind squirrel finds acorn theory of outcomes...

How did you get back pay? Is it from when you applied or after your birthdate?

Be careful when applying for early SS

When you apply is very important. With early SS the amount of money you can earn is limited without paying a penalty. The penalty is one dollar for every two earned.

The clock on earnings starts on January 1, not your birthday.  So if you apply later in the year, you might have passed that threshold.

That happened to me, the moment I received my first check, I owed SS administration money because I was over the threshold..

So early SS can get you into a Catch 22 situation. If you planned on working and using the following  hypothetical figures: Threshold $20,000, you earn $30,000. You owe the SS administration a payback of $5,000. So if you plan on working and receiving early SS you're between a rock and a hard place. So if you are a big earner the SS payback could be more than the actual SS benefit itself.

So depending on when your birthday is and how much money you've already earned that year, for some it is better to apply for early SS on January 1.

Sumomaster2004 wrote:

How did you get back pay? Is it from when you applied or after your birthdate?

Back pay is automatic. I wanted my benefits to start in January, that’s why I applied at the beginning of November (actually, thinking back, I think it might have been October, because that’s when I stopped working). I was told they would start in January. When they finally came, because I had requested they start in January, I got January, February and March payments in one lump sum in March.

Enzyte Bob wrote:

Be careful when applying for early SS

When you apply is very important. With early SS the amount of money you can earn is limited without paying a penalty. The penalty is one dollar for every two earned.

The clock on earnings starts on January 1, not your birthday.  So if you apply later in the year, you might have passed that threshold.

That happened to me, the moment I received my first check, I owed SS administration money because I was over the threshold..

So early SS can get you into a Catch 22 situation. If you planned on working and using the following  hypothetical figures: Threshold $20,000, you earn $30,000. You owe the SS administration a payback of $5,000. So if you plan on working and receiving early SS you're between a rock and a hard place. So if you are a big earner the SS payback could be more than the actual SS benefit itself.

So depending on when your birthday is and how much money you've already earned that year, for some it is better to apply for early SS on January 1.

It is a lot more complicated then that when you’re retiring early. The first year they check your earnings on a monthly threshold basis. It’s not until the second year that it’s a yearly threshold. I had visions of double dipping my first year, working my old job long enough and quitting just before I reached the yearly earnings threshold. When I dug into the subject, that’s when I discovered that the first year of retirement was done that way. After the first year, it’s done only on an annual basis.
The earnings limit for 2021 is $18,960 for the year. Anything you earn above that, they will subtract $1 from your benefit for every $2 that you earn. (Example, you make $20,000 in gross wages from a job, that’s $1040 over the limit, so they will reduce your benefits by $520 for that year). However, in that first year, it’s calculated monthly, (18,960/12 = 1580 per month). Therefore, if you earn even a measly $10/hr in a low level job, in one month you’ll already exceed the threshold. ($10 x 40 hrs = $400 x 4 weeks = $1,600 gross). 
The good news is that once you reach full retirement age, (67 to 68 depending on your birth year), you can earn as much as you can manage, there is no longer a limit, they won’t reduce your benefits.
I did a lot of digging before I retired, lol.
This is just speaking of the benefits reduction due to working and collecting SS benefits. There’s also the specter of taxes. That’s in addition to the deduction.

I applied while in the PH. I sent the Manila embassy an email three months prior to my 62nd birthday. They sent me an email with a date and time that someone would call for an interview. For my call the person just confirmed my personal information and I never had to send them anything for review. My first payment started on time and I use a PH bank for my direct deposit. The whole process for me was very easy and took about ten minutes. Good luck.

One item of information if you set up a USD account here. The law here prohibits anyone except the retiree from being on the account. I don't think that's the case for USA banks. So if you would like to have someone else access the account, send the money to your USA account, then transfer in as needed.

By the way, I use USAA and the charge to transfer any amount is $10. USAA insists that they do not have the service charge, so it must be assessed by Metropolitan Bank, New York (handling bank used for transfers to PI Metrobank).

Did they ask you for your ACR card or just things pertaining to the SS app?

If you are married in the Philippines your spouse can be on the account. I just added mine this past Wednesday.

Is that your direct deposit account?

No only a dollar account I set up for transfer of my SRRV funds from home country to PH. Be advised if you have a time deposit with the PRA they cannot transfer your money in the event of death, conversion of visa, or cancellation to a peso account. You have to maintain a dollar account for them to return your time deposit. That is not information they give you when applying.

captdcc62 wrote:

If you are married in the Philippines your spouse can be on the account. I just added mine this past Wednesday.

Dear Captdcc62,

I find that very interesting, I'm interested in doing the same thing.

What procedures did you have to go through in applying (time frame and necessary documents.)

Did you need an appoint for the embassy? and did they issue her a ss number?

Thank you,

Philippine bank, embassy isn't required for anything.

captdcc62 wrote:

Philippine bank, embassy isn't required for anything.

I misunderstood your original reply the thread was Applying for Social Security While Living in the Philippines.

I didn't realize you were responding to opening a bank account. I was looking for information on obtaining a Social Security card for spouse in the Philippines.

Wife & I already have accounts at BDO & Citibank USA.

I have a question for anyone that gets their Social Security direct deposited into a local bank account here in P.I.. Does the deposit get posted on the date they told you or is it the day after due to the time difference. Thanks for your input.

Sumomaster2004 wrote:

I have a question for anyone that gets their Social Security direct deposited into a local bank account here in P.I.. Does the deposit get posted on the date they told you or is it the day after due to the time difference. Thanks for your input.

Not a direct answer to your question as my SS is direct deposited in the states, the third Wednesday in each month after the 15th of that month.

So this month (November) it came on the 17th, next month it will be December 20th.

Caveat: Wednesday in the Philippines is Tuesday in the states, so I actually receive it on Thursday.

I had received an email from an S&L that I have a charge card with in the states. If I move my direct deposit over to them, I can receive the payment earlier. They said they receive the SS direct deposits earlier than the payment date from the Treasury.

So if I move the SS direct deposit over to them, they will release it when they received it.

I've been a lurker for almost one year.

This is my tail/tale:

I'm 81 collecting ss, I'm married to  Filipina for over 10 years, she is 68. I would like to get her on my ss account, I tried and failed.

I applied to the ss division in Manila and had a telephone interview. This is where my problems began, the interviewer was talking tagalog to me, his English was poorer than I expected. My hearing is also bad. So my wifes Son interpreted and relayed his questions to me.

The result relayed to me that my wife must have a green card and a ss number. So how do I do this?

Has anyone able to get his Filipina wife on their ss, without her being in the states? If so please give me the proper way/details or even a third party that can handle the paperwork for me.

Thanking all who will reply.

@Expat1942 I've logged into the SS site from the Philippines numerous times.

The SS website is pretty clear that the spouse needs to be in the US with you for a minimum 10 years. I wish it wasn't so, because I would like to leave mine with my SS retirement when I pass. So I'll have to do well with investments and leave her ways to get it.

@Expat1942 I've logged into the SS site from the Philippines numerous times.
The SS website is pretty clear that the spouse needs to be in the US with you for a minimum 10 years. I wish it wasn't so, because I would like to leave mine with my SS retirement when I pass. So I'll have to do well with investments and leave her ways to get it.
-@Larry Fisher

Or take out a good life insurance policy Larry

@Lotus Eater 🤔ummmm no😅

@Expat1942 I've logged into the SS site from the Philippines numerous times.
The SS website is pretty clear that the spouse needs to be in the US with you for a minimum 10 years. I wish it wasn't so, because I would like to leave mine with my SS retirement when I pass. So I'll have to do well with investments and leave her ways to get it.
-@Larry Fisher
Or take out a good life insurance policy Larry
-@Lotus Eater

If you are old enough to collect SS, it won't be cheap and premiums will double every 3-4 years.

@Expat1942,

Although you did not mention survivor benefits, I wish to respectfully place some focus on this within my post. At 72, I have already made this a topic in my home; where such a topic is not real comfy with most of our spouses here. To be best prepared, you may want to do some research, planning and perhaps have a talk with SSA to address the areas of: your retirement, disability, or survivor’s payments, especially as it relates to current/future benefits for your spouse.

Where to start (in order)?

• Get your primary insurance amount (PIA) from SSA (this is a key number to have documented before you ask additional benefit question at SSA
• Understand - What is the difference between survivor benefits and spousal benefits?

Answer: Spousal retirement benefits provide a maximum 50% of the other spouse's PIA. Whereas, survivors' benefits are a maximum 100% of the deceased spouse's retirement benefit.

• Understand - Retirement, disability, or survivor’s payments will continue as long as you are eligible, but for the spouse, they can stop after six consecutive calendar months of her not being in the USA.
• At 80+ you may be under disability (i.e., SSDI & SSI). Suggested research under the follow topics:

      If a Disability Status Applies:

• SSDI & SSI - If a person's non-US Citizen spouse is on part of their SSI.... the Social Security Act, § 1611(f)(1) [SI 02301.225 Absence From the United States (N03), Not a United States Resident (N23)] will use payment status codes N03 to suspend SSI payments for absence from the U.S. and N23 to suspend SSI payments when a recipient is not a U.S. resident.

Reminder - The death of an American spouse can cause premiums to stop when there is no longer an eligible beneficiary in a premium category.

• Understand - Can Non-U.S. Spouses Claim Social Security: Your wife's ability to qualify for survivor or spousal benefits needs to be a focus point. Since your wife has:
• Not lived in the United States for at least five (non-consecutive) years as a married couple with you, and
• Is not a citizen and resident of a country that has a Social Security Agreement with the U.S., the SSA will not continue her benefits.

Sources: https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/4410#: … isregarded

https://creativeplanning.com/internatio … 20benefits

It may also be worth your while to review and understand this IRS document: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf

I hope this helps some... your question is a good but complex one for sure. Best wishes.