Old Dog New Tricks - Update on John (& his Mrs)

@Lotus Eater

youtube.com/watch?v=zCgSmcEo38w

- @Lotus Eater

@Enzyte Bob He originally came with 30K USD and he thought he was all set. Of course 30K  is nothing. Thinking like a rich man, he built a house and bought a truck and ended up with nothing. By charity donations from expats, he will go back to the US until he qualifies for SS, then return here...maybe.

Was this the guy who had a stroke and ran out of money?

- @sekmet

Was this the guy who had a stroke and ran out of money?

- @sekmet

Was this the guy who had a stroke and ran out of money?

- @sekmet

He got stroke and AFTER that he did spend his remaining money at building that house where its crap to live and at a lorry to some relative. And new told in this last video was he had lended out to many in that crap baranggay too  - and when he got out of money they disliked him and started calling him "kuripot"  = stingy...

- @coach53

Kuripot of course is not prounced as in the dish 'Curry' but 'cooripot' otherwise you might get some strange looks

Old Dog is explaining to John's wife that if a DNA test confirms he is the children's biological father his Social Security benefits will increase.  Am I correct that Social Security is based on your 35 highest earning years and nothing else?

- @Moon Dog

@Moon Dog IMO Being married has nothing to do with the SSI Calculation. They use highest ten years out of 35 years before retirement. He made a BIG mistake coming here without a regular income from some source. See it frequently.

@Enzyte Bob I recall that the wife must also reach the age of 55 years old (probably while John is still alive), in addition to being married for ten years.

He will definitely get more SS because of the children, once he proves paternity and files the Report of Child Born Abroad with the State Dept. And is 62 of course. Two kids will probably almost double his SS amount. But the extra amount follows the kids. In other words whoever is guardian of the children gets it, which in the Philippines will be her. Hopefully he will be there also.

Until then he has to find a way to make ends meet and send her some of it. That will be the tough part.

- @pnwcyclist

Kuripot of course is not prounced as in the dish 'Curry' but 'cooripot' otherwise you might get some strange looks

- @Lotus Eater

If Filipinos - or Swedes - would pronounce it as you say, it wouldnt be spelled like they spell it, because we .- as well as many other languages as e g German and Spanish -  dont  pronounce vowels wrong as English do... 

I didn't know the minor child is eligible for benefits so I learned something that may benefit me. My wife and I are adopting a 1 year old child but the SS website states that the child must have a SS number to be eligible for benefits. Would I be able to register the baby with the SSA from the Philippines after adoption?

I asked Paul about it and this was his response

"Based on highest 5 years as long as you have enough quarters, it is on social security website"

Paul says 5 years, some say 10 years but it is actually your "35 best paid years", if you have reported earnings for 35 years. I'm assuming if you only worked 30 years it would be based on 30 years income.

"First, Social Security adjusts your earnings for historical changes in U.S. wages, takes your 35 best-paid years and produces what it calls your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). Only income up to the maximum taxable earnings — the annually adjusted cap on how much of your earnings are subject to Social Security taxes — is counted. (The maximum taxable earnings in 2022 are $147,000.)

Second, they apply a formula to that monthly average to determine your primary insurance amount (PIA) — the amount you'll get each month from Social Security if you claim benefits at your full retirement age. That's 66 and 4 months for people born in 1956, gradually rising to 67 for people born in 1960 or later.

The formula breaks down your average monthly wage into three parts. In 2022, it is:

• 90 percent of the first $1,024 of your AIME;
  
• plus 32 percent of any amount over $1,024 up to $6,172;
  
• plus 15 percent of any amount over $6,172.
  

The sum of those three figures is your PIA, also known as your full retirement benefit."

- @Moon Dog

@pilotdrh Thanks, great info. I know the 10 years of marriage rule but I've heard people claim that SS is based on 10 years of income. My understanding is it is based on the best paid 35 years so if you only worked 30 years you would have 5 zero earning years in the calculation. Sound right? I believe 10 years is a minimum.

As for Enzyte Bob's question, I believe, from what I just read, that his wife is eligible for up to half his SS even if he is still alive and even if she has never worked. If Bob dies then his wife can get up to 100% of his SS benefit.

"When your husband (or ex dies), you're probably due a

widow's benefit

 Widows are due between 71 percent (at age 60) and 100 percent (at full retirement

age) of what the husband was getting before he died.

 But we must pay your own retirement benefit first, then supplement it with whatever

extra benefits you are due as a widow, to take your Social Security benefit up to the

widow's rate.

 We also can pay you a $255 one-time death benefit if you were living with your

husband when he died.

 If you made more money than your husband, then he might be due a widower's

benefit on your record if you die before he does."

- @Moon Dog

@Moon Dog Yes, generally for an individual to qualify for any amt or type of their own S.S. benefit, one must work 10 years (Max of 4 credits per yr x 10 yrs = 40 credits). But the SSA takes the 35 years in which one had tge highest earnings. So if one worked a period less than 35 years, they count the years you had income, THEN add ZEROES for those yrs of the 35 that one DIDNT have any income...its similar to adding ZEROES to a grade book fir any missed exams or assignments....that would bring down one's semester average...same thing with SS...ZEROES will reduce one's anticipated SS monthly payment.

@Enzyte Bob FYI, I have been married to my Filipina spouse since 1987. She was a stay at home mom, never any outside job, no SSA contributions, never in SSA system, and 5 years younger than me. When I retired at 67, we were pleasantly surprised to learn while at the SSA office that she was entitled to a separate pension  approximately 50% of mine (minus a cetrain percentage because she was 62). I am receiving SSA max payment. I believe for her to get a separate benefit you must have been married 10 years which we onviously were. So her pension gets added to my pensions and that unplanned amount just goes into savings every month as does her Philippines SSS which she paid into with max payment for a few decades. She gets max Phil SSS (much less than USA SSA max!) which also goes into savings. BTW, Phils has a rather nice, privatized SSS system paid directly to a bank; nice concept except that the benefit is very low to western standards but still a lifeline to many retired citizens here. Anyway, I suppose when Diane is 62, she will have been married for 10 years. Even if he is alive, she may also be eligible for a percentage of john's benefit...unless those 10 years had to be counted while both were living in the US as we were. To that point I am not sure.

@Moon Dog Adopted children from the Philippines don't qualify for Social Security benefits unless residing in the USA.

EVERYONES S.S. is taxed!, regardless of where u live in the world (for US Citizens only)...& up to 85% of one's S.S. is subject to taxation...eventually it will be likely raised to 95 or even 100%...if the govt & IRS has their way!

- @Harbred6051