# US Social Security, I'm close to drawing SS and my wife now is elidgble



## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

My wife is 64 and so if she begins SS she'll get $360, (We got a notice from SS in the mail stateside, sent to my sister) and so a reminder from SS to get it started before she turns 65 due to Medicare kicking in, we have the military Tricare (I"ve never used it here because of the requirements to pay first and get reimbursed) and in order for us to continue using Tricare Overseas, we have to be enrolled in Medicare.

I've been told that if we both draw SS before the age of 65 then Medicare is automatic or the basic Plan "A" for Medicare, do you have to pay for Medicare B? it sounds better. I sure would like to avoid having to pay for Medicare fees because I won't be able to utilize it overseas but probably will use Tricare eventually and don't plan on returning to the US.

I'm only 60 and so I have to wait two more years to draw and my SS will be $1,043 at 62. So will there be an issue when I try and draw my SS at 62? 

This is sort of tough for us because we don't live close to Manila, plus if I do set up an SS appointment for my wife I would need to have a bank account and all the routing information set up in advance in order to make things run smoothly? Or would Social Security set up some sort of direct deposit account with a bank, has anyone done this from here before?

Another note is that my wife has a Social Security number but she's not a US citizen and she was a green card holder since 1977, the Philippine passport and the US green card have long expired.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

In order to use TriCare whether here or in the US at 65 you need Medicare B. prior to 65 your not entitled to MediCare B.

:If you needed to be hospitalized right now here you would have to pay upfront. So what is the difference? At least with TriCare you would get reimbursed 75%! There are some hospitals here were you only pay the 25% and they do the paperwork for their payment.

Chuck


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

bidrod said:


> In order to use TriCare whether here or in the US at 65 you need Medicare B. prior to 65 your not entitled to MediCare B.
> 
> :If you needed to be hospitalized right now here you would have to pay upfront. So what is the difference? At least with TriCare you would get reimbursed 75%! There are some hospitals here were you only pay the 25% and they do the paperwork for their payment.
> 
> Chuck


I wasn't aware that some of the hospitals will accept Tricare, I do remember a couple years back hearing of this in the Subic area.


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## louiedepalma (9 mo ago)

What Part A covers | Medicare

Part B premium will be the question. If she had to pay that ($170.10 for 2022) it would take alot of her benefit. There could be ways she does not have to pay the premium and still receive part B since you are bringing military stuff into this and her social security benefit is not substantial. It would be worth looking into that since you have that tricare benefit which I know nothing about.

Since you mentioned a Sister in the US which is really great then I suggest you have her help you BOTH sign up for an online mysocialsecurity account. Everything is online now, and the last time I did this social security is using a third party service called id.me which uses security questions to verify ID. If that fails then they let you upload documents and arrange for a live in person online interview to verify identity. If all else fails then social security will mail a letter with a code to a US address that you will use to setup the account. This is where your contact in the US could help.

Sign in / up | SSA

Not being a citizen or a green card holder should not stop her from receiving benefits but it will probably make things more difficult.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

M.C.A. said:


> I wasn't aware that some of the hospitals will accept Tricare, I do remember a couple years back hearing of this in the Subic area.


The fffffffffffullow is a list for Laguna:



https://www.tricare-overseas.com/beneficiaries/philippines/philippine-provider-search/philippine-approved-certified-providers?province=Laguna&city=&specialty=&providerName=&status=All%20Certified&searchBy=philippines



Chuck


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

louiedepalma said:


> What Part A covers | Medicare
> 
> Part B premium will be the question. If she had to pay that ($170.10 for 2022) it would take alot of her benefit. There could be ways she does not have to pay the premium and still receive part B since you are bringing military stuff into this and her social security benefit is not substantial. It would be worth looking into that since you have that tricare benefit which I know nothing about.
> 
> ...


I signed both of us up for the online SS statements or an SS account but now I need to take action soon. The Tricare requires that we have medicare so I don't want to pay for medicare and need to get her SS taken care of before she turns 65 in February.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

M.C.A. said:


> I signed both of us up for the online SS statements or an SS account but now I need to take action soon. The Tricare requires that we have medicare so I don't want to pay for medicare and need to get her SS taken care of before she turns 65 in February.


TriCare only requires Medicaere Part B if you are 65 or older. You do not have to put your wife on TriCare unless you want to. TriCsre would cost $13 a month.


Chuck


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

bidrod said:


> TriCare only requires Medicaere Part B if you are 65 or older. You do not have to put your wife on TriCare unless you want to. TriCsre would cost $13 a month.
> 
> 
> Chuck


Thank you Chuck. What I'm worried about is that if we don't draw SS before the age of 65 then we'll also have to pay for Medicare Part A.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

M.C.A. said:


> Thank you Chuck. What I'm worried about is that if we don't draw SS before the age of 65 then we'll also have to pay for Medicare Part A.


Part A Is FREE!


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

bidrod said:


> Part A Is FREE!


I read on a Facebook forum that if you don't draw your SS before 65 then in order to continue receiving Tricare benefits Overseas you have to apply for Medicare A, and pay for it in order to continue using Tricare Overseas? But if you draw SS before 65 the Medicare A is automatic and free.

I guess this is my only concern, I don't want to get stuck with lifetime payments paying for Medicare "A" in order to keep my Tricare, but if I have this all wrong and I hope?

I sent a message to the SS in Manila, to see if my wife can start drawing her SS, she's not a US citizen, she is a Military Dependant, but has a Social Security number, she began working in 1976. I sent a message a couple of years back and it sure didn't go anywhere, so here's hoping. Chuck, you've been a big help, I'm a little clueless because I am only 60 years old so haven't begun the SS process, my wife is 64 and soon to turn 65 in February.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

M.C.A. said:


> I read on a Facebook forum that if you don't draw your SS before 65 then in order to continue receiving Tricare benefits Overseas you have to apply for Medicare A, and pay for it in order to continue using Tricare Overseas? But if you draw SS before 65 the Medicare A is automatic and free.
> 
> I guess this is my only concern, I don't want to get stuck with lifetime payments paying for Medicare "A" in order to keep my Tricare, but if I have this all wrong and I hope?
> 
> I sent a message to the SS in Manila, to see if my wife can start drawing her SS, she's not a US citizen, she is a Military Dependant, but has a Social Security number, she began working in 1976. I sent a message a couple of years back and it sure didn't go anywhere, so here's hoping. Chuck, you've been a big help, I'm a little clueless because I am only 60 years old so haven't begun the SS process, my wife is 64 and soon to turn 65 in February.


Medicare applies to people 65 and older! At 65 you need Medicare Part B to get Tricare for Life.

Chuck


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> I read on a Facebook forum that if you don't draw your SS before 65 then in order to continue receiving Tricare benefits Overseas you have to apply for Medicare A, and pay for it in order to continue using Tricare Overseas? But if you draw SS before 65 the Medicare A is automatic and free.
> 
> I guess this is my only concern, I don't want to get stuck with lifetime payments paying for Medicare "A" in order to keep my Tricare, but if I have this all wrong and I hope?
> 
> I sent a message to the SS in Manila, to see if my wife can start drawing her SS, she's not a US citizen, she is a Military Dependant, but has a Social Security number, she began working in 1976. I sent a message a couple of years back and it sure didn't go anywhere, so here's hoping. Chuck, you've been a big help, I'm a little clueless because I am only 60 years old so haven't begun the SS process, my wife is 64 and soon to turn 65 in February.


Medicare Part A is free for most people. Your wife has enough credits for SS, so, she gets part A for free.

What is your wife's FRA (full retirement age) for SS? It is probably like mine, 66.4. For people turning 62 this year, it is 67. So, if she starts at 65, she will get a reduced benefit. I think there is a calculator so you can experiment with retirement ages and the impact on your payment.

The age 65 is all about Medicare, not SS. If you are not drawing SS at 65 (many people don't) then medicare will send you a bill until you start the SS, at which time they will deduct from your SS.

Your wife will be able to collect a spousal benefit on your SS account when you start SS. Usually about 50% of your benefit. Sounds like it will be higher than her benefit, and they will pay the higher amount. For instance, she is older than you, and starts her SS, $350 a month. When you start SS, if you get $1000, then she will get about $500. They will bump her up to the higher benefit. When you die, she will have a survivor benefit, and I think that is 100% of your benefit.

Deciding what age to start taking SS for your wife and you can be difficult. What is her life expectancy? What is your life expectancy? Family history? I think SS has a life expectancy calculator. Do you need the money at 62?

For me it was a no-brainer to collect at 62, because I have two kids that get half my benefit. My wife could get it too, as caregiver, (she does not have 5 years U.S. residency so can't get spousal benefit) but they have a family maximum and we would only get about $50 more a month. And then, our additional taxes would be more than the $50.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

DonAndAbby said:


> Medicare Part A is free for most people. Your wife has enough credits for SS, so, she gets part A for free.
> 
> What is your wife's FRA (full retirement age) for SS? It is probably like mine, 66.4. For people turning 62 this year, it is 67. So, if she starts at 65, she will get a reduced benefit. I think there is a calculator so you can experiment with retirement ages and the impact on your payment.
> 
> ...


Thank you Don. Okay the amount of time in the US counts as residency, my wife was in the US from 1976 - 2003, thats real helpful.

I sent a message to the Embassy but the timeline they gave me gor an answer could be 15 business days.

I am also asking them if I set up a pensioner account in her name first with either PNB or BDO.


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> I am also asking them if I set up a pensioner account in her name first with either PNB or BDO.


I recommend against using a Philippine bank for the deposit. Use a U.S. bank and just write a check to your PH dollar once in a while. All the banks charge a fee for the deposit. For my two kids, BPI charges $6.50 each, so we lose $13 a month to BPI. It is also hard to change banks.

Also, not sure if this is true, but some are saying that if you use a U.S. bank and a U.S. address, you don't have to deal with the "proof of life" forms every year.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

DonAndAbby said:


> Also, not sure if this is true, but some are saying that if you use a U.S. bank and a U.S. address, you don't have to deal with the "proof of life" forms every year.


 That would make sence. Living in Sweden I have never been asked by Swedish officials if I am alive 
I just send tax form once a year and they send information letters I DONT need to answer, and they send money which I DONT need to sign  
(So I suppouse I could handle that from abroad too if I have an adress in Sweden.)

Btw nowadays it have become more and more common officials send "letters" DIGITAL to a box which can be looked at from anywhere in the world, but some send physical "snail mail" letters still here.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

DonAndAbby said:


> I recommend against using a Philippine bank for the deposit. Use a U.S. bank and just write a check to your PH dollar once in a while. All the banks charge a fee for the deposit. For my two kids, BPI charges $6.50 each, so we lose $13 a month to BPI. It is also hard to change banks.
> 
> Also, not sure if this is true, but some are saying that if you use a U.S. bank and a U.S. address, you don't have to deal with the "proof of life" forms every year.


We have a joint banking account with NFCU so would SS send her money to our joint account in the US? 

Another issue we might run across is that if my sister gets ill in the US, I won't have anyone else I can rely on to help me so I have to start weaning myself off of US banks and begin using direct deposits to our Philippine bank.


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> We have a joint banking account with NFCU so would SS send her money to our joint account?
> 
> Another issue we might run across is that if my sister gets ill in the US, I won't have anyone else I can rely on to help me so I have to start weaning myself off of US banks and begin using direct deposits to our Philippine bank.


I think they can do a joint account.

I used to use my sister in California. That did not work out well for several reasons. I opened a Travelling Mailbox account so now all my mail goes to that address in Florida. I have switched all my banks, IRS, SS, etc., to paperless, so it is rare to get a mail there. I pay $19.95 a month for their service and it is well worth it. When you get a letter, they open and scan it, and then you can view and download it. They can forward mail but I never needed to.


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## fmartin_gila (May 15, 2011)

DonAndAbby said:


> I recommend against using a Philippine bank for the deposit. Use a U.S. bank and just write a check to your PH dollar once in a while. All the banks charge a fee for the deposit. For my two kids, BPI charges $6.50 each, so we lose $13 a month to BPI. It is also hard to change banks.
> 
> Also, not sure if this is true, but some are saying that if you use a U.S. bank and a U.S. address, you don't have to deal with the "proof of life" forms every year.


I have never been charged a fee at the local BPI branches(3 different branches) that I have used to deposit a personal check into my dollar account. This account is in my name only. Have just opened a new Dollar account at a different branch of BPI in her name only so I can write a check on my US accounts to furnish this account with funds. With either of these accounts, one can withdraw PHP at the ATM or withdraw dollars by going inside and dealing with a teller.

Is true. I have never received this "proof of life" letter that has been mentioned. I have my deposits in to two different banks in the different states and use my mail forwarders address in another state as my permanent address.

Fred


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

DonAndAbby said:


> I think SS has a life expectancy calculator


I wouldn't read too much into this, but here is the calculator:





Retirement & Survivors Benefits: Life Expectancy Calculator


Life Expectancy Calculator



www.ssa.gov


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## louiedepalma (9 mo ago)

M.C.A. said:


> We have a joint banking account with NFCU so would SS send her money to our joint account in the US?
> 
> Another issue we might run across is that if my sister gets ill in the US, I won't have anyone else I can rely on to help me so I have to start weaning myself off of US banks and begin using direct deposits to our Philippine bank.


The beneficiarys name(your wife) has to be on the account that is pretty much the only requirement.

Your navy credit union account should be OK since her name is on it. Since you have a relationship already with them they may possibly open an account for your wife in her name only. 

A philippine bank is an option as mentioned and if you plan to stay permanently it may be best.


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## louiedepalma (9 mo ago)

fmartin_gila said:


> I have never been charged a fee at the local BPI branches(3 different branches) that I have used to deposit a personal check into my dollar account. This account is in my name only. Have just opened a new Dollar account at a different branch of BPI in her name only so I can write a check on my US accounts to furnish this account with funds. With either of these accounts, one can withdraw PHP at the ATM or withdraw dollars by going inside and dealing with a teller.
> 
> Is true. I have never received this "proof of life" letter that has been mentioned. I have my deposits in to two different banks in the different states and use my mail forwarders address in another state as my permanent address.
> 
> Fred


The trigger for this is when you update your address with social security. If they still have you listed at a US address you may not get the letter.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

louiedepalma said:


> The beneficiarys name(your wife) has to be on the account that is pretty much the only requirement.
> 
> Your navy credit union account should be OK since her name is on it. Since you have a relationship already with them they may possibly open an account for your wife in her name only.
> 
> A philippine bank is an option as mentioned and if you plan to stay permanently it may be best.


Okay thank you, Louie, that's what I was looking for, so I'll open an account for my wife in her name, and then in a couple of years when I turn 62 I'll open another here in the Philippines and open it up in my name.

I can't keep working with banks in the US because we won't be traveling anywhere anymore and I'd like to simply our banking needs, I'll be running out of family help in the US eventually and I also don't want to use a virtual mail system.


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

M.C.A. said:


> Okay thank you, Louie, that's what I was looking for, so I'll open an account for my wife in her name, and then in a couple of years when I turn 62 I'll open another here in the Philippines and open it up in my name.
> 
> I can't keep working with banks in the US because we won't be traveling anywhere anymore and I'd like to simply our banking needs, I'll be running out of family help in the US eventually and I also don't want to use a virtual mail system.


 You do understand the SS account in a local bank will be a Passbook only account (no ATM card or online banking)!

Chuck


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

bidrod said:


> You do understand the SS account in a local bank will be a Passbook only account (no ATM card or online banking)!
> 
> Chuck


Thank you, Chuck I wasn't aware of that, that sure makes things harder and you end up having to wait in line and the paperwork redundant drill, what a hassle but at least we know where the money is, and no more writing checks or worries about trying to get ATM cards mailed to us or going through some sort of virtual mail system and also using a VPN... lol, man why does it have to be this difficult, the Australians and I think even the UK citizens sure have a more workable friendly banking system.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> Thank you, Chuck I wasn't aware of that, that sure makes things harder and you end up having to wait in line and the paperwork redundant drill, what a hassle but at least we know where the money is, and no more writing checks or worries about trying to get ATM cards mailed to us or going through some sort of virtual mail system and also using a VPN... lol, man why does it have to be this difficult, the Australians and I think even the UK citizens sure have a more workable friendly banking system.


It's all about stopping the family from stealing the money, same as dead and alive letters.


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## bigpearl (Jan 24, 2016)

Golly I wish I could get a pension from the government, never going to happen but sad they took a percentage of my taxes for 45 years and now? Nada, Apparently I have too many assets and cash in the bank. Not that I qualify for any pension as you need to be 67 to gain the old age pension, used to be 65. Paying for the loafers that never aspired to a better existence?
Go USA.

Cheers, Steve.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Gary D said:


> It's all about stopping the family from stealing the money, same as dead and alive letters.


I don't have the kind of money some of my fellow expats have and so I can keep track of what's in there. 

I also don't doubt that this happens, I haven't heard of this but once I had some lady that I've never met come to our gate and ask me how to write a check, she had a check book and wanted to know how to use it, she claimed it was her husbands.


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## Gary D (Oct 28, 2013)

M.C.A. said:


> I don't have the kind of money some of my fellow expats have and so I can keep track of what's in there.
> 
> I also don't doubt that this happens, I haven't heard of this but once I had some lady that I've never met come to our gate and ask me how to write a check, she had a check book and wanted to know how to use it, she claimed it was her husbands.


It was not uncommon for the family to carry on collecting SS well after the expat had passed, forgetting to inform the expat government of his pasing.


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Gary D said:


> It was not uncommon for the family to carry on collecting SS well after the expat had passed, forgetting to inform the expat government of his pasing.


 I dont mind if I get a Filipino family and they scam Swedish government at my SS after I am dead, because it was the Swedish government - led by 1940-ties born to give THEM much higher SS than they added, while we younger get LESS by they CHANGED the rules to NOT counting many of the years we have contributed!!!
By that I get the WORST possible Swedish retirement pay, although partly its my own fault by I have been good at acounting


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