Fly to Manila each month to get your SS Check? Plus bonus question.

So I am wanting to move to Dumaguete because I love it there! Been there several times and always hate leaving. I am on SSDI and when I went to the SS website it said something about having to report monthly to the US embassy monthly to get your check. Well the US Embassy is in Manila so does that mean I would have to make a monthly trip to Manila to get my check? Bonus question, I plan on visiting the states a time or two a year to see family and friends here and maintaining an address here as it's already paid for. Would it be better to just keep my address with SS my US address or switch it to the Dumaguete one? Any thoughts and advice would be appreciated.

 

Monthly social security checks can be sent electronically from the US SSA to a bank in Dumaguete. The banks here authorized by the SSA have a form you fill out with the banks electronic address and you can send that form to the SSA office at the USA Embassy Manila and they will enter that in the SSA computer and your check will be sent electronically to your account. That account is a direct deposit dollar account, no ATM or checking. I'm not sure of the Visa requirement here to open the account. I have a permanent visa when I went through that process.

 

Simplest would probably be having your SSDI check direct deposited in the US. There might be a little money savings having it direct deposited to a bank in Duma. I spent about $40 a year to Western Union, wire money to myself.

 

You may lose some medicare coverage if you switch you address to Ph. If you were a California resident (applies to some other states also) and they find out you are in the PH for a long time, as SS will record you as living here, then they stop assisting you as a resident to pay medicare. The added cost to you is $ 104 + (depending on when you signed up) per month.
I deposit in US Bank and use Xoom to transfer the money to PH bank, primarily because I have some directed withdraws out of the US bank that can not be handled with a PH bank. Xoom will direct deposit in some PH banks (BDO dollar account for me) and complete the transaction in about 2 minutes or less. Xoom transfers if you keep the money in dollars range from $8 to $12. If you transfer into Pesos using their exchange rate the transfer costs less, but the exchange rate makes up for more than the difference. (Xoom is not stupid, and like most financial company knows how to make money off of everything). Xoom has served me well but has recently been bought by PayPal... hmmmm. I would sugggest setting up an Xoom account in advance of the need to use it, even transferring small amounts of money to test the system. I have had not problems for 4 years, but there were some questions, and there is always the old "money laundering" question if you start with large amounts of dollars at first.

I would keep my address in the US if I had it to do over again. I was not told by the SS man about the medicare benefit loss if I changed my address until I signed the papers... Just like a sheep , I was fleeced by over $100.00 a month by the silver tongue SS man.

 

I never had a problem with medicare. I eventually canceled it because I can't use it here and saved $300+ a month.

 

The only people here who need medicare Part b or d are retired military personnel who are over age 65 and need it to qualify for Tricare. All others are not allowed to use it overseas. The only way it may come into effect for everyone else over 65 is if you travel back to US for care.

 

Medicare Part B is also required to be paid if you are a military retiree regardless of age - even under age 65 - AND you are in receipt of SSDI. If you want to keep your military retiree Tricare Health Care Policy as an option for use, and, you are a military retiree in receipt of SSDI, then regardless of your age and regardless of the fact you cannot use MediCare in a foreign country, you will still need to pay for MediCare Part B in order to keep your TriCare active.

This information applies to SSDI recipients who are also military retirees with TriCare no matter their age.

That's what the rule book says.

V/R,
nwlivewire

 

Better to have your check put into a US account and then wire transfer over and maintain a US address. While you can collect SSDI in the Philippines legally there are some catches and losses. First off the Philippines doesn't have a Social Security Agreement with the Philippines which means if you become a resident (up to the US to decide if it thinks your a resident even if your on an extension tourist for years) you can lose your benefits in 6 months (unless you become a citizen of the Philippines). Further with SSDI you'll usually have medical reviews every 3-7 years which should require your physical presence in the US and if its 3 to 7 years is determined by how likely SS thinks you may recover from being disabled.

Further in case any wonder on SSI that can NOT be collected outside of the US. If you are outside of the US more then 30 days you will be cut off AND if they catch you cheating the system unlike other things you'll not only have to pay back but likely be prosecuted as well.

 

Here is the Social Security website that explains a little bit about collecting your regular Social Security, or, your SSDI benefit while in a foreign country.

SSI is yet another SSA benefit and has different rules than regular Social Security or SSDI.

https://www.ssa.gov/international/payments_outsideUS.html

 

I have heard that if you cancel your medicare and for some reason want to re-instate it that if can be very costly. My memory was a little hazy on the subject, but it seemed at the time not wise to cancel if you ever thought you may be back in the US for medical.. Anyone have more precise information.