About a year and half ago I went to Cebu to find out something about my US Social Security. During my meeting I was asked how long I planned to stay, and I replied indefinitely. It was the SS person’s heavy suggesting that I change my address. I forgot this fellow was not a US Citizen but a Filipino contract worker and thus he had a different perspective on helping people. He used the same perspective that many Filipino politicians take when dealing with their own citizens here. We filled out forms and I signed them. THEN he announced that since I was no longer a California resident, I would be charged for some of the Medicare plans that the state of California had been paying for when I was a resident.… Sh….. That was only a minor part of the problem. Since I am not residing in the US, every year the US SS sends me a questionnaire from Philadelphia. It is a simple questionnaire to fill out, but of course I never get it with the Philippines Mail system. Then the US SS stops all payments. I have to contact SS in Manila to get them to send me a form, scan it and email it back. This has happened twice. Currently, the second time they are not responding to my emails, so I sit without new funds being transferred into my account because I was honest about my living situation here. This thread is to warn people to refuse to change their address to the Philippines from the US.
Yup...Just happened to me got a letter saying I did not send them first form.(I never received it) So I filled out the 2nd form they sent me .........and sent it back (Registered) 6 weeks ago........Just got another letter yesterday saying form not received and my S/S will be stopped...So last year same thing happened ...I now will fax a copy of this form (stating where I reside here) to Manila S/S office and try to have this mess cleared up again.....What a hassle and pain in the ???????????? whatever
I sent email to them, and got a reply back yesterday, saying they will not respond until after 3 work days, but yesterday was the third work day. I hope that was not their reply. O-| So I guess you would join in on my warning regarding do not let SS establish your residence as the Philippines?
Has happened to us twice and almost a 3rd time. Yes, it seems it gets lost in the Philippines mail. I would like to establish exactly when are these reports due each year, and maybe if we know that, we can know to be contacting SS administration, both here and in the U.S. that we have not received our questionnaires before it is already too late in the game. Manila has usually been very helpful in the past, but I am not sure if that just wasn't luck on our part.
Resolution I got my social security fund today with not too much hassle but still lots of confusion. I guess it is better than dealing with the Philippines government agencies There was little confusion, and mimual communication, thus leaving me in the dark and having to trust that they would do what they said they would do. I never did send in a new form, but had email a scanned copy of the previous year saying there had been no changes to in the previous year. They must have accept that reply. The time Frame: March 5 - Sent letter of inquiry to SS asking about my late payment of funds, including all my identification information, and the copy of last years questionnaire including the statement there had been no changes. March 10 - Sent second inquiry saying I had heard nothing. March 10 - Response from SS saying they would respond within 3 days to original inquiry. March 10 (6 hours later) - response say I they had reinstated my SS payments and they I would have money in 2 to 3 days. March 14 - Payments received in my US Bank Account. No too bad, figuring it took only a few emails to resolve and a lot of concern as to what was happening and would it happen as they stated.
How to solve the SS problem for next year. The problem The main issue of stopping the payments is the questionnaire that is not processed because: 1. Recipient never gets questionnaire and of coarse SS never gets it returned. Background: The questionnaire is sent from Philadelphia by mail to the Philippines in November, and it never gets to the recipient here in the Philippines. The SS cuts off funding sometime in February. Proactive approach - email solution: It would seem like an email to SS in Manila in December stating that you did not get the questionnaire and asking them to send you an email copy can solve most of the problems. They offered to send me a blank copy last year when I explained that I did not get it last year. I filled out the form scanned it and sent it back without ever going to Manila in person. The posted phone number for SS did not seem to work this year, and there was not phone contact this year Having addressed the question last year, I did have an email address and contact person: Mellissa N. Ramos | Claims Examiner | Social Security Administration Mellissa.N.Ramos@ssa.gov Alternative approach - postal address here It would be to have a postal address here that SS letter would actual arrive at. I have not done this, nor ever got a piece of mail to me in the Philippines in the last two years. Actually having a postal address here that you could receive mail could solve more than this SS issue. i hope this helps anyone having this problem this year.
Just an FYI. I have lived here in the Dumaguete area for 4 years. I have not had any problem receiving or returning my U.S. S.S. forms each year. My address with the S.S.in the U.S. and Manila is my address here. I change it with the Manila S.S. office if we move and the U.S. Embassy in Manila. It does take about 2 months from the date on the S.S. form to the time I actually receive it. Then I immediately send it back to the U.S. usually by some Priority registered mail, May cost a little more but it's worth it in the long run. My letter is dated like June 5, I get it in August. I think everyone's is different. So, to each their own on how they handle it. Mine is direct deposit to my Philippine Bank and is on time every month. I have never had a problem.
Thanks Charlie, my problem seems to center around getting the questionnaire here in the Philippines, where as, Ten Twenty Lenny has the problem of getting the form back to SS them via mail. I think there are two key things for me to do. One, get a solid address here to receive postal type mail, and secondly be proactive starting in about December regarding chasing down the form. I like doing it by email, as it cuts my time, and the waiting time down. I wish I could convince SS to send me the form by email from the get-go. Possibly if someone goes to the Embassy in Manila they could pick up some forms, or maybe in in the Consul in Cebu.
Happy 4th of July, SSA Anyone here have recent experience with Social Security nonpayment and who you contacted and then actually helped you? We're missing direct deposits this month for 4 in our family. We received and sent our last questionaires by registered mail more than 2 weeks ago, EMS tracking says they're now in New York.
Mine came in yesterday, one day late. You may have failed to receive, complete, and send back a form they send out to everyone every one or two years. You can check with the SSA at the Manila U.S. Embassy, easier than contacting the USA. Their web site is: Contact Us | Embassy of the United States Manila, Philippines Check the CONTACT US. If the stoppage is because of the missing form, you can ask them to email it to you, print it and complete it, and scan it and email back to SSA Manila.