[Raisa Donato]

Anyway I will update once benefits are reinstated

Praying and crossing fingers

 

[Raisa Donato]

Thank you

I just mailed the form yesterday at the post office though I emailed also FBU Manila

I will update soon

 

[babsalua]

I live in the Azores and I had received the form - actually 2 times but being fairly new to receiving benefits I just glanced at the forms and put them in my desk. When I didn't received my Feb payment I saw it was suspended and after a little research I found that it was because I didn't mail back the form. I filled it out and mailed it back. Meanwhile I discovered I could have sent it to Lisbon. It took 3 weeks but my is active but currently not receiving benefits. It shows that a one-time the day it was made active. Does anyone know when I will be receiving payments?

 

[Raisa Donato]

I live in the Azores and I had received the form - actually 2 times but being fairly new to receiving benefits I just glanced at the forms and put them in my desk. When I didn't received my Feb payment I saw it was suspended and after a little research I found that it was because I didn't mail back the form. I filled it out and mailed it back. Meanwhile I discovered I could have sent it to Lisbon. It took 3 weeks but my is active but currently not receiving benefits. It shows that a one-time the day it was made active. Does anyone know when I will be receiving payments?

For my case I sent it to the nearest FBU

I suggest you print a 7162 and send it to FBU

 

[Richardroma]

Just sent out 7162 form to FBU Manila

I will update soon

Helllo , so whats the outcome yet ? Have your dad being paid ? I have similar issues and I don’t even know what to do … should I email the fbu in Manila or what ? Please direct me on what to do … thanks you

 

[Raisa Donato]

Papa's benefits are reinstated

So happy!!!!

 

[Howard_Z]

How does USA social security know if someone is living in Philippines ?

 

[AnneLM]

How does USA social security know if someone is living in Philippines ?

They don't. People need to report where they're living. There are no accurate figures on how many expats receive Social Security because many people maintain addresses in the US. They are supposed to report their address if they are living overseas more than three months but many people don't because if they change their address to overseas they don't get their mail timely or at all.

 

[M.C.A.]

I'll be working my Social Security through the US Embassy next month and they will know that I live here and will make it easier for me to not only draw my SS but help me open a bank with the Entitlement letter from the US Embassy in Manila Federal Benefits Unit FBU.

You don't open up a Direct Deposit US dollar pension without this entitlement letter from the US Embassy that don't happen, no Philippine bank will open up a pension unless verified by the US Embassy. This might not be a requirement in other countries around us such as Australia or New Zealand ect..

The US Embassy in Manila also handles this entire region, example, recently we had a guy from New Zealand that needed to the Embassy here to restore his SS.

The US Embassy in Manila does remind citizens who are drawing SS overseas to keep their addresses updated because they'll send out important information especially that yearly Foreign Enforcement letter that is serialized, link on this

https://expatforum.telechargerjeux.org/threads/useful-links-for-expats.1483632/post-15239394

So you should utilize the Manila Embassy if living in SE Asia. Many Expats have lost their SS because they don't submit this yearly requirement. Many YouTube videos on homeless American citizens or those that qualify or lived in the US from places such as the UK but they qualified for US Social Security.

Several expats also from Australia also who ended up in a bad situation and then such as Covid (these guys are elderly) so overstaying their tourist visa and trouble with their health, trouble with their partner and no because they got kicked out m, robbed and so no money or with their homeland.

 

[bobcdo3353]

hello. I didn't receive the 7162 form because there zero mail service but i printed e mail, mailed and faxed TWICE and still was SUSPENDED..LET ME OPEN THE CAN OR WORMS..I CALLED SSA 1 800 in september 13th at 9 am and was told they have me as submitting but there PROCESSING UNIT didnt follow up. so dont think your for didnt get there i wrote to my rep i wrote Washington Post. this ust be o the same track as overpayments mistakes

 

[MJoe]

HELP HELP HELP!!!!! I just received my 7162 for 2024 and my 7162 form is now 3 pages (with all the privacy stuff now on a separate “page 3”). Of course the instructions don’t say whether to send back just the 1 page double sided signed form (pages 1 and 2) or to also send back the page “3 of 3“ which is just privacy stuff. What is everyone doing? I assume this is all automated with machines so don’t want to screw it up. Super appreciate knowing what you guys are doing. Thanks!

 

[Snapper55]

I just found out that my March Social Security payment was suspended on this basis:

Your benefits have been suspended because we did not timely receive your Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire.
In order to reinstate the benefits you must take the following actions: Complete the SSA-7162 form (Pdf-59Kb) if: you receive payments in your own name.

Well now, this is the first I have heard about this. I did not receive any such form by mail (but we know what the MX mail is like), nor did I receive any email or telephone notification about this from the Federal Benefits Unit, or any message through the My Social Security .

If the FBU is relying on physical mail to inform people about this requirement, that seems a little primitive and unreliable to me.

Did any of you here in the Forum who receive your SS benefit by direct deposit into a Mexican bank know about this? Do any of you have experience with this sort of suspension?

Of course, I want to rectify the matter as soon as possible. So I sent an email to the FBU in Mexico City, AND also requested an appointment through their online appointments form. Although, if they prefer me to send the completed form, I will either send it by ed mail with proof of delivery, or by FedEx if they permit that. I only hope it doesn’t take weeks and weeks to get the benefit rolling again.

INSTANT UPDATE: I just had a nice chat with a Social Security agent in the US customer service unit who said that mine was the second call he had taken personally on exactly this issue. The other benefits recipient he spoke to was similarly blindsided, and the agent cannot detect any evidence that the FBU informed those of us who are affected by this suspension about the form requirement, the suspension itself, or anything at all. So the agent is going to elevate the matter to a supervisor.

This is a semi annual or sometime s annual requirement from Social Security whenever you reside outside of the United States. This is prevelant in the Philippines. The expats there call it the dead or alive form.

 

[Snapper55]

I found this at another site:

*Who is required to file?
All people receiving Social Security benefits, who have foreign addresses ed with the SSA. It does not matter if your check is deposited in the USA or to a foreign bank , because it’s all about the mailing address you have on file with the SSA.

*2022 Updates:
The SSA typically mails the forms out in May each year, with a 60 day due date for returning the form after the day your receive it … Yet the program was suspended due to COVID mailing problems, and this year, the notices were not sent out until June 2022. A follow up notice is sent in October and December if the completed questionnaire has not been received.

I first filed for my SS benefit when I turned 62 in the second half of 2020, so because of the COVID disruption, it is perhaps understandable that I had never heard of this requirement before. Still: there was no notice of the renewed requirement sent through the messages system of the My Social Security website (I double-checked this). No email from the FBU, at least not that I received, and they certainly have my email address.

If the paper notice and follow-ups were sent from the US to Mexican addresses, good luck. If the notice and follow-ups were sent from the FBU in Mexico to Mexican addresses…still, good luck. This does not seem to have been well-handled, but maybe I am missing something? (Well, my money.)

I would not be surprised if there were quite a number of people in this (my) boat.

Apparently the forms are bar-coded, so just printing one out from the website, filling it in, and returning it will have no effect whatsoever. Probably I really will need to have that appointment at the FBU.

In the Philippines Forum here, there has been discussion of this issue in two earlier threads, and it seems that the Philippines FBU was cooperative in immediately re-instating benefits in these situations. We will see if the Mexico FBU is so efficient.

That's quite unusual for any Filipino agency being expedient! The Philippines is normally so slow on everything it seems it's moving backwards.

 

[illimani]

Five years I have waited for my Social Security in South América. One lie after another

 

[M.C.A.]

Five years I have waited for my Social Security in South América. One lie after another

If I missed it I apologize in advance, this is a long topic, but could you explain the lies, or what's the hold up?

 

[baldlawrence]

We live in Australia and ours have been suspended as well. Mail takes 3-4 weeks to get here if we get it at all. There were no messages in our SSA . As I write I've been on phone on hold for 2.5 hours now, due to 'staff shortages'. Or online response is expected to be '200-250 days'. The State Dept website is down, experiencing 'technical difficulties'. Thank goodness for DOGE, should be renamed DOdGEy. This I fear is the new normal in the Trump-Musk era.

 

[PatrickMurtha]

We live in Australia and ours have been suspended as well. Mail takes 3-4 weeks to get here if we get it at all. There were no messages in our SSA . As I write I've been on phone on hold for 2.5 hours now, due to 'staff shortages'. Or online response is expected to be '200-250 days'. The State Dept website is down, experiencing 'technical difficulties'. Thank goodness for DOGE, should be renamed DOdGEy. This I fear is the new normal in the Trump-Musk era.

Do you have an FBU in Australia? I would go through them if so.

 

[Howard_Z]

MSN

 

[baldlawrence]

I just found out that my March Social Security payment was suspended on this basis:

Your benefits have been suspended because we did not timely receive your Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire.
In order to reinstate the benefits you must take the following actions: Complete the SSA-7162 form (Pdf-59Kb) if: you receive payments in your own name.

Well now, this is the first I have heard about this. I did not receive any such form by mail (but we know what the MX mail is like), nor did I receive any email or telephone notification about this from the Federal Benefits Unit, or any message through the My Social Security .

If the FBU is relying on physical mail to inform people about this requirement, that seems a little primitive and unreliable to me.

Did any of you here in the Forum who receive your SS benefit by direct deposit into a Mexican bank know about this? Do any of you have experience with this sort of suspension?

Of course, I want to rectify the matter as soon as possible. So I sent an email to the FBU in Mexico City, AND also requested an appointment through their online appointments form. Although, if they prefer me to send the completed form, I will either send it by ed mail with proof of delivery, or by FedEx if they permit that. I only hope it doesn’t take weeks and weeks to get the benefit rolling again.

INSTANT UPDATE: I just had a nice chat with a Social Security agent in the US customer service unit who said that mine was the second call he had taken personally on exactly this issue. The other benefits recipient he spoke to was similarly blindsided, and the agent cannot detect any evidence that the FBU informed those of us who are affected by this suspension about the form requirement, the suspension itself, or anything at all. So the agent is going to elevate the matter to a supervisor.

Nothing in 'Messages' on SSA.com . Spoke to SSA Friday their time, I have to go through US Embassy in Philippines now. Wish me luck although Manila is very helpful and efficient from one other dealing I had with them.

 

[icekeeman1]

I just found out that my March Social Security payment was suspended on this basis:

Your benefits have been suspended because we did not timely receive your Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire.
In order to reinstate the benefits you must take the following actions: Complete the SSA-7162 form (Pdf-59Kb) if: you receive payments in your own name.

Well now, this is the first I have heard about this. I did not receive any such form by mail (but we know what the MX mail is like), nor did I receive any email or telephone notification about this from the Federal Benefits Unit, or any message through the My Social Security .

If the FBU is relying on physical mail to inform people about this requirement, that seems a little primitive and unreliable to me.

Did any of you here in the Forum who receive your SS benefit by direct deposit into a Mexican bank know about this? Do any of you have experience with this sort of suspension?

Of course, I want to rectify the matter as soon as possible. So I sent an email to the FBU in Mexico City, AND also requested an appointment through their online appointments form. Although, if they prefer me to send the completed form, I will either send it by ed mail with proof of delivery, or by FedEx if they permit that. I only hope it doesn’t take weeks and weeks to get the benefit rolling again.

INSTANT UPDATE: I just had a nice chat with a Social Security agent in the US customer service unit who said that mine was the second call he had taken personally on exactly this issue. The other benefits recipient he spoke to was similarly blindsided, and the agent cannot detect any evidence that the FBU informed those of us who are affected by this suspension about the form requirement, the suspension itself, or anything at all. So the agent is going to elevate the matter to a supervisor.

Evidently it isn't happening yes. I had the exact same problem. I informed them the rules and procedures (I copied and pasted them) and it required they send me a copy of the 7162 in snail mail or email then I have 30 days to fill it out and SHIP it back to them. I did this and it took them 7 days to put my benefits back THEN 4 months later they did it again !!! stating the last one was for 2024 and this one is for 2025. when I asked them for a name of who authorized this within the SSA Baltimore. They stopped communication completely. Next thing I knew they deducted 609 dollars they say. for an overpayment. I had already filed a Waiver at Baltimore, and it was awaiting approval.... They didn't care then when I looked closer, they had been deducting 7% for the last 9 months for the very same reason. I asked for an in-person interview.... crickets.... I asked for a phone call.... crickets...