Quick question about US pension cheques

[Kenny]

It is true that Social Security will not direct deposit to the Philippines but it can direct deposit to Bank of New York who transfer it to Philippines. I have no idea what he bank fee for this is. I just deposit to an account in the US and use an ATM to withdraw up to 20,000 pesos a day; two transactions $3 per transaction.
Kenny

[jimeve]

Originally Posted by john boy

The British Gov; will pay pension payments to the Philippines Banks but I heard that your pension will remain the same.(not inflation proof) don't know if thats the same for the US.
I pity anyone relying on savings with the Pound @ around 69 peso!
Interest rates here reducing your annual income down to 20% of what it was 12 months ago.
...JB

John, that's not true, British pensions are inflation proof in the Philippines,
look it up on the Gov web site, sorry I don't have the link.

Jim.

[pecoskid45]

Originally Posted by Kenny

It is true that Social Security will not direct deposit to the Philippines but it can direct deposit to Bank of New York who transfer it to Philippines. I have no idea what he bank fee for this is. I just deposit to an account in the US and use an ATM to withdraw up to 20,000 pesos a day; two transactions $3 per transaction.
Kenny

Bank of New York charges $3 for this service and my check is deposited to
BPI on the same day (usually the 4th here).
Pecos

[Pedro]

Also related to this post, regarding the American expats and pensions, what is the tax bite when you file your taxes? If any of you are using the non-immigrant visa how has this complicated your US tax status if at all?

[pecoskid45]

Most Americans living on a pension will not owe any tax due to the fact that they fall below the level required to pay in. This doesn't mean you don't have
to file a return (if you make more than a few thousand) only that you won't
owe. Many people failed to get the refund this past year because they never
file a return. Living overseas doesn't complicate your tax status, unless you
are working for a US company overseas.

[dennis1105]

Originally Posted by Pedro

Also related to this post, regarding the American expats and pensions, what is the tax bite when you file your taxes? If any of you are using the non-immigrant visa how has this complicated your US tax status if at all?

If you're single, you only pay taxes if your Adjusted Gross Income plus 1/2 of your Social Security equals $25,000 or above. If you're married filing jointly it's the same formula but $32,000 or above.
Dennis

[Teacher]

Thank you for the correction dennis1105 I was only passing what I was told by others no problem. Good information if Social Security is still there 16 years from now when I retire. I'm not really counting on it to still be there for me.

[dennis1105]

Originally Posted by Teacher

Thank you for the correction dennis1105 I was only passing what I was told by others no problem. Good information if Social Security is still there 16 years from now when I retire. I'm not really counting on it to still be there for me.

Teacher,
Relax! According to the Social Security Site ( ssa.gov) Social Security has enough funds to pay full benefits, including Cost of Living increases, until 2041. After that , if nothing is done, Social Security will have to cut benefit payments by 22%. As of right now, Social Security is running a surplus. Unfortunately, we can't keep the politicians from dipping into the Social Security Fund to pay for other things. When Social Security first began there were 16.5 workers supporting each retiree. Now that's down to 3.3 workers per 1 retiree. It's Medicare that's in more trouble than Social Security at the present time. Medicare was OK until they passed the prescription drug plan which is very expensive. I think the medicare system is only viable until 2018 unless Congress does something to fix it (as in raise taxes).
Dennis

[john boy]

Originally Posted by jimeve

John, that's not true, British pensions are inflation proof in the Philippines,
look it up on the Gov web site, sorry I don't have the link.

Jim.

Hey thanks for the info Jim, that's good news.....regards John

[Pedro]

I believe it is better to file the taxes also. I have this fear that some aggressive IRS investigator or bank accountant will notice that no taxes had been filed for several years and and then declare you dead to have your SS/company benefits stopped. What a hassle that would be.

I do currently plan to try and get a company posting as close to the PI as I can when I am about ready to retire. I am hoping it will ease the transition and allow me to move the family there ahead of me but I guess the tax implications would be horrific since we will all reside outside the US.