November 13, 2024
My Social Security is a free and secure my Social Security account provides personalized tools for everyone, whether you receive benefits or not. You can use your account to request a replacement Social Security card, check the status of an application, estimate future benefits, or manage the benefits you already receive. Go to https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/
Short answer is yes. Yes, a foreign national spouse can collect Social Security survivor benefits if they meet certain requirements, but it can be somewhat confusing in some cases. Every case is different, But basically, if the spouse is of the qualified age of 60 and has lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years, then the spouse would qualify. The amount received is based on your work record and begins at 70%. The spouse will also have to spend a minimum of 1 month in US every 6 months. If spouse is outside the U.S. for more than 6 months, then payments are suspended until a return and does the 30 days again. Here are some of the requirements:
There are some exceptions to the general rule that Social Security payments to non-US spouses are suspended if they have lived outside the US for six consecutive calendar months based on the following:
Read more in this SSA booklet Your Payments While Your Are Outside the U.S. https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf
Social Security Administration
Data Operations Center
Attn: SSA-7162 Process
1150 E. Mountain Drive, Room 341
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-7162
Commonly referred to as the "still alive" form, the Annual Report Form SSA-7162 is mailed out to every SS beneficiary living outside of the U.S. to the address the SSA has on file. The SSA Form 7162 is to confirm to the SSA the recipient still qualifies for Social Security benefits. The form is mailed out in June every year (First Notice). If SSA does not receive it back completed, a Second Notice is mailed out in September. If SSA still does not receive your completed form, they will stop Social Security benefits on January the following year.
The form SSA mails will be prefilled with the name and address information they have on file. If there are no changes to the data on the form, it's a simple matter of adding your phone number, checking a couple boxes as "NO", signing it and mailing it back. No witness signature is required if you sign it. A witness is required however, if you are unable to sign your name. You make your mark in your signature block and the witness signs it in their signature block. Then mail it back in the envelope provided that is pre-addressed to the Wilkes-Barre office. The form goes back to the SSA Office in Wilkes-Barre, PA, NOT THE PHILIPPINES.
If you do not have the pre-addressed envelope and have to address your own envelope, use the following Wilkes-Barre, PA mailing address:
MAILING ADDRESS
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
P.O. BOX 7162
WILKES-BARRE, PA 18767-7162
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
If however, you are sending the form via a private COURIER service, such as FEDEX, DHL, LBC, Air-21 etc., use this address instead:
COURIER ADDRESS
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
DATA OPERATIONS CENTER
ATTN: SSA-7162 PROCESS
1150 E. MOUNTAIN DRIVE
WILKES-BARRE. PA 18767-7162
U.S.A
The Manila SSA office does nothing with 7162 form processing. When you get the form in the mail (assuming you do get it) the return envelope included is to Wilkes-Barre. If you have contacted them about payment stoppage, they will assist you, but they are still only performing liaison actions with Wilkes-Barre. They don't update or process anything.
If you DO NOT receive a form in the mail, BUT you know you should, download a blank form at https://pl.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/23/cons_fbu_SSA-7162.pdf, fill it in, and send to the Wilkes-Barre, PA office.
Read more on the SSA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ) page https://ph.usembassy.gov/services/social-security/faq/
