Benefits?

[ElizajaneP790122]

Hi new member here. I'm hoping someone can help me with my questions regarding about my husband's death.

My husband died last April 24,2023 . We already report to the US embassy in manila Philippines, (we're from province) thrue phone call. We send some papers that they ask already.

My question is , I don't know what benefits should I be getting.

We are married since 2003.we have two sons.

Hoping someone can help me, thank you very much in advance in any answers.🙏🙏🙏

[fffred]

@ElizajaneP790122 

If you truly are not eligible for widows benefit on your husband's social security then there may be another route. You could become a US citizen yourself even though your husband has passed. You would have to move to the United States and then apply for citizenship based on your spousal relationship. Information on this process is at this link https://citizenpath.com/us-citizenship-widow/#:~:text=If%20you%27re%20a%20widow,5%2Dyear%20continuou...

Obviously this would be a very serious step and could be costly in itself for moving. But I believe that if you are resident in the United States (Even before obtaining your own citizenship) you would be eligible for survivors benefit. After about 5 years you could obtain US citizenship. With the US citizenship in hand you could then move back to the Philippines should you choose to do so and continue your survivors benefits.

Your two sons may also be able to benefit from this process. And if they are under 18 years of age, I'm not positive about the specific age, they will be eligible for survivors benefits as well.

[fffred]

@ElizajaneP790122 

Kumusta!

I sincerely hope that I am mistaken in my understanding of this complex scenario. My interpretation of the Social Security rules is that you may not be eligible for any SS survivor’s benefits as a widow. Depending on your particular personal circumstances this may not be so, however, so it is very important for you to consider your history, particularly whether you lived in the USA with your husband in the past.

Some of the issues that need to be considered for your situation are outlined below. These are discussed in the publication from SSA:  https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf

(i) The SSA (Social Security Administration) is restricted by law from paying benefits to some countries. Fortunately, the Philippines is not a restricted country! So some people are able to collect their SS retirement benefits while living in the Philippines.

(ii) Non-citizens of the USA who are non-resident in the USA, in general, cannot collect SS benefits if they have been outside of the USA for more than 6 months. See the "Additional residency requirements for dependents and survivors" section in the pdf document. But there are some exceptions even to this rule, which then permit non-US citizens to receive SS benefits while living outside of the USA.

(iii) Some countries have reciprocal agreements with the USA regarding government retirement plans. The pdf publication explains these agreements and indicates the countries. They generally permit the non-citizen to receive SS benefits while remaining in their own country. Unfortunately, the Philippines does not have such an agreement with the USA, meaning that non-US citizens resident in the Philippines may have trouble obtaining SS benefits.

The conclusion from these steps is that unless you have lived extensively in the USA with your husband you are likely not entitled by law to survivor's benefit based on your husband, or there may be some other loophole such as husband passing from service related injuries, etc.

The best illustration is the Screening Tool at https://www.ssa.gov/international/payments_outsideUS.html. Stepping through this for what I assume your situation is, the result is that ineligible for benefits (after being outside of the USA for more than 6 months).

There are several very knowledgeable people on this forum who may have a better understanding of these particular rules, or may be able to explain this better than I can. I hope they may add their insights. 

In any case, certainly pursue this with your contacts at the SSA and US Embassy.

I am very sympathetic to your situation and it is one that I have wondered about for years. My wife is a Filipina who moved with her family to the West when she was very young. We have visited the Philippines a number of times and I took an interest in understanding if the Filipina wives of retired USA citizens living in the Phils would be entitled to Social Security or not. This is really a very serious consideration.

Some selected references for research:

https://creativeplanning.com/international/insights/financial-planning/foreign-spouse-social-securit...

https://www.greenbacktaxservices.com/blog/social-security-will-non-us-spouse-lose-benefits/

https://www.ssa.gov/international/payments.html?tl=0   (see the Screening Tool too)

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf