USA SS Proof of life

@vehicross100

I remember my uncle had similar issue while staying outside his home country. Sometimes these government letters arrive late or not arrive at all because local mail system not very reliable.

From what I heard, some people receive the proof of life form every year and some after few years only. Maybe depends on account review or random verification from SS side.

Honestly better to keep checking your online SS account too if possible, because physical mail outside US can become stressful specially when important documents involved.

Hopefully somebody here who already living long-term in Philippines can share recent experience.

vehicross100 asked . . . .Seen this topic before but couldn’t locate it, so inquiring if anyone has any experience in receiving this notice. I am 1 month out from my first year on SS and just wondering what to look for when it’s time for this form to be sent to me considering how there actually is no real mail service here.
If I remember correctly some had posted they were receiving the letter annually, others intermittently, and one said never, so just wondering what is the experience of any reading this Topic who are receiving USA SS in regards to the “Proof of life” notice ?

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As far as US citizens on SS, my registered address is in the US. I've never received a proof of life since I moved here in 2018. If your registered address is in the Philippines, by the time PhilPost delivered the letter from the SS administration might consider you deceased. I imagine overseas addresses might get a proof of life letter.

Each year they send out an earning statement and notification of the COLA adjustment, so it's smart to use an US address, you will get any notification timely including proof of life if they should ask.

I use my re-mailers address as my own.

I applied while here in the Philippines using my Philippine address since this has been home for that last 10 years, so I just gotta deal with the Proof of life notice.

For now.

Questions I have, For example, how is it delivered ?

By who ?

And is it delivered the same time of year for everyone or different months throughout the year for benefit recipients ? To name a few…

During my next trip to the US I will call SS from there to see if I can change my address to the US while I am still permanently residing in the Philippines…

But in the meantime be nice to know the answers to some of the above questions.

@Enzyte Bob

I agree, but sadly it’s too late for me according to my Google AI.

Stating that I can change my mailing address but they still Require to know my physical address and if I don't it is considered Fraud and payments could be stopped etc etc…

Furthermore it appears that my 9 year old son who is also receiving benefits will have to annually submit his own PoL along with me.

So I guess I will just Download 2 forms around June/July and send them in every year instead of waiting to see if Philpost can deliver, lose, or deliver to wrong address.

@Enzyte Bob

I'm curious if anyone has sold their US home before moving to the Philippines and still use it as a physical address for financial institutions only?  I know this is technically not legal, but I'm not sure how they will find out as long as you have a virtual mailbox for your mailing address at said financial institutions.

mati_steve asked . . . .
I'm curious if anyone has sold their US home before moving to the Philippines and still use it as a physical address for financial institutions only? I know this is technically not legal, but I'm not sure how they will find out as long as you have a virtual mailbox for your mailing address at said financial institutions.

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Prior to moving to the Philippines I switch my address for all my banking, SS and other important things to my re-mailers address. One think I did for the address, I did not say box number but said apartment number.

I was not questioned by any of them and it's eight years now.

@Enzyte Bob

I tried to do that (online) but each of them would only prefill with the street address that they obviously looked up from a database somewhere.  If I tried to enter any additional info, like PMB, etc, it would not accept it.  It *might* work if I called instead, but I never tried.  I had already called each one and verified I could use my rental property as a physical address, if need be, since I have 100% ownership.

@vehicross100

You are talking about the FEQ, and that is Form SSA-7162.  My recommendation is to be proactive and download it from here: https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/ssa7162ocrsm.pdf

Make sure it is an editable PDF, fill it out, print/sign it, scan and save as a PDF, and submit it through your SSA account online.

Good Luck

@vehicross100

You must maintained your US address and US bank where the SS check deposited electronically.

@vehicross100

The “proof of life” form is incredibly important for us American expats. In the Philippines, it’s sent out every two years. (Mine is on the even numbered years). Yes, it’s sent through the Philippine postal service, which, to put it kindly, is not reliable. As of early 2025, the us embassy in Manila’s website allowed you to download a copy, but the us ssa website would not. It is sent out in the June/july range, and needs to be returned to a US post office box in ninty days from the date it was sent to you, (but definitely before the end of the year). Failure to submit the form results in your benefits being suspended the following February. Since the Phil post office also don’t send to US postal box addresses, I ended up using LBC to send it to my daughter, and she put it into the US mail. If your benefits are suspended while you’re here in Phil, it’s next to impossible to fix it here, since social security no longer does it by phone, and you can’t go to the branch in Manila without an appointment, which you can only get via email. Speaking from experience, my benefits were suspended last year because I never got the form, and I ended up flying back to the states in May and getting it fixed in one day at the local ssa branch there. Incidentally, I got an answer to my email with an appointment in Manila in June lol. I recommend you get your hands on a blank form and make copies for the future.That is my experience, others may have different experiences. I use my actual address here in the Philippines. According to the ssa website, Americans living in the Philippines get the form every two years. It depends on the country you’re living in. I refuse to risk my benefits by hiding my location from social security.

@vehicross100

Because the mail service here in the Philippines is almost non existent I go to the Embassy web site Social Security Admin and print the form out. I fill it out, sign it and use DHL or LBC to send it to the Embassy in Manila SSA. That's what they tell you to do if you do not receive the form in the mail.

RKV

@vehicross100

I live in Cebu. PhlPost has been unreliable as far as ExPat mail.

I download Form 7162 every year, fill out and sign the 3 question survey and use LBC to send it to the Social Security office at the U.S. Embassy, Manila. The address is online. Do it every summer so it’s in before November. If not, your benefit will STOP end of February the following year. By the time you get a late notice from them, it’s too late to stop, and you’ll wait a month before your renewal starts.

Awesome, good helpful info, thanks for replying