U.s. Social Security Child Benefits

[Jollygoodfellow]

7 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

What if you had a wife and 2 kids claiming? 

What if you had two wives and no kids? 

[robert k]

I don't believe I will ever collect it anyway. I'm riding the tiger and I can't get off.

[intrepid]

11 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

'm reviving this old thread as I have some new information.  It might help some of you determine when to take SS if you have kids.

Just to clarify, this is regular SS retirement benefits and not SS Disability benefits, correct?

[OnMyWay]

4 minutes ago, intrepid said:

Just to clarify, this is regular SS retirement benefits and not SS Disability benefits, correct?

Yes, correct.  SSDI family max is different than regular ss and I don't know benefits are used the same way to find out if the family max is reached.

https://www.ssa.gov/oact/COLA/dibfamilymax.html

[OnMyWay]

Just a tidbit for anyone who might need it...

My two girls started collecting SS benefits last November, when I did.  I have described some the processes of setting it up and setting up the banking, in other threads.  Both kids have their money direct deposited at BPI in passbook savings account.  My wife is listed on the accounts as Custodian, as required by SS.

We didn't touch their money until yesterday.  My 5 year old Katy stayed home with big sis while we went to the bank.  The three year old Leila fell asleep in the car on the way to the bank, so she and I stayed in the car.  After 5-10 minutes, I was startled by a knock on the window.  It was my wife and the bank teller!  BPI requires that they physically see the child for any type of withdrawal.  She peeked in at sleeping Leila and said ok, and they went back inside to finish the transaction.

My wife filled me in when she was finished.  She was not able to do Katy's withdrawal because she was not there.  The teller says they need to see them to make sure they are still alive, etc.!

As a side note,  one of the main purposes for withdrawing from the kids accounts is that I don't ever want them to reach $10,000.  If they reach $10,000, I will have to file an FBAR with the IRS, even though they are just little kids.  I put the dollars in my account and I have to file FBAR anyway.

[earthdome]

3 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Just a tidbit for anyone who might need it...

My two girls started collecting SS benefits last November, when I did.  I have described some the processes of setting it up and setting up the banking, in other threads.  Both kids have their money direct deposited at BPI in passbook savings account.  My wife is listed on the accounts as Custodian, as required by SS.

We didn't touch their money until yesterday.  My 5 year old Katy stayed home with big sis while we went to the bank.  The three year old Leila fell asleep in the car on the way to the bank, so she and I stayed in the car.  After 5-10 minutes, I was startled by a knock on the window.  It was my wife and the bank teller!  BPI requires that they physically see the child for any type of withdrawal.  She peeked in at sleeping Leila and said ok, and they went back inside to finish the transaction.

My wife filled me in when she was finished.  She was not able to do Katy's withdrawal because she was not there.  The teller says they need to see them to make sure they are still alive, etc.!

As a side note,  one of the main purposes for withdrawing from the kids accounts is that I don't ever want them to reach $10,000.  If they reach $10,000, I will have to file an FBAR with the IRS, even though they are just little kids.  I put the dollars in my account and I have to file FBAR anyway.

Thanks for the update. When we setup our SS benefits, for me, our daughter and my wife as caretaker we just had all 3 go into our joint credit union account. No restrictions.

[OnMyWay]

1 hour ago, earthdome said:

Thanks for the update. When we setup our SS benefits, for me, our daughter and my wife as caretaker we just had all 3 go into our joint credit union account. No restrictions.

Yes, it is quite different when residing in the U.S.  SS is worried about fraud over here so there are a lot more rules to follow.

[roddavis]

5 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Yes, it is quite different when residing in the U.S.  SS is worried about fraud over here so there are a lot more rules to follow.

We had my son's and wife as caretaker and my own benefits deposited into one account in the States. From there use ATM or transfer to local RCBC account.

 

 

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, roddavis said:

We had my son's and wife as caretaker and my own benefits deposited into one account in the States. From there use ATM or transfer to local RCBC account.

 

 

According to SS here in PH, the kids are living here so their SS has to be deposited where they live, with mommy as the custodian.  I'm not sure what your situation is / was.  My wife has never lived in the U.S. so could not be part of an account there.  Correct me if I am wrong, as that would open up some interesting possibilities!

I have my SS deposited in my U.S. bank.

[roddavis]

5 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

According to SS here in PH, the kids are living here so their SS has to be deposited where they live, with mommy as the custodian.  I'm not sure what your situation is / was.  My wife has never lived in the U.S. so could not be part of an account there.  Correct me if I am wrong, as that would open up some interesting possibilities!

I have my SS deposited in my U.S. bank.

Thats interesting Cuz when I filed for SS benefits, our address was listed as living in Cebu, (wife,kid). But our bank account was in the US. Does wife have a soc sec number, also kids?. If so, then you can open an online bank account like USAA. I used my sisters address to mail ATM cards and such. I see you already have a US bank account. I would think you could just add thier names to your account