U.S. Pension and U.S. Social Security Deposits

I am asking for a repsonce from those of you that are drawing a U.S. Pension and Social Security. Can you have a pension and social security directly depositied into a banking account in Udon Thani ? If not how are you accessing your funds from the U.S. I would be appreciate to hear from those of you that have been living in Thailand for several years or more. I would like to hear what you have done and most importantly what NOT to do.

Thanks in advance for any advise

Submit a Direct Deposit Form (Form 1199A), which you can get via http://www.ssa.gov or your local SSA office. You can have your Social Security check direct deposited to your local BBL account.

when approved, it was one of the 1st questions they asked me, where to direct deposit, just need routing number. at the time, i think cuba and north korea were the only two countries they wouldn't send to. the problem here is picking the thai bank, guessing that is your real question. i personally haven't found one i trust or care to pay their charges or poor exchange rate. only bank i use here for atm withdrawals from my usa free account, where SS is deposited, is GSB, Gov't Savings Bank, no fee, best rate. i would inquire there about their direct deposit policy. others i know use bangkok bank without too many complaints.

if you have free atm use from you present bank/credit union/brokerage account (i use fidelity brokerage account, no fees) so i have no fees on either end and best exchange rate i found so far. good luck

I have my SS deposited in my BofA account and my pension in my CU account, both in the US. This arraignment works very well in my situation and gives me maximum control. Can't address what not to do as I have had no problems. You need to look at your own requirements/needs and act accordingly, keep in mind that bringing money in is no big deal but taking money out (large sums) can involve hoop jumping.

Since the OP asked specifically about direct deposit from SSA, I will only address that aspect, which is what I use. US SSA will direct deposit your pension in Thailand only in the Bangkok Bank, no other bank. It must be a separate account in your name only, and you must make withdrawals in person at the bank, no ATM or internet access to funds. I use this and it has been very reliable. The funds are always in my account the day they are sent, the third working day of the month. I have a separate joint account with ATM so I just go in every month and transfer the funds into that account. They will NOT send funds to North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia or certain former Soviet Union countries. Bangkok bank has all the forms, you just fill them out and sign and they send to US SSA, took me about a month.

The disadvantage of this method is that you have to appear in person at the bank to withdraw the funds, they will not give them to your wife, gf, relatives, friends, etc.

The advantage of this method is that you have to appear in person at the bank to withdraw the funds, they will not give them to your wife, gf, relatives, friends, etc.

There are many other methods of handling your pension such as US bank accounts, brokerage accounts, Paypal, etc. but I will let others comment on them as I am not really familiar with the mechanics.

Here is the complete guidance from SSA.

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10137.html

this is from the US Embassy website:

Only the Bangkok Bank of Thailand provides Direct Deposit service for persons who receive benefits from the following agencies: Social Security Administration (SSA), Veterans Administration (VA), and Civil Service.

1. Open “Direct Deposit” Account at the Bangkok Bank branch nearest your home.
The Bank will assist you in opening a “Direct Deposit Account. We suggest you to clearly tell staff that this account is for receiving pension from SSA, or VA.

2. Sign up Form 1199: Please bring 3 completed forms sf1199 to a Head Quarter of Bangkok Bank. Bank will forward your completed Direct Deposit form (Form 1199 A) to SSA in US. You will be able to access your benefits from the Bangkok Bank branch near your house after your request has been completely processed. This often takes a few months.

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/services/visa/acs/acs_faq.html

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10137.html

takes care of that, question answered if you want deposited in thai BB bank. informative, thank you.

one question, beside normal bank charges, do they charge for transfer in, or even do they charge for you to tranfer from deposit acct to you ATM acct. i remember when i had BB, they seemed to charge for everything. even depositing and withdrawal of money from different branchs and atm of same bank. which is why i changed over to thanachart, plus better interest rate if keeping a high balance. after february renewal, i will close thanachart, i think, as i just opened GSB acct, though forgot to ask about interest rate on saving account.

No charge for transferring from deposit account to ATM account at any branch in the province. I'm sure there is a charge outside the province, but have never done it. Same with ATM, no charge within province, 10 baht outside province (assuming BKK Bank ATM). Charge for transferring in from USA is 5 USD up to $2,000, 10 USD over $2,000. plus 0.25%. Transfers are done at the TT Buy posted rate.

thanks, that about answers any questions i could think of. the out of province charges used to drive me nuts. actually charged me for depositing money in my own account, and atm use, as i would be on holiday and make my monthly deposit for immigration records. and it wasn't cheap, such as 50-100 k baht deposit had a mandatory charge, say 20 baht and % charge, and different branches charged different rates, one time, just shy of 100 baht to deposit money in my account, which i thought was wee bit over the top, since using my money for loans, and giving me all of .75 interest. any luck they changed those policies, that was quite some time ago, hopefully competition helped.

thanks again for answers.

Do any of you have experience with the Siam Commerical Bank ? My wife and I had some dealings with them when we were visiting Udon for several weeks. My wife and I liked the way we were treated by them. We are concidering to use them for our banking when we retire in Udon. My wife's family banks with them also with no complaints.

Yes, I use SCB, two accounts, one her in Udon and one in Surin. No complaints so far. The main reason I switched from Bangkok Bank is much shorter waits and I seem to get preferred treatment. Don't know why I even care about the wait time as retired with no were near a full plate. Probably a behavior I'm clinging to from my working life.

pf-flyer wrote:Do any of you have experience with the Siam Commerical Bank ? My wife and I had some dealings with them when we were visiting Udon for several weeks. My wife and I liked the way we were treated by them. We are concidering to use them for our banking when we retire in Udon. My wife's family banks with them also with no complaints.

I think Kasikorn bank is the friendliest and has the best service!Consistent everywhere I ahve been over the last 12+ years!

While direct deposit to a Bangkok Bank account is easy and reliable, it's main disadvantages are the fees, arbitrary exchange rates, and the non-ATM card account in my name only. I considered it and then decided against it because I currently have money coming from 4 different sources, and next year it will increase to 5.

If I did direct deposit to BBK Bank I'd have to pay the transfer fees 4, and soon 5, times each month. They don't have a holding account in the US for the funds to accumulate and then send them once a month and thereby keep the fees down.

Therefore, I have direct deposits to my US credit union and use their billpay service to send money to my Bangkok Bank account every month or two. This method doesn't require a dedicated account in only my name. I can transfer the money to an account that has a debit card. I can choose a time when the exchange rate is more to my advantage and I do it online.

if you have money the best way to go IMO is write a check to your self deposit it your Thai bank account
for about 1500 to 2000 USD and draw out a months worth of funds then the rest is simple every month write a check you get the best rates available pay a small check writing fee end of all the B/S this is the way I am going when my truck is paid off that is if I am still in Thailand & alive

Ron, did that check clear yet and what were the charges. i tried to do cash advance on both my banks, they don't do them, or accept international checks, Gov't Sav Bank/Thanachart. starting to wonder why i bank with them

opened the account at thanachart, used to pay 1.5 interest, now down to 0.5 like everyone else. and GSB so i could do cash advances or check deposit only to find out they don't, oh well........next idea

Ron are you talking about writing a check from your US bank? I deposited a check drawn on a US bank into my account and the money wasn't available until the check cleared, about three weeks. And they charged me $10 US for each check.

UdonExpat. You are aware that the requirement for separate account in your name only and no ATM is a requirement of the US government for payments from the US Treasury? So unless all your payments are from the US Treasury this restriction would not apply, unless the other payers have the same requirement. If so, I agree that your approach is the way to go. Sadly, I only have one check coming in so the BKK Bank works for me. Many ways to skin a cat here in the LOS, and the best one depends on your particular situation.