Retirement checks to the Philippines for wife

[dvensel1 5]

Hello all....

I am trying to forge out a way for my wife (filipina) to continue to receive my 2 retirement funds after I pass on and she moves back to the Philippines.  She has expressed a desire to move back after the Good Lord takes me.  I have 2 good retirements which would more than support her until she passes away but as stated, she intends to move home to Bohol when I'm gone. 

My question therefore is: what's the best way for her to continue getting these retirements?  The local bank said the checks will continue to go into our account here in the states and she needs to have a way to access these funds on a monthly basis.  A debit card works well now but they're only good for 5 years and need to be renewed which would require her to return the the states to do this.  There has to be a better way.

In other words, what is the best way or method for her to continue to receive this money or to at least be able to transfer funds each month to a bank in Bohol Philippines so she has access to it?  It would be best to have it transferred to a Philippine bank because then she's be able to use their debit there when she needs cash of something.  The bank has said they can not do an automatic transfer either.  It has to be something she does to move this money.

She suggested that she could write herself a check and deposit it in a Philippine bank and when the funds cleared, she would then have access to the money.  Is this correct?  Can she do this?

I appreciate any and all input on this as I am trying to plan far ahead so she has less to worry about in the future.  I want her to continue a good life back in Phil. and would like very much for her to be comfortable in her senior years.  I'm 15 years older than she is so I suspect I'll go first too.

Thank you all who respond.  You've been such an island of information these last few years and I know someone out there will have the answer.  Bless you all.

Doug Vensel

[Boiler 45,292]

Can she not access the account on line and schedule transfers as and when needed.

[C-ma'am 684]

It all depends on the type of benefit you have selected at the time of retirement and the Fund that handles it. Contact both pension funds to inquire.

 

[Ontarkie 14,190]

~~Moved to the PI forum, from Off Topic- as their maybe other members who have figured out the OP's question involving the two Countries.~~

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

PDIC only guarantees like 500,000 peso per deposit per bank which is around $10K US.  And banks fail over there much more than in USA.

 

The guys I know that have moved to Philippines from USA on retirement keep the bulk of their money in US Banks and transfer visa online what they need monthly.

 

 

[Hank_ 9,174]

23 hours ago, dvensel1 said:

Hello all....

I am trying to forge out a way for my wife (filipina) to continue to receive my 2 retirement funds after I pass on and she moves back to the Philippines.  She has expressed a desire to move back after the Good Lord takes me.  I have 2 good retirements which would more than support her until she passes away but as stated, she intends to move home to Bohol when I'm gone. 

My question therefore is: what's the best way for her to continue getting these retirements?  The local bank said the checks will continue to go into our account here in the states and she needs to have a way to access these funds on a monthly basis.  A debit card works well now but they're only good for 5 years and need to be renewed which would require her to return the the states to do this.  There has to be a better way.

In other words, what is the best way or method for her to continue to receive this money or to at least be able to transfer funds each month to a bank in Bohol Philippines so she has access to it?  It would be best to have it transferred to a Philippine bank because then she's be able to use their debit there when she needs cash of something.  The bank has said they can not do an automatic transfer either.  It has to be something she does to move this money.

She suggested that she could write herself a check and deposit it in a Philippine bank and when the funds cleared, she would then have access to the money.  Is this correct? Can she do this? 

I appreciate any and all input on this as I am trying to plan far ahead so she has less to worry about in the future.  I want her to continue a good life back in Phil. and would like very much for her to be comfortable in her senior years.  I'm 15 years older than she is so I suspect I'll go first too.

Thank you all who respond.  You've been such an island of information these last few years and I know someone out there will have the answer.  Bless you all.

Doug Vensel

Of course the first question that came to mind was also mentioned by another  - what type of funds are these?  Is your wife authorized to keep receiving those funds after your death?  < if this is a yes then:

 

1) Will the fund deposit into a foreign bank account? (something to ask them, not us)  If yes .. TaaDaa!   (SS will deposit into a foreign bank account for certain countries .. Philippines is one of those.  To keep things easy have a USD account and PHP account, that is what we have)

 

2) Keep the bank account in the USA and use a transfer service such as REMITLY to direct deposit the money into the Philippine bank account, or for pickup at 1,000s of locations.   Or use a wire transfer with the bank, only cost efficient when $3000> .   We transfer funds from our account in the USA to our account in the Philippines.

 

3)  Yes, you can write a check to yourself and deposit to your bank account, this I have read can take about 30 days.

Edited February 1, 2018 by Hank_

[dvensel1 5]

23 hours ago, Boiler said:

Can she not access the account on line and schedule transfers as and when needed.

 

4 hours ago, Chris Duffy said:

PDIC only guarantees like 500,000 peso per deposit per bank which is around $10K US.  And banks fail over there much more than in USA.

 

The guys I know that have moved to Philippines from USA on retirement keep the bulk of their money in US Banks and transfer visa online what they need monthly.

 

 

The retirements are: a NY state employee's retirement and of course social security retirement.  Neither one can be directly sent to a Philippine bank and are currently direct deposit.  She has survivor benefits from both upon my demise.  Using a debit card works fine but these expire every 5 years.  I was wondering if anyone else might know of an easy way for her to transfer money each month or at least access the money each month if she moves back there after I expire.  I want to make sure she has her benefits to live on.

She has told me of people who have opened what they call a "Philippine Dollar" bank account.  What they apparently do is submit a deposit slip with a check drawn on a US bank.  The check has to clear of course and then that account is credited with US dollars.  Upon accessing the account, she is paid in US dollars which would then be taken to a money changer for conversion into Php and voila, she would have her Philippine cash.  Is this correct?  I know one thing we noticed when we returned 4 months ago:  when we use the debit card to buy groceries, the cashier now asks if we want to use pesos or USD.  Why do they do this now?  I don't understand.

Anyway, as I typed this I got a reply and it makes sense.  We will open a Philippine bank account when we return next year.  At that point I may be able to work something out between the US bank and the Phil. bank too.  My wife tells me not to worry about it because she told me about her friends who use the Philippine Dollar method and it works quite well.  But she has to plan ahead in order to have money between transfers as one responder mentioned - it can take up to 30 days for a deposited check to clear.

I've inquired into both my retirements and found that my NY state retirement will not deposit to a foreign bank.  I'll look into a transfer method too and maybe set her up with a Moneygram or Transfast account where she can transfer money to herself when needed.

I sure appreciate the replies from everyone.  It's always so helpful on here.  Best site ever!

 

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

15 minutes ago, dvensel1 said:

 

The retirements are: a NY state employee's retirement and of course social security retirement.  Neither one can be directly sent to a Philippine bank and are currently direct deposit.  She has survivor benefits from both upon my demise.  Using a debit card works fine but these expire every 5 years.  I was wondering if anyone else might know of an easy way for her to transfer money each month or at least access the money each month if she moves back there after I expire.  I want to make sure she has her benefits to live on.

She has told me of people who have opened what they call a "Philippine Dollar" bank account.  What they apparently do is submit a deposit slip with a check drawn on a US bank.  The check has to clear of course and then that account is credited with US dollars.  Upon accessing the account, she is paid in US dollars which would then be taken to a money changer for conversion into Php and voila, she would have her Philippine cash.  Is this correct?  I know one thing we noticed when we returned 4 months ago:  when we use the debit card to buy groceries, the cashier now asks if we want to use pesos or USD.  Why do they do this now?  I don't understand.

Anyway, as I typed this I got a reply and it makes sense.  We will open a Philippine bank account when we return next year.  At that point I may be able to work something out between the US bank and the Phil. bank too.  My wife tells me not to worry about it because she told me about her friends who use the Philippine Dollar method and it works quite well.  But she has to plan ahead in order to have money between transfers as one responder mentioned - it can take up to 30 days for a deposited check to clear.

I've inquired into both my retirements and found that my NY state retirement will not deposit to a foreign bank.  I'll look into a transfer method too and maybe set her up with a Moneygram or Transfast account where she can transfer money to herself when needed.

I sure appreciate the replies from everyone.  It's always so helpful on here.  Best site ever!

 

Several banks do this in the Philippines. BDO and BPI does this I know for sure. I know with Wellsfargo  if you have a BDO account they can link it to the BDO account and you can transfer money that way online once you do it in person the first time. But first you have to be able to go in person to a local branch for them to do it initially.

Edited February 1, 2018 by cyberfx1024

[Hank_ 9,174]

1 hour ago, dvensel1 said:

 

The retirements are: a NY state employee's retirement and of course social security retirement.    Neither one can be directly sent to a Philippine bank and are currently direct deposit.  She has survivor benefits from both upon my demise.  Using a debit card works fine but these expire every 5 years.  I was wondering if anyone else might know of an easy way for her to transfer money each month or at least access the money each month if she moves back there after I expire.  I want to make sure she has her benefits to live on.

She has told me of people who have opened what they call a "Philippine Dollar" bank account.  What they apparently do is submit a deposit slip with a check drawn on a US bank.  The check has to clear of course and then that account is credited with US dollars.  Upon accessing the account, she is paid in US dollars which would then be taken to a money changer for conversion into Php and voila, she would have her Philippine cash.  Is this correct?  I know one thing we noticed when we returned 4 months ago:  when we use the debit card to buy groceries, the cashier now asks if we want to use pesos or USD.  Why do they do this now?  I don't understand.

Anyway, as I typed this I got a reply and it makes sense.  We will open a Philippine bank account when we return next year.  At that point I may be able to work something out between the US bank and the Phil. bank too.  My wife tells me not to worry about it because she told me about her friends who use the Philippine Dollar method and it works quite well.  But she has to plan ahead in order to have money between transfers as one responder mentioned - it can take up to 30 days for a deposited check to clear.

I've inquired into both my retirements and found that my NY state retirement will not deposit to a foreign bank.  I'll look into a transfer method too and maybe set her up with a Moneygram or Transfast account where she can transfer money to herself when needed.

I sure appreciate the replies from everyone.  It's always so helpful on here.  Best site ever!

 

It was possible to direct deposit to a bank in the Philippines, but upon checking the SSA website I see the Philippines is no longer on the direct deposit list .... (I should have checked this for fact with my earlier post.  Wonder why it was removed?)

https://www.ssa.gov/deposit/foreign.htm

 

Judging by this publication, it appears the Philippines did not sign a new agreement with the USA in regards to SS direct deposit.   

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

 

With us we never planned to have SS or a majority of our funds in a Philippine bank, we have both a PHP & USD account, and use the USD account for direct transfers from our U.S. bank accounts.   We have found that our bank give a better rate than most money changers.

 

 

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

44 minutes ago, Hank_ said:

It was possible to direct deposit to a bank in the Philippines, but upon checking the SSA website I see the Philippines is no longer on the direct deposit list .... (I should have checked this for fact with my earlier post.  Wonder why it was removed?)

https://www.ssa.gov/deposit/foreign.htm

 

Judging by this publication, it appears the Philippines did not sign a new agreement with the USA in regards to SS direct deposit.   

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

 

With us we never planned to have SS or a majority of our funds in a Philippine bank, we have both a PHP & USD account, and use the USD account for direct transfers from our U.S. bank accounts.   We have found that our bank give a better rate than most money changers.

 

 

I saw that today as well when I was looking for the OP. As of right now Wellsfargo is giving 50.5 for $99 and below and 50.6 for $100 and above that you send.

[Hank_ 9,174]

1 hour ago, cyberfx1024 said:

I saw that today as well when I was looking for the OP. As of right now Wellsfargo is giving 50.5 for $99 and below and 50.6 for $100 and above that you send.

50.5-6 is about P1 below prime that isn't bad (that is about P.25 better than REMITLY but there is no fees with them).  How much is their transaction fee?     

 

I would never switch banks just to use Wellsfargo... I have USAA and will stay there.   Wire transfers are $45, I find $3,000 >  to be the sweet spot for using a wire transfer over a transfer service, we move USD to our account at BDO

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

2 hours ago, Hank_ said:

50.5-6 is about P1 below prime that isn't bad (that is about P.25 better than REMITLY but there is no fees with them).  How much is their transaction fee?     

 

I would never switch banks just to use Wellsfargo... I have USAA and will stay there.   Wire transfers are $45, I find $3,000 >  to be the sweet spot for using a wire transfer over a transfer service, we move USD to our account at BDO

Of course it said around $4 thats it.

 

I will not use USAA for banking due to stuff I have heard about them. But I am happy with just insurance and my car loans right now.

[Hank_ 9,174]

13 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

Of course it said around $4 thats it.

 

I will not use USAA for banking due to stuff I have heard about them. But I am happy with just insurance and my car loans right now.

Been with USAA for years, without issue.  I have read complaints online ...  many made me roll my eyes for sure.    

 

I read complaints online for Wells Fargo also, they don't shine either     https://wells-fargo.pissedconsumer.com/review.html   I quit Wells Fargo many years ago for p!ss!ng me off with their lousy service ...

I was with Chase for a number of years with zero complaints, and I am sure you can find a boat load of complaints on them also.  Would still be with them but they don't have a banking presence in Tennessee... not even ATMs.

 

I guess the trick is to find a bank with zero bad reviews ..  

 

 

 

[Ryan H 3,812]

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