It’ll blow your mind

I hate putting up posts like this, but after what happened to me a month ago and digging into the issue, I’ve discovered it’s a shockingly common problem for any American beneficiary living outside the U.S. So, I’ve decided to share the story, hoping to prevent others from experiencing the same shit or at least to guide them on what to do if they find themselves in a similar bind.

Here’s the rundown:

If you’re thinking about tapping into Social Security benefits, you might ask, “Isn’t it just a fucking Ponzi scheme?” And yes, it essentially is. People paying in now are funding those who’ve stopped contributing, and as long as populations, incomes, and jobs remain somewhat stable, this charade can continue indefinitely. They can tweak the numbers as they go to not screw over those already receiving benefits.

When I hit 62, I wouldn’t have even considered this if it weren’t for Covid gutting my main income source—another story for another time. But with the necessity to monetize this blog for recovery, I figured, why not take early Social Security? I crunched the numbers: you can indeed get more if you wait until 66 or 67, but you don’t start to catch up financially until you’re around 74—about eight years out. So, quality of life at 62 versus 74 or even 68? That was the deciding factor for me.

Take the money now.

You might ask, “Why participate in this Ponzi scheme?” Here’s my take: I’ve paid into this system during my most productive years. My company once generated over $3 million annually with 30 employees—I’ve funneled millions into this system, both personally and through my business. I’m just trying to claw back a tiny fraction of that. I’ll never recover all of it, no, and certainly not when you consider the opportunity cost of where else I could’ve invested that money, had I not been forced to feed the deep sink of federal and state bureaucracies. I lived in California, so add a hefty income tax and sales tax to that bureaucratic cesspool too.

Anyway, let’s dive into the story:

I turned 62 in January 2023, and thus, February was the first month I was eligible for Social Security benefits, which were paid out on March 3rd. (All beneficiaries of Social Security outside of the United States get their payments on the third of the month worldwide). This system worked like clockwork for nearly two years here in Thailand, with my payments hitting my bank account sometime between four in the afternoon and seven at night.

Then, last month, February 3rd, I’m sitting in Tahitian Queen, my fav go-go bar since 1986 (est 1978), checking my bank account, and lo and behold, there’s nothing. I waited a bit longer, still nothing. By the time I got home around eight or nine, I logged into the Social Security website only to find my payment status was “suspended.”

So, I flail around like a fish out of water for a couple of days. First, I tried calling Social Security, only to be told the wait time was 110 minutes—seriously? Then there’s the Social Security office at the Embassy in Manila, which you can supposedly call every Tuesday and Thursday from eight to eleven in the morning. Do they ever answer the phone? The answer is no. They never answer, not once in over two years have they picked up.

After a few days of this, I found out there’s an actual specific email address for foreigners for the main Social Security office in Baltimore, and another for the remote unit in Manila. I sent out my cries for help to both. Within about five days, I got a reply from Manila. Their response? “Oh, you didn’t submit the annual Form 7162.”

I remember that form. Shortly after I started receiving benefits, my former neighbor in Phuket sent me a picture of the mail. She remailed it to me and I filled it out following the instructions—it’s basically a dead man’s switch. You check off these three boxes, sign, send it back, and life goes on. But this year, despite having my foreign address here in Thailand registered, I didn’t get the form. So, I didn’t submit it, didn’t think about it, and voilà, my payments got suspended.

Here’s the kicker: on the Social Security website, there’s zero notice about this. No emails, no messages, not even a section to check the status of this form. It’s a real live dead man switch. So how do you fix it? After sending those emails, I got the reply in a few days, filled out the form, dispatched it to Manila, and was told it would take 7 to 10 days to process.

Yesterday, the next payment date rolled around, and guess what? Still nothing, still shows as suspended on the SSA website. I sent another email to manila, and finally, within a day, they replied confirming receipt of the form, promising resolution within 7 to 10 days.

Now, I get it. It’s a security measure to ensure the people getting benefits are still alive. But there’s got to be a better way to do this than this bureaucratic runaround. It feels like digging a hole, filling it up, digging another hole, filling that up. It’s an exercise in futility and frustration. But, in the end, it will all work out, and I’ll get my back payments. Just another day dealing with the joys of government bureaucracy.

… I had Grok3 do a deep dive on it. In 20 seconds, it understood everything 1 million percent and had actionable ideas on how to fix it. What would it cost, and how long would it take to have a focus group of studiers?

… Here’s the whole Grok3 Thread.

Now to the bottom line:

Anyways, got an email from the FBU in Manila today. It only took over a month to fix a paperwork glitch.

Government efficiency.

Oh, wait. Another interaction with AI.