Why go from your country.

[Gas]

2 hours ago, hk blues said:

For me, the issue going back to the UK would be that my wife wouldn't get a share of my UK pension due to the age difference so she'd be "on her own" in terms of UK benefits with little time to build up enough for her retirement - this would bring us back to the same old conclusion - life with a limited income is more doable here than there.

For my son, the situation is different and I'll do what I can to help him move to the UK should he so wish.  I reckon he can see how it goes here as he enters the workforce and then decide if that's working for him - if not, then at least he has another option.

 

The UK system would look after your wife one way or another.

If you are planning to stay here long term i presume your wife pays SSS?  Well worth it to pay the maximum amount, as the pension isn't too bad.  We didn't realize it was better to pay the maximum till 2009, as up until that point my wife had only been paying around  300 per month. I also will end up with a small Philippine pension in the next few years, but at least its 60 and not 67 like the UK. 

[jimeve]

10 minutes ago, Gas said:

The UK system would look after your wife one way or another.

If you are planning to stay here long term i presume your wife pays SSS?  Well worth it to pay the maximum amount, as the pension isn't too bad.  We didn't realize it was better to pay the maximum till 2009, as up until that point my wife had only been paying around  300 per month. I also will end up with a small Philippine pension in the next few years, but at least its 60 and not 67 like the UK. 

How much is the max? how will you end up with a small Philippine pension?

Wife pays about 3,600 a year, 300 a month I think.

[Gas]

3 minutes ago, jimeve said:

How much is the max? how will you end up with a small Philippine pension?

Wife pays about 3,600 a year, 300 a month I think.

The max is now 1,990. It was less a few months ago, but probably they need to refill the coffers. 
I pay the same as foreigners have been allowed to since 2009. At today’s rates I would end up with around 6,000php per month. Will pay for the beer! 

[intrepid]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

I'm not sure what happens when he dies and she does not have the 5 years in yet.  Need to check on that.

This is not exactly the same.  I have a US friend here who is 83 and married to a Filipina 66.  They have been married about 7 years and she has never been to the states.  Neither really want to move to the states but she does have a brother in Texas who has offered them a place to stay anytime.  He had some issues with his SS and made two appointments last year at the US Embassy.  During that time they were told if his wife spent at least six months a year in the states she would be eligible to receive SS against his account which I think they said would be roughly $700-800 monthly, I think but not for sure on the amount.  She would like the extra income but not sure if she would want to travel every year.  I found this interesting because before this I was under the impression that you must first live in the states for a 5 year period to be eligible for SS.

[OnMyWay]

38 minutes ago, intrepid said:

This is not exactly the same.  I have a US friend here who is 83 and married to a Filipina 66.  They have been married about 7 years and she has never been to the states.  Neither really want to move to the states but she does have a brother in Texas who has offered them a place to stay anytime.  He had some issues with his SS and made two appointments last year at the US Embassy.  During that time they were told if his wife spent at least six months a year in the states she would be eligible to receive SS against his account which I think they said would be roughly $700-800 monthly, I think but not for sure on the amount.  She would like the extra income but not sure if she would want to travel every year.  I found this interesting because before this I was under the impression that you must first live in the states for a 5 year period to be eligible for SS.

I forgot about that extra 6 month rule but I am fairly certain she has to live in the U.S. 5 years first.  I will double check.

[OnMyWay]

2 hours ago, intrepid said:

This is not exactly the same.  I have a US friend here who is 83 and married to a Filipina 66.  They have been married about 7 years and she has never been to the states.  Neither really want to move to the states but she does have a brother in Texas who has offered them a place to stay anytime.  He had some issues with his SS and made two appointments last year at the US Embassy.  During that time they were told if his wife spent at least six months a year in the states she would be eligible to receive SS against his account which I think they said would be roughly $700-800 monthly, I think but not for sure on the amount.  She would like the extra income but not sure if she would want to travel every year.  I found this interesting because before this I was under the impression that you must first live in the states for a 5 year period to be eligible for SS.

We discussed this a few years back and it gets complicated.

RS 02610.030 5 Year Residency Requirements for Spouses, Natural Child, Adopted Child, and a Parent
A. Spousal Relationships
Spousal relationships include spouses, widows/widowers, divorced spouses, surviving divorced spouses, or surviving divorced mothers or fathers.

1. When the Residency Requirement is Met
An alien entitled to benefits as a spouse, widow/widower, divorced spouse, surviving divorced spouse, or surviving divorced mother or father must meet the following requirement:

•
The alien must have resided in the U.S. for 5 or more years, and

•
The alien must have been in a spousal relationship with the person on whose earnings record the entitlement is based for 5 or more years.

2. Period of Residency
The 5 year period of residence:

•
Does not have to be continuous;

•
Nor does the same spousal relationship need to have existed for the entire period. An alien could have one, two or more of the spousal relationships to the NH during the U.S. residence. For example, the period as the spouse of the NH and a period as the widow/widower of the NH can be combined for the 5 year relationship.

https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302610030

A key word here is Alien.  If the wife moves to the U.S. and stays an Alien, she will have to wait 5 years before she gets a benefit.  She has to live there and have the relationship for 5 years, and the relationship 5 years include if the old guy is dead.  So she gets the benefit.  Then, if she decides to leave the U.S., that is when the 6 month rule applies.  If she stays out 7 months, the benefit stops.  It will be reinstated after she returns and is in the U.S. for 30 days.

That is for an ALIEN.  If your wife moves to the U.S. and becomes a citizen, I think the 5 year rule goes out the window.

I think in my case, if we move, my wife can get a benefit as a caregiver to my children, but not spouse.  Spouse will kick in after 5 years residency but she will not be 62 until many years after that.

[hk blues]

17 hours ago, Gas said:

The UK system would look after your wife one way or another.

If you are planning to stay here long term i presume your wife pays SSS?  Well worth it to pay the maximum amount, as the pension isn't too bad.  We didn't realize it was better to pay the maximum till 2009, as up until that point my wife had only been paying around  300 per month. I also will end up with a small Philippine pension in the next few years, but at least its 60 and not 67 like the UK. 

My wife doesn't pay SSS.  We looked into it when we arrived in 2015 and it seemed it was already too late to start (she had never paid into it) but I have a feeling we were misinformed.  We'll take another look ASAP - thanks for jogging my mind on that!

[earthdome]

On 9/23/2020 at 3:15 PM, Jack D said:

I'm still interested in sharing my opinions and experiences of the Philippines since I still have friends in the Philippines and my wife's family still lives there.

May I ask you a question? Am I the only former expat on this forum?

No. I could be called former since it has been over 5 years since I lived full time in the Philippines. Hard to believe it has been that long. And almost 9 years since I started using this forum.

[earthdome]

On 10/1/2020 at 3:03 AM, OnMyWay said:

For my older daughter, she can go to an inexpensive college in the U.S

Have you looked at US college costs recently? I wouldn't call US college's and university's inexpensive unless you can get some scholarships to help offset the costs.

[OnMyWay]

14 hours ago, earthdome said:

Have you looked at US college costs recently? I wouldn't call US college's and university's inexpensive unless you can get some scholarships to help offset the costs.

Yes, I know major schools are expensive.  However, I was looking at a small 4 year college in Florida, and their per semester tuition cost was around $1500.