I just found out that my March Social Security payment was suspended on this basis:
Your benefits have been suspended because we did not timely receive your Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire.
In order to reinstate the benefits you must take the following actions: Complete the SSA-7162 form (Pdf-59Kb) if: you receive payments in your own name.
Well now, this is the first I have heard about this. I did not receive any such form by mail (but we know what the MX mail is like), nor did I receive any email or telephone notification about this from the Federal Benefits Unit, or any message through the My Social Security .
If the FBU is relying on physical mail to inform people about this requirement, that seems a little primitive and unreliable to me.
Did any of you here in the Forum who receive your SS benefit by direct deposit into a Mexican bank know about this? Do any of you have experience with this sort of suspension?
Of course, I want to rectify the matter as soon as possible. So I sent an email to the FBU in Mexico City, AND also requested an appointment through their online appointments form. Although, if they prefer me to send the completed form, I will either send it by ed mail with proof of delivery, or by FedEx if they permit that. I only hope it doesn’t take weeks and weeks to get the benefit rolling again.
INSTANT UPDATE: I just had a nice chat with a Social Security agent in the US customer service unit who said that mine was the second call he had taken personally on exactly this issue. The other benefits recipient he spoke to was similarly blindsided, and the agent cannot detect any evidence that the FBU informed those of us who are affected by this suspension about the form requirement, the suspension itself, or anything at all. So the agent is going to elevate the matter to a supervisor.
Your benefits have been suspended because we did not timely receive your Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire.
In order to reinstate the benefits you must take the following actions: Complete the SSA-7162 form (Pdf-59Kb) if: you receive payments in your own name.
Well now, this is the first I have heard about this. I did not receive any such form by mail (but we know what the MX mail is like), nor did I receive any email or telephone notification about this from the Federal Benefits Unit, or any message through the My Social Security .
If the FBU is relying on physical mail to inform people about this requirement, that seems a little primitive and unreliable to me.
Did any of you here in the Forum who receive your SS benefit by direct deposit into a Mexican bank know about this? Do any of you have experience with this sort of suspension?
Of course, I want to rectify the matter as soon as possible. So I sent an email to the FBU in Mexico City, AND also requested an appointment through their online appointments form. Although, if they prefer me to send the completed form, I will either send it by ed mail with proof of delivery, or by FedEx if they permit that. I only hope it doesn’t take weeks and weeks to get the benefit rolling again.
INSTANT UPDATE: I just had a nice chat with a Social Security agent in the US customer service unit who said that mine was the second call he had taken personally on exactly this issue. The other benefits recipient he spoke to was similarly blindsided, and the agent cannot detect any evidence that the FBU informed those of us who are affected by this suspension about the form requirement, the suspension itself, or anything at all. So the agent is going to elevate the matter to a supervisor.
