Expat Community > Ecuador

Maxxgold
Joined 2010
Posts: 365

Can't work and collect Social Security

10 years ago

In my research for next year I found something about losing SS payments. I realize there is a cap on how much you can earn if you are not at full retirement age but this says you can't earn almost anything if you live outside the US. True?

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

On page 16 and 17

"The foreign work test:

We withhold benefits for each month a beneficiary younger than full retirement age works more than 45 hours outside the United States in employment or self-employment not subject to U.S. Social Security taxes. It does not matter how much you earned or how many hours you worked each day.
We consider a person to be working any day he or she:
• Works as an employee or self-employed person;
• Has an agreement to work even if the person does not actually work because of sickness, vacation, etc.; or
• Is the owner or part owner of
a trade or business, even if the person does not actually work in the trade or business, or the person does not make any income from it."

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