Yes I thought so.Strong Eagle wrote:No. SS is only taxed on earned income. Only way I know that you could get it done is to be employed by a US registered company who pays you out of the USA.
No, that's not quite right. A W2 is issued by an employer. If you are self employed, one of the three following conditions exist and you file accordingly.PNGMK wrote:Edit - reread the advisor's advice... wife needs a W-2 to get any SS contributions. That W-2 could be from 'self employment'.
This seems strange.RobSg wrote:When I admitted I had a retirement plan (CPF, etc) in another country, they deducted about 30% from my intended social security income.
Rob - thanks - it's this avenue "was to be in an international school that was headquartered or received salaries from a home base in the States." that I'm pursuing. The school my wife teaches at is owned by NICS - a US missionary group - and hence I feel that they should offer this exact option to US Citizens (to have their salary paid into a US bank account in the US and a W-2 etc).RobSg wrote:Having taught in an International School in Singapore for 20+ years, I was concerned about social security also. Unfortunately, the only way I could contribute to social security, according to a representative from the American Embassy in the Philippines (the headquarters for social security in SE Asia) I talked to on the phone, was to be in an international school that was headquartered or received salaries from a home base in the States.
I proceeded to still keep my apartment in Singapore and accept teaching contracts in three other countries that actually contributed to US social security. That allowed me to obtain my necessary credits for Medicare, which I now have, and social security income, which I obtained when I turned 66.
One thing that surprised me was the reluctance for the social security administration to give me the predicted amount that was indicated on their website. They questioned me via phone why I did not contribute to social security for 27 years. I told them I was in Singapore and 9 other countries that did not contribute to social security. When I admitted I had a retirement plan (CPF, etc) in another country, they deducted about 30% from my intended social security income.
It's not really the social security that I'm thankful to have, but it is definitely Medicare.
Rob
They don't even need to pay it into a US bank account... they can pay it anywhere so long as it was issued from the US company. I know quite a few American expats who were paid from the home office in the US into a Singapore bank.PNGMK wrote:The school my wife teaches at is owned by NICS - a US missionary group - and hence I feel that they should offer this exact option to US Citizens (to have their salary paid into a US bank account in the US and a W-2 etc).
Here is a link to the type of employers that need to contribute to SS/Medicare taxes while an employee is working abroad. Most people who are receiving this "benefit" in Singapore would probably fall under category 4:Strong Eagle wrote:They don't even need to pay it into a US bank account... they can pay it anywhere so long as it was issued from the US company. I know quite a few American expats who were paid from the home office in the US into a Singapore bank.PNGMK wrote:The school my wife teaches at is owned by NICS - a US missionary group - and hence I feel that they should offer this exact option to US Citizens (to have their salary paid into a US bank account in the US and a W-2 etc).
Maybe I ought to start a company like you mentioned!
CPF is like a 401k plan for most nationalities except US - thanks to citizenship based taxation. Based on what I've read so far, I got the impression that if you contribute until the full CPF wage ceiling of S$85k (i.e. basic+AWS), in which case your contribution is S$85k*16% and your employer's is S$85k*20%, then any US person Singapore PR subject to CBT will owe full US tax on S$85k*36%=S$30.6k with no FEIE exclusion or deductions for Singapore taxes (because you pay none on that part). Or S$8,568 if you are in the 28% tax bracket, and S$10,098 if in the 33% tax bracket. This is in addition to normal US citizenship based taxes (after FEIE) that have to be paid to IRS.maneo wrote:I thought that CPF was more like a 401k plan than a company's retirement plan.
Will take a closer look at the link.
Thanks.
GSM8 wrote:CPF is like a 401k plan for most nationalities except US - thanks to citizenship based taxation. Based on what I've read so far, I got the impression that if you contribute until the full CPF wage ceiling of S$85k (i.e. basic+AWS), in which case your contribution is S$85k*16% and your employer's is S$85k*20%, then any US person Singapore PR subject to CBT will owe full US tax on S$85k*36%=S$30.6k with no FEIE exclusion or deductions for Singapore taxes (because you pay none on that part). Or S$8,568 if you are in the 28% tax bracket, and S$10,098 if in the 33% tax bracket. This is in addition to normal US citizenship based taxes (after FEIE) that have to be paid to IRS.maneo wrote:I thought that CPF was more like a 401k plan than a company's retirement plan.
Will take a closer look at the link.
Thanks.
http://www.irs.gov/pub/lanoa/pmta00173_6973.pdf
In addition, there is also reduction in benefits received for past SS tax contributions, due to Windfall Elimination Provision. Speaking of adding insult to injury
Thanks for correcting, zzm. I had indeed transposed the contribution rates. But that only seems to make things worse - while it sound's somewhat acceptable to pay IRS on employer contribution, one's own 20% contribution is something they need to pay towards CPF, as well as pay tax to IRS on, sort of akin to a tax upon a tax. You can't have your cake despite not eating it?zzm9980 wrote:You swapped employee vs employer contributions. Employee contributes 20%, employer 16.
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