When you say "through London", do you mean that you applied online but the application is reviewed in London? Or you called them direct? We are also in the UK but would much rather apply online if that is allowed.

These questions were not asked during my initial application; perhaps these are questions that are yet to come.

I'm still stuck on the 'We are working as quickly as possible ...' status; no change from May 20, and no substantial change since my March application. I'm going to be traveling again soon, so I'll start to follow up at the end of June.

Applying online is definitely allowed even if you reside in England. When my wife applied a few years ago she did so through the FBU in London and after 6 weeks they called her, asked a load of questions including about her UK OAP and submitted her application which was then processed eventually by SSA in the USA.

When I applied last September I went the same route as she did but never heard back so I applied online myself and that is what I would recommend. My online application however quickly changed status to “Being reviewed by an agent in London” and it took a load of emails and calls to the FBU before the status changed to “Being reviewed by an agent in Baltimore”. This was before WEP was repealed so I am thinking now that if you applied online then there is no reason for your application to be reviewed by the FBU in London since OAP or any foreign pensions are not included in the benefits calculation.

Thank you. We may also need to update address, phone numbers, etc., but I'm guessing there's a spot in the online application to do that. We've been UK tax resident since May 2022 and have filed taxes as such (ie we did our US tax filings but nothing was due in the US, only in the UK). So that bit should be clear.

I am a dual citizen, OH is/was a Permanent Resident and still is a UK citizen. Don't know if it will be different for him - thankfully we have the US/UK agreement so hopefully not too complicated.

Yeah, sounds like some phone calls long waits on hold with annoying music playing are in order.

The complication may be in how the SSA have your citizenship status. If you were born a US citizen then no problem but if you have been Naturalized and failed to take in your Naturalization Certificate to a SSA office to have your citizenship registered with them then they will want to see it. This was something we never did when we became citizens back in 1998 and initially the FBU in London in 2021 told us they needed us to make an appointment to appear in person but they later changed their mind and allowed us to send in our US Passports and Naturalization Certificates for registration with SSA.

No, I don't remember ever telling them that directly, but of course I do have that naturalisation certificate somewhere, as well as my US passport, so that shouldn't be a huge hurdle. I hope.

Definitely worth digging out that certificate. I had made the silly assumption in 1998 that government departments share information. The INS and IRS knew we were citizens plus our companies asked us to bring the documents (passport and certificate ) into them to be recorded in their systems. I also went through the process of getting insurance quotes the year the ACA came into effect and that also required production of the Naturalization certificates but they did accept an upload, and it took about about 3 days for a person to examine and validate them.

In 2021 it was still Covid restrictions here which is why, I think, my wife was asked to send in her passport and certificate when she applied for SS. I decided to send my documents in at the same time even though I didn’t plan on applying for SS for another 4 years. When I did my online application last year there was a screen with potential documents needed and for me it was only a marriage certificate but since I wasn’t applying for anything based on my wife’s record then when I finally talked to someone in SSA no documents were required.

UPDATE - APPROVED!!!!!

I was all set to finally give them a call to see what was going on ... made sure my earbuds were charged, phone charged, coffee mug full, notes on hand, etc, then I logged on to my account to find the number to call (if there is one ...) when I saw:



Basically, it took 3 months. Not one question asked. I'm now going to wait for the 'detailed notice' to make sure all is well.

Considering all the concerns that were raised by people about the decimation of the Social Security Administration, and the onerous levels of proof being required, other than taking a ridiculously long time, it wasn't too bad!

Congratulations!!

Update to my husband's application submitted online through London on January 31st: Called the FBU in DC in May who said they did not have our address in England (although it was all part of the application) so we had to complete a form and email it back to them. The status still shows as being reviewed so call again yesterday. They can see the new address and see that it is still being reviewed and are chasing up. At least we should get a large cheque at some point, although the tanking dollar is killing us!

Final update to my husbands claim for retirement benefits. After applying in January this year we had a request last month to send his orginal birth certificate to the London Consulate. It was sent on July 27th and received back the following Thursday. Had notification that the claim was approved on Saturday and money in the bank today (including back pay). I guess London are really behind right now. Now to check on my status as I understand I am entitled to a top up to 50% of his benefit, less a percentage for taking my pension 3 years early?

Congratulations.

Yes, you are entitled to a top-up as you say, based on his benefit at his full retirement age. I don’t recall when your husband started receiving his benefits. I waited until I was 70 to maximize survivor benefits for my wife. She is in the process of applying for a spousal top up based on what my benefits would have been at my FRA. Her phone interview with an FBU agent in London is scheduled next month.

He took it at FRA. Do I have to apply for the top up? I thought it was automatic, at least the was what was indicated to me when I started claiming my benefits before we left USA.

I thought it was automatic as well but a few months after I started collecting my benefits earlier this year my wife received a paper letter in the mail here in England telling her that she needed to apply for it which she did via the FBU in London. For the upcoming telephone interview they asked that we both be present and be ready to provide the following info:

SSN for us both
UK Bank details (They already have this as she has been receiving her benefits for about 3 years now)
My date of birth
Where and when we were married - definitely new info I think
Confirm that she has no former spouse
Dates that we lived in the USA while married - definitely new info I think