It is important to immediately notify us in person whenever you change your name, address, direct deposit account, representative payee, or whether you get married or divorced, caring for a child who receives benefits, or if you adopt a child. You must also notify the Social Security Administration if you are residing overseas, whether or not you may be working.
Information you give to another government agency may be provided to the Social Security Administration by the other agency, but you also must report the changes to us.
Failure to report a change may result in an overpayment. If you are overpaid, we will recover any payments not due you. Also, if you fail to report changes timely or you make a false statement, you can be penalized by a deduction from payments, a fine, imprisonment or all three.
When a beneficiary dies, his/her benefit is not payable for the month of death. For example, if a beneficiary dies any time in July, the money received in July must be returned. The Social Security Administration must be notified of the death as soon as possible.
Foreigners who are eligible for any SS benefits from Social Security Administration are entitled to benefit payments of up to 6 months and must report to Social Security Administration every six months to continue receiving their benefits. However, if the foreigner chooses to move abroad, their entitlement is good for only six months.
Citizens of Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Island, and United States are treated as local citizens and may continue to receive their benefits while residing outside of Palau. Citizens of FSM, ROM and the U.S. do not need to report every six months. However, they need to comply with the annual survey requirement just like Palauan Citizens.
Please do not sign your check until you are ready to cash it. Checks must be cashed within 6 months after the date on the check. If you receive a check that does not belong to you, please inform the Social Security Administration Office and return it as soon as possible.
If you disagree with a decision we make, you have the right to request that your claim be reconsidered by the Board of Trustees. You must submit your request in writing to the Social Security Administration within 30 days after the date you were notified of our decision.
If you are still not satisfied, there are further steps you can take after reconsideration. You have the right to be represented by an attorney or other qualified person of your choice in any business with us. We do not require you to have an attorney or other representative, but we will be glad to work with one if you wish.
Protecting your privacy is important to us. All personal information will not be disclosed including your Social Security number to anyone, unless we receive a written authorization.
To help the Administration maintain current information of all SS Beneficiaries and to ensure that benefit payments are in accordance with guidelines and requirements, the Annual Survey Form is sent out each year around the first of week of November. For FY 2020, however, the Administration broke down the survey into two tiers in order to collect information more efficiently, accurately, and in a timely manner, as follows:
1. For Beneficiaries with last names from A-M, all beneficiaries with off-island addresses, and all Prior Service (PS) beneficiaries, surveys were mailed on November 14, 2019, due on January 15, 2020.
2. For all beneficiaries with last names from N-Z, survey forms will be mailed on March 14, 2020, due on May 15, 2020.
All SS Benefit payees are required to complete this from and mail it back to Social Security Administration by due dates. Beneficiaries residing outside of Palau must notarize their signature. If the Annual Survey is not received at Social Security Administration by the due dates, benefits will be placed on hold until such time the Beneficiaries turn in their completed Annual Survey Forms.