I have in the past known more than a few expats that I have known who thought using a relatives address in their country of origin was a wizard wheeze that no one had thought of before and guess what? It always comes back to bite them .It may not happen today,next week next month or even next year but then suddenly.....
However what I do not understand is if you are living in France have you signed up to the French health system and are you submitting French tax returns?

 

Yes, France knows I'm here I have filed taxes in France. My questions concern the US side of the equation.
As far as using a US address, I have been watching this forum for many years, and I know I am not the only one using a US address. I was hoping to get some advice from these folks.

 

First of all, you need to consider whether you should sign up for part B of Medicare at all. It is basically no good here in France if you plan on remaining in France for the long term. Some expats have it as a "backup" so that they could (theoretically, at least) get treatment in the US when they are back there visiting. You have to weigh the cost of your Part B cover against how often you go back to the US and whether or not you would or could return to the US for treatment in the event of something "serious" happening to you here. If you're covered here by the CPAM and a mutuelle, it may make more sense to take "travel health" cover for trips back to the US.

Depending on how you want to receive your SS retirement benefits, you should consider updating your address to your French address, as that opens up the possibility of having benefits direct deposited in your French bank (saving the intermediate steps of having to transfer and exchange your monthly benefits).

Quite a few folks here seem to use their French address for US SS (and for access to the Paris FBU) while maintaining an address in the US for other purposes, notably for banks and financial institutions.

 

I am thinking really hard about whether I want to sign up or not. I've done the spreadsheet with various break-even points. It isn't pretty, one way or the other.
SS benefits are still a few years away. I like the idea of the direct deposit into my bank here, and I'm keeping in mind the delays associated with FBU processing.

Thanks in particular for the last line, concerning others who have given their French address to SS.

 

At the rate things are going, the delays are only going to grow when dealing with the US based processing. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. It has been quite a while since I've had any dealings with the US consulate (including the FBU) but all my encounters with the consulate over the years have been cordial, with genuinely helpful State Department employees. Yes, they are understaffed (and have long been so), but even the IRS folks they used to have stationed at the Embassy were friendly and approachable folks once you cut through the procedure to get through to them. But hey, even the guards at the embassy seem to be nice guys, doing a thankless job (as long as you have an appointment like you're supposed to <g>).

 

What are the fees when you get the SS directly deposited into a French account? Is SS giving you the midmarket rate a eating any bank fees? Otherwise, why not deposit into an American account and/or setup a Wise account and shop around for cheaper transfers.

 

Thank you, Bev. That makes sense.

 

And most of these people I have come across were Brits who used a relatives address for car insurance, NHS care, tax avoidance in France etc etc. Boy did a lot of them get a shock come Brexit(which a lot of them voted for despite living in France)