Quote:
Originally Posted by hl0m4n
for those of you who have expat experience, care to share your story  ?
where are you originally from?
where did you go?
how long did you stay?
thoughts/experiences?
any regrets?
more technical question that's on my mind: social security benefits are calculated on your 10 annual highest earnings. if you work as an expat in a country with tax treaty with usa (for example korea), does your overseas salary qualify for social security benefits? |
From the US.
Stayed and worked in Germany for 2 different periods in the 80's. About a year both times. I enjoyed both jobs, but circumstances changed and I had to come back to the US both times. Well, I didn't *have* to, but it was the best thing for me to do so. Although, I do sort of regret not trying harder to make things work out for me at the end of my second stint.
The first stint, I was working for Central Texas College, which had a contract with the Army to teach GIs how to pass the German drivers test. Rules and signs only, no road test stuff. I was classified as a GS-11 and had full PX/Commissary privileges, but I was technically working for CTC and getting paid in dollars. Because I earned under $80k (*way under*), it was all tax exempt. So for that year, my SSA earnings shows $0 earned.
The second stint, I was working for UPS. UPS is incorporated over there, so it was UPS, GmbH. I got paid in Deutsche Marks and paid taxes into the German system. I came back to the US in November and worked here for a couple of months, so I had some reportable income that year. But obviously none of the money I earned working for UPS counted towards Social Security.