Is the estimated EFC sometimes different than the one on your SAR report?

Paying for College
1

<p>I got a very high EFC because my parents have a lot of retirement money in CD's since they got out of the market right before it went downhill. They are older than most parents, both of them are almost 60, and desperately need that money to survive retirement. </p>

<p>I know the fafsa takes age into consideration, but does the immediate EFC take age and increased asset protection that comes with that into consideration? Or will the numbers on the SAR report reflect that, therefore making my EFC lower? </p>

<p>I probably could afford the EFC, but we all know very few schools meet full need...</p>

2

<p>The EFC you have has already taken into account the age of the older parent. The formula that produced the EFC includes asset protection that is higher because of the age of the older parent.</p>

<p>Retirement savings in retirement accounts are completely protected and do not have to be reported on FAFSA. Unfortunately savings that are not in retirement accounts (such as IRAs) are not protected other than the normal asset protection limits.</p>