<p>For the FAFSA under parents investments, am I correct in understanding that the parents current balances in their 401Ks, Roths, IRA accounts and the current value of their primary residence are all NOT included in the total sum of their investments?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>For the FAFSA, that is correct.</p>
<p>Your parents' contributions to their retirement accounts made in 2008 will be added back in as income. Account balances in retirement accounts are not listed as assets.</p>
<p>For PROFILE...this is not true. Home equity in your primary residence IS listed, and I'm told that balances in retirement accounts are also ask (although no one seems to know if/how they are used).</p>
<p>So, thumper1, when they ask for investment income, you DO put in the parental contributions to the 2008 accounts, it sounds like? It almost seems like they are asking twice---on one page, for payments to tax-deffered pension plans (I entered the amt w/held from husband's salary) and then on another, TOTAL investments. Seems duplicative, but that's okay?</p>
<p>Really not any different than any other investment you might have made during the year, such as a stock purchase. It was, and is reported as, income, and it has become an asset.</p>
<p>Ok!, thanks! But, they ask twice (once for retirement payments, once for total investments) & that's all right? Just hate to get hit twice inadvertently...</p>
<p>"Really not any different than any other investment you might have made during the year, such as a stock purchase. It was, and is reported as, income, and it has become an asset."</p>
<p>No. The amount in a qualified retirement account is NOT a reportable asset for financial aid purposes. It's not at all like any other investment, in that regard.</p>
<p>Jolynne:</p>
<p>The question about "other investments" is an asset question. On the day you file, how much do you have in reportable investments (this excludes retirement accounts).</p>
<p>The other question, about payments into retirement accounts, is an income question. The amount you paid into an IRA or 401 isn't included in your AGI. So the formula will add the amount you contributed back into your income, for purposes of determining your available income in '08 (the theory being that you could have used that IRA contribution for college expenses, instead).</p>