<p>I've been trying to fill in Princeton's financial aid application form with my parents, and we have a problem with one section. It asks for 'Current total value of qualified tax-deferred retirement, pension, annuity and savings plans', and my dad has a pension fund but he doesn't know how much is in it. He knows what he would get as a pension if he retired now, but not how the total money is in the fund as a lump sum.</p>
<p>The box only accepts numbers, so I can only put in a number or a '0'. One option is to put in the 0 and then explain in the 'explanations' section at the end of the form, but I was wondering if there might be a better way around it.</p>
<p>Oh please…your dad should have gotten a statement about his pension at the very LEAST last year. Many of these funds update their clients annually, some more often. All he needs to do is look at the last statement…the value of the pension account is clearly stated on there. If this is through his work, he can contact the HR folks at his work on Tuesday and they should be able to direct him where to find this info. </p>
<p>No Thumper, she/he’s absolutely correct. My dh has a pension as well as a 401K but I only listed the 401K because we absolutely cannot find out an amount. My dh is a union package cart driver and we have tried unsuccessfully to get the information but to no avail. We know he would make around 34K a year when he retires, but we have not clue what is in there or if that’s even how it really works. I think the OP can explain that in the additional information and if her dad has a 401K, obviously he can list that.</p>
<p>OP, both of us should probably put a call into Princeton F. Aid to figure out what they want us to do.</p>
<p>Unlike a 401(k) or similar plan, a defined benefit plan, where the retiree is entitled to a fixed amount at retirement, has no current value in the usual sense, and the annual report to participants will not show such a valuation (just the total assets of the retirement fund for all participants). So it’s unlikely the section of the Princeton financial aid form cited by OP is intended to address defined benefit plans. But a call to the financial aid office should be made to confirm this. (thumper1, an “oh please” is really not called for here, even if you’re right, which I don’t believe you are. This is complex stuff, confusing to both adults and kids.)</p>
<p>Momma, that’s what dh and I were thinking-it has no current value. When I contact Princeton in the next week or so, I’ll give a report back if the OP hasn’t done so already. This is a good piece of info to know and might be beneficial to others.</p>
<p>Of course an entitlement to a future pension has value, but determining the “current value” of a stream of income beginning and ending at currently unknown dates would require an actuarial calculation that a parent would be unable to provide. That’s why I said the pension has no current value in the usual sense–i.e., the valuation of an identifiable bucket of pension money like a 401(k) or IRA account. I look forward to learning how Princeton responds. There is a big difference between a 401(k) or IRA which may be accessed in a variety of ways (withdrawal-with-penalty, borrowing) for college funds and a pension that can’t be accessed at all until retirement. I suppose a parent who has a big payday coming upon retirement should be seen as having more assets available for college funding than one who has to squirrel away money in a 401(k) or IRA every year, but it’s hard to imagine how the financial aid folks would take that into account.</p>