<p>Does anyone know if mandatory contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan that are deducted automatically from a paycheck are supposed to count as income on the FAFSA? My husband's employer (a college) had told him that they do not count because they are mandatory as a condition of employment and are not accessible or changeable. But a college just revised our FAFSA and increased our EFC by $500 because of a retirment plan that we cannot even change or have access to for college bills! Is this correct? My understanding had been that they could only count voluntary contributions to things like IRA's since you could choose to not contribute and use the money for college. How in the world are we supposed to even access that money when my husband won't even be retiring until long after my daughter has graduated?</p>
<p>Normally, this is determined by the box on the W2. If the amount appears in box 12, then it will be added back in as a voluntary retirment contribution. I have not encountered a situation where box 12 contributions have been mandatory, but I wouldn't say it would be impossible.</p>
<p>My guess is if you called FAFSA and explained the situation to them, they would tell you to take it back out.</p>