Why does CSS ask age of the older parent?

Paying for College
1

<p>Why does CSS ask age of the older parent? thanks.</p>

2

<p>The older the parent, the more aid you will get, I guess. Older parents need to save some money for retirement thru 401K or other forms of retirement contributions. Younger parents can work longer to replenish the family fund and to pay back college loans.</p>

3

<p>But if parent is over 59.5, he/she can access IRA.
If over 62,he/she can access SS.</p>

<p>Either case, parent has more income source.</p>

4

<p>For FAFSA, the older the older parent is the higher the asset protection. My guess is that CSS is the same.</p>

<p>Balances in retirement accounts such as 401ks and IRAs are protected assets that are not reported on FAFSA and are not taken into account when calculating the EFC. I believe they are protected in CSS as well.</p>

5

<p>The retirement income is usually a lot lower than the work income.
I think it’s also related to the current contribution. Colleges may ignore $15,000 contribution to retirement by a 63 year old parent. But they probably add back that $15,000 to the available income formula for college if the parent is only 50 year old.</p>

6

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>Is after tax contribution to retirement account are protected too? I forget the annual limit.</p>

<p>I used NPC for several colleges, it looks like colleges allow $4.7k~50k bank savings won’t count to EFC, is it correct?</p>

7

<p>The current year contribution is not protected at all in FAFSA. It is added back to income in the EFC formula and is used when calculating the EFC (no matter what the age of the parent).</p>

<p>Taxable retirement income is treated the same as any other income. None taxable SS income is not reported on FAFSA.</p>