Do I have to report my husband's UAW/Ford pension on FAFSA? Getting contradictory answers
My husband just retired from Ford under the UAW contract and started receiving his monthly pension this year. My son is applying for college and we're filling out the FAFSA but getting totally conflicting information about whether this pension counts as income! We had a consultation with Landmark College Advisors yesterday who specifically told us pensions DON'T need to be reported on FAFSA. But when my son used the online chat help on the studentaid.gov site, they said we absolutely MUST report it. I'm so frustrated because this is a substantial amount that could really impact his SAI score and financial aid opportunities. We haven't even gotten our tax documents sorted yet since this is my husband's first year receiving the pension. Has anyone else dealt with reporting pensions on FAFSA? What's the right answer here?
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Keisha Thompson
Yes, you absolutely have to report pension income on the FAFSA. Pensions are considered untaxed income and get reported in the untaxed income and benefits section of the FAFSA, not just in the AGI from your tax return. The person at Landmark was incorrect - this is a common misunderstanding because people confuse pension distributions with retirement account distributions (which are handled differently). Since the FAFSA now uses prior-prior year tax information, you'll be using tax info from two years ago before the pension started, but you'll need to note this change in financial circumstances.
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TechNinja
•Thank you! This is so confusing because we're getting completely different answers from everyone we ask. If we're using prior-prior year, does that mean we don't report it this year since he wasn't receiving it 2 years ago?
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Paolo Bianchi
OMG I had the EXACT same issue with my husband's pension from GM!! The financial aid office at one school told me one thing and the FAFSA hotline told me another. It was a NIGHTMARE. When we finaly filed our taxes the pension showed up as income on our 1040 and yes, it DOES count on FAFSA. It actaully raised our SAI by almost $6000 which meant less aid for my daughter. Really stressful situation!
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TechNinja
•This is exactly what I'm afraid of. Did you end up getting any decent financial aid packages even with the pension counting?
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Yara Assad
the college planning places often give bad info tbh... they just want to sell u their services. i work in financial aid at a community college and pensions count as income, both on taxes and fafsa. you'll see it on the tax return.
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Olivia Clark
•This is a little unfair to financial planning companies - many do provide accurate information. The FAFSA rules are complex and change frequently. Even college financial aid offices sometimes provide conflicting information, especially with the new changes to the 2024-2025 FAFSA.
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Javier Morales
To clarify this once and for all: Pensions ARE reported on the FAFSA as untaxed income. The 2024-2025 FAFSA specifically asks for this in the Student Aid Index (SAI) calculation. However, if you're using the prior-prior year tax information as required, and your husband wasn't receiving the pension two years ago, it won't be reflected in that specific tax return. You should consider submitting a Special Circumstances form (also called Professional Judgment) to each college's financial aid office after you submit the FAFSA. This allows you to explain that your current financial situation (with the pension) is different from what's reported on the tax return they're using for the FAFSA.
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TechNinja
•This is really helpful, thank you! I'll make sure we note the change in financial circumstances and submit those special forms. I'm still worried about how this will affect his aid packages.
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Natasha Petrov
have u tried calling the financial aid dept? ive been on hold for HOURS trying to get thru to FAFSA to ask similar question about my retirement... so frustrating
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Connor O'Brien
•I had the same issue trying to call about verification documents. After getting disconnected three times, I tried Claimyr.com which got me through to a FAFSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ It was actually helpful since I was able to get a clear answer about pension reporting instead of more confusion.
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TechNinja
Update: I finally got through to someone at Federal Student Aid who explained everything. Yes, pensions DO count as income on FAFSA. Since we're using 2023 tax info for the 2025-2026 FAFSA and my husband started receiving his pension in 2024, it won't show up on the initial FAFSA. BUT, she said we should absolutely submit a special circumstances form to each school explaining the new income source. Apparently, this is a really common issue with pensions, retirement distributions, and other income changes. Thanks everyone for your help! Now I'm just worried about how much this will affect his aid packages.
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Javier Morales
•You're welcome! One more thing to consider: UAW pensions can sometimes qualify for special consideration because they're tied to specific employment sectors. Some colleges have dedicated adjustment protocols for union pensions that won't penalize your son as heavily as regular income. Make sure to specifically mention it's a UAW pension when you submit those special circumstances forms!
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Keisha Johnson
Great update! I'm glad you finally got a clear answer from Federal Student Aid. Just wanted to add that when you're submitting those special circumstances forms, make sure to include documentation of the pension payments (like the 1099-R forms you'll receive) and be very specific about the monthly amount. Also, don't panic too much about the aid impact - many schools are pretty understanding about pension situations, especially for union pensions like UAW. The financial aid officers deal with this scenario frequently and often have ways to account for it that are more favorable than just adding it as straight income. Good luck with your son's college applications!
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