FAFSA gave us 47,000 SAI on retirement income - did I mess up our application?
I'm completely thrown off by our FAFSA results. We just received our Student Aid Index (SAI) number and it's showing 47,000! This seems way too high considering our financial situation. My husband retired last year and only gets a monthly pension check (about $3,800/month), and I make barely anything as a public school secretary (around $24,000 yearly). We own our home but it's not like we're wealthy. I'm wondering if I somehow input something incorrectly when filling out the application? Our son is starting college next fall and we were counting on getting some financial aid. Has anyone else with retirement income had weird SAI calculations? I'm freaking out a little because this basically means zero financial aid.
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Axel Far
did u include any 401k or IRA withdrawals in ur income? thats what got me. FAFSA counts those as income even tho its really just our own savings. my husbands retired too and we got hit with a crazy high SAI bc of a one-time withdrawal we did to fix our roof.
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Kaitlyn Otto
AuthorOh my god... we did take about $35,000 from our 401k last year to pay off some medical bills. I didn't realize that would count against us so heavily!
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Jasmine Hernandez
The new FAFSA calculations are treating retirement account distributions pretty harshly. An SAI of 47,000 suggests they're counting your full income plus any distributions as available funds for college. Here's what's likely happening: pension income + your salary + 401k/IRA withdrawals = artificially inflated income picture. Did you also report significant assets? The combination of those factors could easily explain this SAI.
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Kaitlyn Otto
AuthorWe have about $180,000 left in retirement accounts and own our home (worth about $275,000). I didn't think they would count our retirement accounts against us! This is so unfair to families who are just getting by on fixed incomes.
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Luis Johnson
My sister went thru the same thing!!! The college actually adjusted her daughters aid after she explained about the retirement stuff. You should DEFINITELY call the financial aid office at your sons school and explain your situation. Sometimes they have whats called "professional judgment" to override the FAFSA numbers.
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Kaitlyn Otto
AuthorThank you! I'll definitely reach out to the financial aid office. Did your sister need to provide any specific documentation when she asked for the adjustment?
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Luis Johnson
ya they wanted proof of the retirement thing + monthly bills to show they weren't rich. took like 2 weeks but they got extra aid!
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Ellie Kim
I think the new FAFSA is designed to screw over middle-class families just trying to help their kids. My daughter got ZERO aid with our 39k SAI even though I'm a single mom with medical debt. The whole system is RIGGED and colleges just want to bleed us dry!!!! They don't care if retirement savings were for EMERGENCIES not college!!
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Fiona Sand
While I understand your frustration, colleges don't actually set the federal methodology for calculating the SAI - that's determined by Congress and the Department of Education. Many financial aid officers are equally frustrated with the new formula. Some schools do have institutional funds they can use to help families in situations like this, especially if there are special circumstances.
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Mohammad Khaled
I had a similar issue trying to reach the Federal Student Aid helpline about retirement funds being counted. After being on hold for hours multiple times, I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com) which connected me directly to an FSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ. The agent I spoke with confirmed that one-time retirement withdrawals can be appealed through your college's financial aid office. Worth checking out if you're struggling to get answers from FSA directly.
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Kaitlyn Otto
AuthorThank you for the tip! I've been trying to call them for three days with no luck. I'll check this out - I really need to understand exactly what happened with our application and what our options are.
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Fiona Sand
Financial aid professional here. There are a few things to consider: 1. The 2025-2026 FAFSA looks at your 2023 income information, including distributions from retirement accounts (which show up on tax forms as income) 2. Your assets are also factored in - owned home doesn't count, but retirement accounts do partially count depending on your age 3. Most importantly: You can request a Professional Judgment review from each college your son applied to. This is specifically designed for situations like yours where the FAFSA doesn't accurately reflect current financial reality For the Professional Judgment review, you'll need to document: - The one-time nature of the retirement withdrawal - Your current actual income - Any special circumstances (medical expenses, etc.) Reach out to each school's financial aid office directly - they have discretion to adjust your SAI based on this information.
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Kaitlyn Otto
AuthorThis is incredibly helpful information, thank you! We'll definitely pursue the Professional Judgment review. Is there a specific form we need to complete for this, or do we just contact each school directly?
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Fiona Sand
Each school has their own process, but most call it a "Special Circumstances Form" or "Professional Judgment Request." You can usually find it on their financial aid website, or just call the office directly. Be prepared to provide documentation of the retirement withdrawal (account statements showing the withdrawal was one-time), your current income (recent pay stubs), and any medical bills that necessitated the withdrawal. Submit this to every school your son is considering.
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Alina Rosenthal
Wait I'm confused... so does your SAI score determine how much aid you get or how much you have to pay? My daughter got an SAI of 8500 and I thought that meant we'd get more aid but now I'm worried it means we have to pay that much? The new FAFSA is so confusing!
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Jasmine Hernandez
An SAI of 8500 is actually quite good! The lower your SAI, the more aid you're eligible for. Your SAI isn't exactly what you'll pay - each college uses it differently to build your financial aid package. But generally, an SAI of 8500 would make your daughter eligible for significant aid, potentially including Pell Grants if it's below 7000. The original poster's concern is that their 47,000 SAI is too high, meaning they'll qualify for minimal aid.
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Finnegan Gunn
just wanted to add that sometimes different schools treat retirement income differently too. my son applied to 4 schools and 2 of them gave us way better packages after we explained about my husband's early retirement. def worth appealing the fafsa results at each school individually
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Kaitlyn Otto
AuthorThat's good to know! My son has been accepted to three schools so far, so I'll contact each one separately. Was there a big difference in how schools responded to your appeal?
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Finnegan Gunn
yeah huge difference! the private college gave us almost $12k more after the appeal but the state school only gave us about $3k more. kinda surprised us tbh
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Axel Far
has anyone ever tried to redo the fafsa completely? like starting over with a new application? or is that not allowed?
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Fiona Sand
You can make corrections to an existing FAFSA, but starting over with a new application when one is already processed isn't recommended and could potentially flag your account for verification. The better approach is to use the correction feature in your studentaid.gov account for any errors, or pursue the Professional Judgment review through each college for special circumstances like the retirement withdrawal situation discussed here.
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Freya Johansen
I'm dealing with a similar situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! My mom had to take early retirement due to health issues, and we withdrew about $25,000 from her 401k to cover medical expenses. Our SAI came back at 31,000 which seems impossible given our actual monthly income. Reading through these responses, it sounds like the Professional Judgment review is definitely the way to go. I had no idea that one-time retirement withdrawals could be appealed - the FAFSA system really doesn't account for emergency situations like medical bills or necessary home repairs. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences, especially the financial aid professional who explained the process so clearly!
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