FBAR and Final salary pension scheme

Nope. I get like reports that everyone gets.  The booklet that talk about the organisation and this is the president and don't I look awesome sitting on my desk, or whatever. 

But not a statement with an amount and this is USS. 

But I know that a few years before people are of retirement age they get letters saying this is how much you will get. 

When I asked for something that gives an amount now, they said they couldn't do it?

Can I even report it on the FBAR if it doesn't have an amount?  What do I even put? This is the first year I need to file it. 

I think I will be right on the border with my other accounts, but what the heck do I do with an account that has no value?

I would still maintain; does a final salary pension with no account value come within this definition?

Financial Account. A financial account includes, but is not limited to, a
securities, brokerage, savings, demand, checking, deposit, time deposit,
or other account maintained with a financial institution (or other person
performing the services of a financial institution). A financial account
also includes a commodity futures or options account, an insurance
policy with a cash value (such as a whole life insurance policy), an
annuity policy with a cash value, and shares in a mutual fund or similar
pooled fund (i.e., a fund that is available to the general public with a
regular net asset value determination and regular redemptions).[/i]

I would say, it does not.

I have a USS pension and retired 4 years ago. They should be able to do you a projection of what your monthly pension will be if you work until your retirement time. I used to get them periodically. The value of your pension is equal to 240 monthly payments. (for simplicity I'd ignore the 25% lump sum you can take). It was the pension officer at my university who did these - not USS. They don't seem to like to be bothered.

The pension person at my Uni wouldn't do it.  That is who I have been having so much trouble with.  

BAH!

Could it also be because you were close to retirement age?  Apparently they start sending out information about five years beforehand at my Uni.

in that case I would contact USS (or see if you can get the monthly payment projection on the calculator on the USS website).

I have a USS pension and retired 4 years ago. They should be able to do you a projection of what your monthly pension will be if you work until your retirement time. I used to get them periodically. The value of your pension is equal to 240 monthly payments. (for simplicity I'd ignore the 25% lump sum you can take). It was the pension officer at my university who did these - not USS. They don't seem to like to be bothered.

But, I don't think the IRS want to now, in a 2011 tax filing, what the "value" of the pension will be if you work till retirement time?  Aren't they dealing with current value, not projections into the future?

That is what I thought. Ugh!

Their calculation goes something like this:
take the number of years you've worked (with the number of days as a decimal). Divide that by 80.  Multiply that by your salary. That will give you your annual pension. Multiply that by 20. That will give you the value.
So for example if you've worked 1 year and 183 days it's 1.5 years. divided by 80 = .023125. Say your salary is #30k.  30k times .023125 equals #693. That's the annual amount you'll receive when you retire. Multiply by 20 years. That equals #13,875 (that's a very low value for a pension, but that's what it would be in the early years.)
please understand that this is very very rough (because they average the final years' salary)  but it might give you some idea of what the magnitude and whether you need to pursue it in more detail.

ps I forgot to mention that that gives you its current value.  it's like a contract or annuity that says as of now (or if you quit now), this is in fact the amount of money you will get from us. That's the difference between it and a defined contribution plan, which is just a pot of money that you can see the value of.

nun, how long did it take you to get a reply from that e-mail address? I sent an e-mail on Thursday and still haven't heard anything.

nun, how long did it take you to get a reply from that e-mail address? I sent an e-mail on Thursday and still haven't heard anything.

It took a week.

I've received a reply from the FBAR e-mail. I asked whether the USS pension is reportable on FBAR:

Hello,
I am a US citizen living in the United Kingdom. I have an employer-owned pension, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). My employer, a non-profit university, and I both contribute to this pension, but it is completely owned and controlled by the employer and has no cash value. Does this need to be reported on FBAR?

This is the exact full text of the reply e-mail, with my name redacted:

Hello Ms. H,
 
No.

So there you have it!

I tend to agree with DrDuper99's reply form the IRS. In my reply the agent mis-characterizes the final salary pension plan as a "defined contribution plan" when it's a "defined benefit plan" so she comes to the wrong (IMHO) conclusion in the final paragraph.

Thanks DrSuper.  That is the assumption I was working under.

Even if we were to use the calculator to figure what I would get, if I retired right now it isn't what the fund is actually worth.