8938 & U.K Personal Pension

As I don't yet make distributions from my U.K. Personal Pension and will not know the value of the fund as of December 31st, I check the $0 - $50,000 box. If I take into consideration the total of my 'Foreign Deposit and Custodial Accounts' and the physical value of 'Other Foreign Assets' (which is U.K. Personal Pension only) then i'd be over the threshold. However, if I disregard the value of the pension account, (as the instructions so state - not taking any distribution and not knowing the value) then I'd be under the threshold amount.

I'd be interested to learn what others may do. File anyway as combined; over physically the threshold, or not file as there is no distribution & December 31st value unknown

I never knew the value of my defined benefit pension plans so never reported them either as part of FBAR or on an 8938 once FATCA was implemented. For the past 4 years I have been receiving monthly pension payments so report and pay income tax on it but still don’t report them on an FBAR or 8938 as I have no signature authority over them. I get what I get.

There has been lots of debate here over the years and I honestly don’t know if there is a right answer. It is only a reporting issue at the end of the day. If there is a lump sum option available on the pension plan then I suppose that is what I might use as a value to put on it.

I've adopted the safety first attitude and declare it all - (fearful that they'll find out otherwise and try to take it away in penalties etc) both on FACTA and 8938 - I have a DB pension that I declare as $0-50K and the others I take a look at my quarterly SIPP statements and enter the highest value for the 4 quarters - I know it fluctuates, but I think this approach is reasonable enough. I would have thought it's very difficult these days to stay below a threshold for reporting. I do take a treaty position in declaring my pension contributions.

I'm in the safety first camp too.  I've a single defined benefit pension, and on 1 Jan of each year I look-up its cash value (assuming it to be accurate for 31 Dec).  If I know it had a higher value during the year, say from an annual statement, I use that value; otherwise I report the end of year value.

I have a very old personal pension that is closed to new business and therefore with a pensions' consolidator. I only get an annual mailed statement in October and have no online abilities. So come December 31st have no idea if the value has increased or not. I guess that even with the $0-$50k bracket I need to consider the actual retirement balance and aire on the side of caution and file the 8938 despite being below the threshold for financial accounts combined.

I too am in the safety camp and even file my National Lottery Account that doesn't even have an account number. I guess there is no comeback for filing an item that isn't needed... OR is it!!