<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I need your help. </p>
<p>I am one of the unlucky 1 out of 3 people chosen by my daughter’s school for verification.</p>
<p>I have been out of work for the past three years and my wife did not work as well so we have no real income for the current 2011 tax year. However, we still of course have to file a 1040 since we do have interest income from our investments and our bank account which we are living off of, albeit it is decreasing rapidly.</p>
<p>When we filed the FASFA form I estimated what we would have at the end of the 2011 year and I was pretty well on the mark (easy if you are not making anything).</p>
<p>I have no issue with giving the college a copy of my 1040 except for one thing. This year I rolled over my 401K from my old employer’s financial institution to another broker.
So, my 401K is now visible on the 1040 line 15a, but of course not 15b as it is not income. The issue I have is now the college can see the amount I have for retirement. Hopefully, I will not have to touch this for some time.
My questions are:</p>
<p>Will this effect my daughter’s current allocation from the college?
Can I remove it from the 1040 since it does not effect my income in any way?
Can they force you use your 401K? It was my understanding that they do not count your 401K against you getting aid from the school.</p>
<p>I need to get the information back to the college within a few days. Again, I have no problem with anything else they have asked for. I just don’t want them to know about my retirement savings. To me, it is a matter of privacy. Any help you all can give me would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>If they requested verification, you can’t change the forms after they have been filed, anyway, they Probably want to use the new IRS retrieval tool.</p>
<p>[Simplifying</a> the FAFSA:Use the IRS Retrieval Tool | The WiseChoice Blog](<a href=“http://www.wisechoice.com/blog/paying_for_college/simplifying-the-fafsause-the-irs-retrieval-tool--2564/]Simplifying”>http://www.wisechoice.com/blog/paying_for_college/simplifying-the-fafsause-the-irs-retrieval-tool--2564/)</p>
<p>I was told by a financial aid expert at my S’s HS that funds in tax-deferred accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs don’t count toward fin aid.</p>
<p>I don’t know if that is a true statement, however.</p>
<p>It doesn’t on Fafsa, but profile schools often just like to see it.</p>
<p>Sympathies. What a headache! Especially due to that number being on your tax form. But it should not matter one whit, as that is not part of the FAFSA FA formula. And if your award is anything other than what is typical for your school, you have reason to complain, loud and long. You could try taking this to the FA thread, for further reassurance. Making sure the school knows your present circumstances might not be a bad idea.</p>
<p>All of you have been really helpful.</p>
<p>I also posted this on the Financial Aid blog. I always try and do the right thing.</p>
<p>Heck, if they don’t want me to use the IRS Tool to update the FASFA as EK4 suggested, which is a great idea, by the way, then I will send them my 1040. I meand, all I did was roll it over to other deferred accounts. </p>
<p>I just hope I get a job this year and we all stay healthy as I do not have medical coverage since I lost COBRA, which was bloody expensive anyway.</p>
<p>Thank you all for all your input and thoughts. I will let you knowthe results, for sure.</p>