<p>Hello,</p>
<p>Well I’m a Honduran (Central America). In my country, a savings account works for anything and everything. My father has approximately 30,000 $ in savings, real savings. And about 20,000$ in a “savings account” that is really a retirement fund given to him when he retired after working as a doctor for 20 years. So really, that account is not a part of my family’s savings: my father is a Church pastor and he does not qualify for the Honduran social security system, and will not have any benefits or such when he retires from Church, so basically, this 20,000$ fund is all my parent’s have for their retirement.</p>
<p>However, since we don’t have any “formal retirement account” (there is no such thing in Honduras), in the bank statements all the money is listed as in a “savings account”. How will this affect my determined financial need? Considering my father’s current income, less than 40,000$ a year, I’m afraid colleges might determine my financial need to be relatively much lower than what it really is. What should I do, besides attaching a note explaining this situation? How much do savings affect the determined financial need?</p>
<p>Help me out, please !
I’m running out of time !</p>
<p>Gracias !</p>