What If Someone Enters a Rollover Amount Greater Than the Pension Or IRA Amount, Creating a Negative Amount?

According to guidance NASFAA has received from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), a negative amount is not allowed for the untaxed portions of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) distributions and untaxed portions of pensions and annuities fields on the FAFSA. If someone manually enters a rollover amount that exceeds the IRA, pension, or annuity amount transferred to the FAFSA using the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX, formerly the IRS DRT) for 2024-25 and beyond, the newly calculated IRA, pension, or annuity amount will be $0. That’s the amount that will be used in the student aid index (SAI) calculation and passed to schools and state grant agencies on the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR).

See also, SAI-Q9/A9 in the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) FAFSA Simplification Questions and Answers, and AskRegs Knowledgebase Q&A, Will IRA and Pension Rollover Amounts Be Pulled Into the FAFSA Via FA-DDX?

Student Aid Reference Desk: For additional information, try the Student Aid Reference Desk. It is a central hub of all the important financial aid resources you need with direct links to legislation, regulation, Dear Colleague Letters, and other ED and NASFAA references. It is updated on a rolling basis with the latest news and changes.