Skip to content
FBAR Guard
Menu

Do I report my Dutch pension on the FBAR?

Updated

Checked against official sources on How we check

Short answer

The answer is unsettled for collective pension funds such as ABP or PFZW: neither FinCEN nor the IRS has issued guidance on them.⁠Source 1⁠Source 2

Retirement savings held in your own name, such as a lijfrenterekening, are a clearer case. The IRS says foreign plans such as a Canadian RRSP are normally reportable.⁠Source 1⁠Source 3

The AOW state pension is not an account. The bank account your AOW is paid into is reportable as usual.

What is known and what is open

What is known
  • The FBAR retirement-plan exception covers U.S. plans and IRAs only. It does not cover Dutch plans.⁠Source 4⁠Source 1
  • The IRS says foreign plans are "normally reportable", naming the Canadian RRSP and Mexican AFORE accounts. Both hold an individual balance for the saver.⁠Source 1
  • Foreign social security-type benefits, like the AOW, are not reported on the FBAR or on Form 8938.⁠Source 5⁠Source 6
What is open
In a collective fund, the fund owns the assets and you hold an entitlement to future payments. No guidance says whether that entitlement is a financial account, and FinCEN's 2011 explanation points such participants to the more-than-50% ownership tests.⁠Source 2
What filers do
Some U.S. practitioners report Dutch workplace pensions to be safe; others do not. This is a practitioner view, not official guidance.⁠Source 7
What to keep
Keep each year's pension statement (UPO) and your fund's description of your rights. Record which approach you took and why.⁠Source 1

Which kind of Dutch pension do you have?

AOW: the state pension paid by the SVB. It is social security, not an account, and is not reported. A civil-service pension from ABP is a workplace pension, not AOW.⁠Source 6⁠Source 5

Workplace pension: built up through your employer in a pension fund, with an insurer or with a premium pension institution (PPI). The provider holds the assets and you hold an entitlement; this is the unsettled case.⁠Source 2⁠Source 1

Lijfrente in your own name: a blocked bank account, a blocked investment account or an annuity policy. These are judged under the ordinary account definitions.⁠Source 3⁠Source 4

The Dutch bank account your pension or AOW is paid into is an ordinary foreign bank account and is reported as usual.⁠Source 4

The new Dutch pension system

Under the Future Pensions Act (Wtp), many funds now record a personal pension capital for each member. All schemes must switch by 1 January 2028.⁠Source 8

A personal balance looks more like an account, but the fund still owns and invests the assets. No U.S. guidance addresses Wtp schemes yet.⁠Source 1

Example

Example

Emma, a teacher with an ABP pension

Emma's UPO shows an accrued yearly benefit from ABP, not an account balance. Her bank and savings accounts already put her over $10,000.⁠Source 9

She files her FBAR for the bank accounts and keeps the UPO with her records, noting that ABP is a collective fund with no account in her name.⁠Source 1

Common mistake

Leaving a Dutch pension off because of the FBAR exception for 401(k) plans and IRAs. That exception names U.S. plan types only, so it cannot be the reason.⁠Source 4⁠Source 1

More on this question

Is a lijfrenterekening (bank annuity savings) reportable?

Yes. A lijfrenterekening is a blocked savings account at a bank, which fits the FBAR definition of a bank account. No FinCEN guidance names it; this follows from the definitions.⁠Source 4⁠Source 3

Is my AOW state pension reportable?

No. The AOW is built up by living or working in the Netherlands, not by saving into an account, and social security-type benefits are not reported.⁠Source 6⁠Source 5

Does a pension count toward the $10,000 if it is reportable?

Yes. A reportable pension account adds its highest value to your other foreign accounts.⁠Source 9

Related questions

Full rules and more examples: Foreign pensions and the FBAR

Sources

Official sources used for this page.

  1. Source 1: IRS, Internal Revenue Manual 4.26.16 — FBAR (opens in a new tab)

    Financial interests, signature authority, U.S. residency (including 6013(g)/(h) elections and treaties), family attribution, spousal filing, Form 114a parts and amended-FBAR identifiers.

    irs.govChecked Source updated Back to text

  2. Source 2: Federal Register, 76 FR 10234 — Final rule on reports of foreign financial accounts (2011) (opens in a new tab)

    FinCEN's explanation of financial interest, trusts and signature authority.

    federalregister.govChecked Source updated Back to text

  3. Source 3: Belastingdienst, Vragen en antwoorden over lijfrenten (IB 802) (opens in a new tab)

    A lijfrentespaarrekening must be a blocked account; the lijfrentebeleggingsrecht is its investment version.

    download.belastingdienst.nlChecked Back to text

  4. Source 4: eCFR, 31 CFR § 1010.350 — Reports of foreign financial accounts (opens in a new tab)

    Who has a reportable financial interest in accounts, the rule for owners of record and the definition of signature authority.

    ecfr.govChecked Back to text

  5. Source 5: IRS, Comparison of Form 8938 and FBAR requirements (opens in a new tab)

    Side-by-side rules for Form 8938 and the FBAR.

    irs.govChecked Back to text

  6. Source 6: SVB, What is AOW? (opens in a new tab)

    How the Dutch state pension is built up.

    svb.nlChecked Back to text

  7. Source 7: Golding & Golding (practitioner), US tax treatment of Netherlands pension plans (opens in a new tab)

    A U.S. practitioner's view on reporting Dutch pensions; not official guidance.

    goldinglawyers.comChecked Back to text

  8. Source 8: Rijksoverheid, Voldoende tijd voor overgang naar nieuw pensioenstelsel (opens in a new tab)

    Transition deadline of 1 January 2028 for the Dutch pension system.

    rijksoverheid.nlChecked Source updated Back to text

  9. Source 9: IRS, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) (opens in a new tab)

    U.S.-person and $10,000 tests, spousal exception, irrelevance of income-tax filing status and extensions for certain employees and officers.

    irs.govChecked Back to text