Foreign pensions generate more professional disagreement than almost any FBAR topic, because the answer genuinely depends on plan structure, and the two main reporting regimes — the FBAR and Form 8938 — treat them differently. This page gives you the framework practitioners actually use, worked through the pension types expats hold most.
The framework: is the pension an "account"?
The FBAR reaches financial accounts. So the question is whether your pension creates one:
- Defined-contribution plans with a pot — a UK workplace pension invested at a provider, a German betriebliche Altersvorsorge with a fund custodian, an Australian superannuation balance, a Canadian RRSP — hold identifiable assets for you at a financial institution. The mainstream practitioner view: reportable financial accounts.
- Pure defined-benefit promises — a final-salary scheme where you hold only a contractual promise of future payments, with no segregated pot — are commonly treated as not accounts, because there is nothing you own at an institution.
- Government social security anywhere — not reportable. Social insurance is not a financial account under either regime.
The honest caveat: neither the IRS nor FinCEN has published a definitive pension-specific rule, and practitioner positions vary by country and plan documents. The conservative end of the profession reports broadly; the aggressive end relies on the defined-benefit distinction. Middle ground: report anything with a pot, document why you did or didn't.
Country walk-throughs
United Kingdom. Workplace defined-contribution pensions (with providers like Aviva, Scottish Widows, Nest): commonly reported. Final-salary schemes: commonly not reported as accounts — but they do appear on Form 8938 as specified assets when thresholds are met. SIPPs (self-invested personal pensions): reported — they are brokerage-like accounts.
Germany. Company pensions held through a Versorgungseinrichtung or fund custodian (Pensionskasse, Pensionsfonds, fund-based Direktversicherung): commonly reported. Claims against an employer under a Direktzusage (unfunded employer promise): commonly not treated as an account. Riester and Rürup accounts with deposit balances: reported.
Canada. RRSPs and TFSAs: unambiguously reportable accounts (RRSPs also carry the famous US tax-deferral treaty election on Form 8891's successor — Form 8891 was eliminated in 2014; the deferral now flows through treaty-based return positions). CPP/QPP: not reportable.
Australia. Superannuation balances: the majority practitioner position treats super as a reportable account (and it is a Form 8938 specified asset). The ATO relationship doesn't change the US answer.
Netherlands, Japan, and others. Same framework: pot at an institution → report; pure promise or state scheme → generally not.
The Form 8938 overlay
FATCA's Form 8938 is broader than the FBAR here: foreign pensions generally count as specified foreign financial assets — including arrangements that may not be FBAR accounts — once you cross the thresholds ($200,000/$300,000 single or $400,000/$600,000 joint for those living abroad). The practical consequence surprises people: you may reasonably conclude your final-salary UK pension is not an FBAR account and still owe a Form 8938 line for it. Reporting a pension on 8938 is not an admission that it was FBAR-reportable.
The tax side (why pensions attract attention)
FBAR reporting is the paperwork layer; pensions also raise US income-tax questions — whether contributions were deductible, whether investment growth inside the plan is currently taxable or tax-deferred under a treaty, and how distributions are taxed. That analysis is country-specific and treaty-dependent, and it is the single most common reason expats with pensions end up needing professional help. The reporting guides on this site cover the paperwork; the taxation of your specific plan is a professional question.
Practical playbook
- Inventory your plans — provider, country, defined-contribution or defined-benefit, whether you receive statements showing a balance.
- Apply the pot test. Pot at an institution → FBAR-reportable in the mainstream view. Promise or state scheme → likely not; document the reasoning either way.
- Check the aggregation threshold — pension accounts count toward the $10,000 test.
- Handle Form 8938 separately — broader coverage, different thresholds; a pension can be 8938-reportable while not an FBAR account.
- Keep the paperwork — annual statements go in your record-keeping file; for past years where you now conclude reporting was required, the late-filing guide covers the catch-up, and reasonable cause documentation matters given how unsettled this area is.
The country answers, one table
| Country / plan | FBAR (mainstream view) | Form 8938 |
|---|---|---|
| UK workplace DC (Aviva, Nest, Scottish Widows) | Report | Yes when thresholds met |
| UK final-salary scheme | Generally not an account | Yes — specified asset |
| UK SIPP | Report (brokerage-like) | Yes |
| Germany Pensionskasse / Pensionsfonds / Direktversicherung (funded) | Report | Yes |
| Germany Direktzusage (unfunded employer promise) | Generally not | Fact-specific |
| Germany Riester / Rürup with deposit balance | Report | Yes |
| Canada RRSP / TFSA | Report | Yes |
| Canada CPP/QPP | Not | State scheme |
| Australia superannuation | Report (majority view) | Yes |
| State pensions generally (Japan kokumin nenkin, etc.) | Not | Generally not |
Treat the table as the starting consensus, not a ruling — plan documents control, and hybrids (insurance-wrapped plans, partial funding) move answers between rows.
Three questions that classify almost any plan
- Does an institution hold money in my name (or my benefit) with a statemented balance? → likely an account, report
- Is my only asset a legal claim against an employer or the state, with no separable pot? → likely not an FBAR account
- Is the plan insurance-wrapped or partly funded? → hybrid; this is the fact pattern where professionals earn their fee, and where documenting your analysis matters most if positions change
This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Pension treatment is fact- and country-specific and partly unsettled; a cross-border professional should review significant plans. See the IRS FBAR reference.
Frequently asked questions
Do foreign pensions need to be reported on an FBAR?
It depends on the plan's structure. A pension held as a financial account — with a balance you can identify, at an institution — is generally FBAR-reportable. Pure defined-benefit promises that never hold segregated funds for you are commonly not treated as accounts. This is one of the genuinely unsettled areas of foreign-account reporting.
Is a UK workplace pension FBAR-reportable?
A UK defined-contribution workplace pension (with a pot invested at a provider) is commonly treated as a reportable financial account. A pure defined-benefit final-salary scheme, where you have only a promise of future payments, is commonly treated as not an account. Practitioners diverge on edge cases.
What about Form 8938 for foreign pensions?
Form 8938's reach is broader: foreign pensions generally count as specified foreign financial assets when the thresholds are met, including arrangements that may not be FBAR accounts. Many expats therefore report a pension on Form 8938 even while reasonably concluding it is not an FBAR account.
Are social security payments from a foreign country reportable?
No. Government social insurance (contributions to, or benefits from, a national social security system) is not a financial account. Neither the FBAR nor Form 8938 requires reporting a foreign social-security entitlement.
What value do I report for a foreign pension on the FBAR?
If the pension is reportable, report the maximum account value during the year in US dollars — the current value of your pot for defined-contribution plans. For plans without accessible statements, the provider's annual statement is the documentation your record-keeping file needs.