Did you know that a foreign pension is considered a grantor trust in many cases? I’ve met a few people recently that had retirement accounts in other countries and didn’t realize that the account triggered FinCEN requirements in addition to foreign trust reporting. As you know, there is no treaty between tw and US, so contributions are likely not tax-free deferrals and must be reported on a 1040 as compensation; the same is true for growth (capital gain or div). The good news is that if any of you qualify under the new Labor Pension Act, your tw pension doesn’t fall into this category. The distinction is similar to US retirement plans known as defined benefit or defined contribution plans. If you have a retirement account that you actually have access to the money and can see your growth and your employer isn’t >50% contributor to the account, then you probably have an account that should be disclosed to IRS. And you know the penalties are enough to make you relinquish your citizenship. The devil is in the details, let me help if you suspect you might be in this boat.
If you like nitty-gritty, here is a good article on implications of code sec 409A
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