Do I Report My UK State Pension on the FBAR or Form 8938?

In most cases, no. The UK State Pension is a government social security benefit, not a financial account you own, so it does not, on its own, go on the FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) or on Form 8938. There is no account number and no balance you control, which are the things those forms are built to capture.

That is different from the rest of your UK retirement money. A SIPP or workplace pension has a determinable balance you can point to, so it is generally reportable on the FBAR once your foreign accounts exceed $10,000 in aggregate, and it can also count toward your Form 8938 thresholds. Your UK bank and investment accounts count toward those same thresholds. So while the State Pension itself stays off both forms, the accounts around it often do not.

Two points worth keeping in mind:

1. Not reportable does not mean not taxable. The State Pension still goes on your income tax return. How it is taxed depends on where you live, which is covered in our guide to the UK State Pension and U.S. tax.
2. When in doubt, look at the account, not the benefit. Ask whether there is a specific balance you hold. If yes, check it against the FBAR and Form 8938 thresholds. If it is a promised government benefit with no account, it is generally outside both.

The bottom line: your UK State Pension stays off the FBAR and Form 8938, but the pensions and accounts around it often do not, so it is worth reviewing your full set of UK accounts each year to make sure nothing reportable slips through.