iDeCo and US citizens

[Darren]

I was talking to SBI iDeco chat this morning, and this is what they told me. What do you think? I don't know if I should 100% believe what a customer support representative says, but I'm sure they have some kind of training about this, right?"

[TokyoWart]

This is why financial institutions like banks and brokerage firms are not supposed to give tax advice. They don't know. There are a variety of ways (FBAR, form 8621 if these really are PFICs, form 8938, etc.) in which they might potentially have to be "reported" and the US doesn't recognize the tax exempt treatment for foreign retirement accounts.

[RetireJapan]

I guess SBI does not have to report anything to the IRS