For the Retirement Savings Contribution Credit, does a state pension qualify?

[DawnC]

Only contributions you make count towards the credit, not what your employer puts in.    Depending on your adjusted gross income reported on your Form 1040 series return, the amount of the credit is 50%, 20% or 10% of:

• contributions you make to a traditional or Roth IRA,
• elective salary deferral contributions to a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), SARSEP, or SIMPLE plan,
• voluntary after-tax employee contributions made to a qualified retirement plan (including the federal Thrift Savings Plan) or 403(b) plan,
• contributions to a 501(c)(18)(D) plan, or
• contributions made to an ABLE account for which you are the designated beneficiary (beginning in 2018).

[christyschnyer]

I understand those limits, but I’m unclear on how to tell what type of those plans, if any, the state pension is. Thanks in advance, @DawnC .

[DawnC]

Since all plans have their own features and benefits, it's not always easy to know.   Some are hybrid plans that do allow employee contributions.  Verify with your employer, but if it is purely a ''defined benefit pension plan'' that only takes contributions from your employer, it does not qualify.   To qualify for the credit, you must have made the contributions.    If the plan allows you to contribute, it is most likely a plan listed above.  

[SteamTrain]

As I recall,

.......if your contributions show in box 12 of your W-2, then they qualify.....and would automatically show up in the RSCC interview.

If your contributions show in box 14, then those are for a 414h plan, and those do not qualify.

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Though, someone might correct me of that notion with some "except for" exception.