As a foreign student, should I opt out of a pension plan?

[juanmesh]

I am a new graduate student (PhD, international), and I have the option of opting out of a pension plan. I have no intention of remaining in the US beyond my graduation (in about 5 years). Are there any benefits of paying into the plan? All thoughts/opinions welcome.

Edited August 1, 2016 by juanmesh

[Beals]

What are the details of the pension plan?  Is it a matched contribution from your school, or just an automatic deduction from your paycheck?  Are there any restrictions re: you accessing it from your home country/ and or hidden conversion fees (I doubt there are, but good to check)?  If it's matched, and you don't desperately need the savings, there's no harm in staying in.  If it's not matched, an option is to use the equivalent amount that would be invested and invest on your own.

If you're only contributing for 5 years this might not make much of a difference, but it's generally considered a good idea to diversify assets- the american dollar is strong (though who knows how true that'll be once it comes time for you to access the plan) and it doesn't hurt to have capital in different markets in case one economy tanks.

NOTE: there's no need to answer any of the questions I've asked you.  Also, i'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, so it might be a good idea to talk to a financial planner and/or someone with a license to actually give advice.  

[TakeruK]

Also prefacing this all with the fact that I'm not an expert, but just that I faced similar decisions myself.

If your school/employer is not matching funds, then there's very little reason, in my opinion, to contribute to a pension plan in the US right now. For most grad students, the amount of income we have available for savings isn't that much that the school-provided retirement plans are going to earn you that much more money. Instead, my advice would be to take whatever you are able to save and invest it in other means. Maybe it's just savings accounts, mutual funds, investing in your home country's retirement plans etc. For me, given that right now the USD is much higher than the Canadian dollar, and given that I still have room to contribute to tax-free Canadian savings accounts, I'm moving extra money from the US to Canada and investing it at home.

If your school/employer is matching your contributions, then wow, you are really lucky! Very few schools do this for students. In this case, if you do have extra money to invest, you might want to contribute because you will get "free" money from your school. Check what the rules are for early withdrawal though (you may be able to withdraw money after you graduate). 

[juanmesh]

Thanks @Beals @TakeruK. It appears two issues are important for someone in my situation: ease of withdrawal; and matching funds from the school. I will clarify these with the school and pension agency, then decide. Thanks very much.

Edited August 2, 2016 by juanmesh