Many parents are looking for ways to save for their child’s education and a 529 Plan is an excellent way to do so. Even better, is that they are now available to parents wishing to save for their child’s K-12 education as well as college.
Every state has a program allowing persons to prepay for future higher education, tax-free, and you may open a Section 529 plan in any state. Contributions must be in cash, and they must not total more than reasonably needed for higher education (as determined initially by the state). Neither account owner or beneficiary may direct investments, but the state may allow the owner to select a type of investment fund (e.g., fixed income securities), and to change the investment annually, and when the beneficiary is changed. The account owner decides who gets the funds (can pick and change the beneficiary) and is legally allowed to withdraw funds at any time, subject to tax and penalties (discussed later).
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