You Wouldn't Forget Their Lunch Money—Don't Forget Their College Money
In this edition…
Top of the Back-to-School list
Giving the gift
Lunch Money Match Program
You'd never send your child off to school without a few dollars for their lunch. Would you forget to save and invest to help pay for their college education?
Saving for college should be at the top of your back-to-school list this fall. And since college costs rise each year, starting your college savings plan now can help ease the burden of paying for school later.
A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged way to save and invest for college:
Investment earnings and qualified withdrawals are federal tax free when used for qualified higher education expenses.
Contributions are considered gifts and are excluded from the account owner's estate.
Qualifies for annual gift tax exclusion — you can contribute $12,000 per beneficiary in one lump sum free of gift tax (up to $24,000 if married and filing jointly)
Aside from these tax benefits, 529 plans offer more control over how and when the savings is used. Owners can select and change beneficiaries to another "family member" of the original beneficiary, as defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 529, at any time without penalty and name a successor account owner or transfer the ownership to another person.
Take Action: Engage in a Lunch Money Match Program today. For every $5 you give the kiddies for lunch each week match that with $5 into their 529 plan.
Tip: There are 529 plans available from our fund companies that will allow you to invest as little as $50 or even $25 per month. And, don’t forget to set it up with a systematic investing plan to make it even easier to save.
Remember - give your kids lunch money to build a healthy body and college money to build a healthy future.
No comments:
Post a Comment