Do You Know What A 529 Plan Is?

[JaniceSW]

Well, don't feel bad if you don't know what a 529 plan is because 2 out of 3 people supposedly haven't a clue either! These accounts allow you to put aside pretax dollars for hgher education expenses like tuition and books.  The money also isn't subject to federal taxes, Plus, 30 states give tax breaks for saving in a 529. Find out more at investor.gov.

[ngorecki]

I have never heard of it.

[heypeg]

Yes I have heard of this, have something similar for my Grandkids.

[aflyingmonkey]

Yes... I know what a 529 is.  I have 3 of them for my children & a percentage of my check goes to their account.  It's like a 401K for your child's education.  Thankfully the economy is doing well & their accounts are growing quite nicely.

You can use 529 for trade schools, or "lower" education now... also can use the funds to pay for their wifi & for their computers & tech.

I signed up after attending a seminar put on by Fidelity through my employer. 

[ktheodos]

Yes...and it's important to take advantage of it!

[vg7405]

I have a general idea about what a 529 plan is. I believe it is a tax-advantage investment plan that some parents usually to help pay for their child(ren)'s educational expenses. I do not have any children, but I plan on opening a 529 plan for my future children someday.

[nannycoe1]

No I never heard of it before today

[braggin]

Yes I knew what a 529 plan was before you explained it, which you did very well. This is because I looked into 529 plans for both my grandchildren when they were born to see if I wanted to get involved with one for saving for their college. I decided not to get involved because of all the restrictions and rules on the plans like that they could only be used for certain things like tuition and the money can't be used for anything else.

[hawkeye3210]

Contributions to 529 plans are after-tax for federal tax purposes. As you mentioned, some states do allow a deduction of the contributions.

[hawkeye3210]

Yes I knew what a 529 plan was before you explained it, which you did very well. This is because I looked into 529 plans for both my grandchildren when they were born to see if I wanted to get involved with one for saving for their college. I decided not to get involved because of all the restrictions and rules on the plans like that they could only be used for certain things like tuition and the money can't be used for anything else.

A lot of those restrictions were lifted with the 2017 tax reform. You can also use the money for K-12 expenses and not just for college.

[ngorecki]

I have never heard of what a 529 plan is.

[linderlizzie]

I thought I had an idea of what it was before I read some of your posts. Sounds like I should look more into it. 

[dreamyxo]

Yes I know what it is.  I don't have kids so that wouldn't apply to me.

[gaylasue]

Yes, I do.  I have a 529 Plan for my grandson's college education in the event I'm not around to help out when the time comes. 

[dsosnowski06]

I have heard of them but never used them.  When my kids we younger they were non existing so we just started a savings account for each one and put so much away each month to help with their college cost.  Would look into if I every have grandchildren.