The SECURE 2.0 Act, which was signed into law on Dec. 29, introduced a number of changes to retirement savings. One in particular is relevant to parents struggling with whether to save for college or retirement: SECURE 2.0 allows excess 529 funds to be rolled over to a Roth IRA tax- and penalty-free, beginning in 2024. This isn’t a blanket…
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529 Plans
‘Tis the season, and with all the holiday trimmings comes the often-fraught topic of gifts. If you mean it when you say, “Please, no more toys!” then you will want to make sure your 529’s gifting page is set up. One of the best ways to increase your college savings is to make it easier for others to help you…
“Use a Roth IRA instead of a 529,” many people will tell you. “It’s better for financial aid since it doesn’t count as an asset.” Some people will tell you the same about insurance policies, but those people are insurance salespeople who just want a commission. Deciding whether to use a Roth IRA is a little bit more complicated. Roth…
A client’s former advisor told her that she should save $800,000 per child for college. None of my initial reactions to that were appropriate for a client meeting, but how much should you save for college is an important question for a lot of families so let’s dig into that. First, why do advisors tell people that they need to…
Form 1098-T is a tuition statement that students receive from their college. It serves two primary purposes: Documenting eligibility to claim the American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit Documenting that the student was enrolled in a college and that 529 withdrawals up to net cost of attendance are therefore qualified Form 1098-T isn’t filed with your taxes; instead,…