My social media feeds are full of prom and graduation pictures, which means it’s time to talk about how you get money out of the 529 plan to which you’ve been diligently (or otherwise) contributing. First of all, a 529 plan isn’t like an HSA or medical savings account where you get a debit card to use for your purchases….
529 Plans
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…
‘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…