New Ruling Helps 529 Plan Owners

If you have a 529 college savings plan there is some good news for you in 2009 thanks to the U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) who decided to allow account owners to change their investment strategy twice per calendar year.

Twice Annual Changes Permitted

Prior to the change account holders could only make a change once each year. But, with the new ruling account owners will be able to respond to current conditions in the financial markets while giving investors more flexibility in managing their 529 plan accounts.

“We appreciate the steps the Treasury and IRS have taken to give 529 plan participants more flexibility when it comes to changing the direction of their account investments in 2009,” said Jackie Williams, executive director of the Ohio Tuition Trust Authority and immediate past chair and spokesperson for CSPN. “We also look forward to working with these agencies to provide 529 plan participants with continued flexibility and additional improvements that will make 529 plans even easier for American families to use as they save for their children’s higher education expenses.”

To learn more about this new Treasury/IRS ruling, go to http://www.irs.gov/. For more information about College Savings Plan Network (CSPN) and 529 college savings plans, go to http://www.collegesavings.org/.

More Than 30 Million Participants

529 college savings plans have helped millions of students and their families save money for college. To date, more than ten million accounts have been opened and over 130 billion dollars contributed. According to the CSPN 529 funds can be used at almost every accredited private and public school in the nation as well as some foreign schools.

Currently, minimum contribution levels start at $15 and in most states contributions of as much as $300,000 or more per beneficiary is allowed. Currently, fifteen states allow contributors to prepay college tuition, helping families lock in college tuition costs years in advance of their child’s schooling.

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